The aspirations of Japanese undergraduate students: Prospective study on their effects on depression and anxiety and mediation by adult attachment

The present study examined the connections among aspiration, depression, anxiety, attachment and stressful life events in a sample of 405 Japanese undergraduate students. At Time1 (T1), participants’ Dysphoric Mood (depression and anxiety rated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale: HADS), Adult Attachment (rated by the Relationship Questionnaire) and factor-analysis-derived two dimensions of Aspiration (rated by the Aspiration Index) – Agency and Communality Aspirations – were measured. Three months later (Time2 [T2]), participants completed the HADS again and reported the impact of their most negative life event occurring during the interval between T1 and T2. After controlling for the direct path from T1 to T2 Dysphoric Mood, both T1 Dysphoric Mood and low Communality Aspiration predicted insecure Adult Attachment, which predicted the perception of Agency Stress, which in turn predicted T2 Dysphoric Mood. These findings suggest that adolescents’ Communality Aspiration is important in maintaining secure attachment and indirectly subsequent healthy psychological adjustment.