To expand the research explanation for the onset of depressive symptoms, this study investigated the role played by attachment cognitions and sought to show that depression is associated with different attachment cognitions, whether a population of drug misusers, eating disordered, or nonclinical youth are being examined. The study used a Q-sort auto-questionnaire which is designed to assess attachment cognitions. In addition, the diagnosis assessment, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13), and the Attachment Cognitions-CaMir Q-sort were used as study measurements. The study sample consisted of 71 15- to 25-year-olds, 26 of whom had eating disorders and 20 of whom were drug misusers. The results confirm the existence of a relationship between depressive symptomatology and negative cognition, specifically negative attachment cognitions. For those with eating disorders, depressive symptomatology was related to preoccupation and parental interference. For drug misusers, it was negatively related to security, preoccupation, parental support, and lack of parental concern. The results are noted as encouraging with respect to the usefulness of studying attachment cognitions in understanding depression however, the study would need to be replicated on larger samples. Tables, figures, and references