Adult attachment orientations and college student distress: Test of a mediational model.

179

157

This study examined perceived coping (perceived problem-solving ability and progress in coping with problems) as a mediator between adult attachment (anxiety and avoidance) and psychological distress (depression, hopelessness, anxiety, anger, and interpersonal problems). Survey data from 515 undergraduate students were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that perceived coping fully mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and psychological distress and partially mediated the relationship between attachment avoidance and psychological distress. These findings suggest not only that it is important to consider attachment anxiety or avoidance in understanding distress but also that perceived coping plays an important role in these relationships. Implications for these more complex relations are discussed for both counseling interventions and further research.In the past decade, researchers have found that Bowlby's attachment theory (1973, 1988) has important implications for coun-

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived coping as a mediator between attachment and psychological distress: A structural equation modeling approach.

Wei¹,

Heppner²,

Mallinckrodt³

2003

179

157

“…Several ineffective strategies (e.g., self-concealment or maladaptive perfectionism) were found in previous research to be negative mediators between attachment and distress (e.g., Lopez et al, 2002;Wei et al, 2004). It is possible that (a) insecure attachment is positively associated with the use of these ineffective strategies, (b) these ineffective strategies contribute to basic psychological needs dissatisfaction, and (c) this process contributes to distress.…”

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confidence: 94%

“…In addition to the above direct associations between attachment and distress, researchers have begun to explore the indirect effects (e.g., mediation effects) beyond these direct associations. To date, studies have identified several mediators of the relationship between attachment and distress such as dysfunctional attitudes and low self-esteem (Roberts, Gotlib, & Kassel, 1996), ineffective coping (Lopez et al, 2001;Wei et al, 2003), self-splitting and self-concealment (Lopez et al, 2002), maladaptive perfectionism (Wei et al, 2004), social competencies and emotional awareness (Mallinckrodt & Wei, 2005), and emotional reactivity and emotional cutoff .…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In the attachment literature, attachment anxiety and avoidance have been positively related to several indices of psychological distress such as shame, anger, and pathological narcissism (Wagner & Tangney, 1991), depression and anxiety (e.g., Lopez, Mauricio, Gormley, Simko, & Berger, 2001;Wei, Heppner, & Mallinckrodt, 2003;Wei, Mallinckrodt, Russell, & Abraham, 2004), negative affect (e.g., Simpson, 1990), emotional distress and nervousness (Collins, 1996), and general distress symptoms (Lopez, Mitchell, & Gormley, 2002). Moreover, attachment anxiety and avoidance have been shown to be positively related to interpersonal difficulties (e.g., Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991;Horowitz, Rosenberg, & Bartholomew, 1993), increased feelings of loneliness (e.g., Hecht & Baum, 1984;Kobak & Sceery, 1988;Shaver & Hazan, 1989;Wei, Vogel, Ku, & Zakalik, 2005), and greater hostility toward others (e.g., Mikulincer, Hirschberger, Nachmias, & Gillath, 2001;Mikulincer & Shaver, 2001).…”

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confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Adult Attachment, Shame, Depression, and Loneliness: The Mediation Role of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction.

Wei

Shaffer

Young

et al. 2005

296

168

This study examined basic psychological needs satisfaction (i.e., the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness) as a mediator between adult attachment (i.e., anxiety and avoidance) and distress (i.e., shame, depression, and loneliness). A total of 299 undergraduates from a Midwestern university participated. Results from structural equation modeling analysis indicated that basic psychological needs satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and shame, depression, and loneliness and fully mediated the relationship between attachment avoidance and shame, depression, and loneliness. Bootstrap methods were used to assess the magnitude of these indirect effects. Attachment anxiety and avoidance explained 35% of the variance in basic psychological needs satisfaction, and attachment anxiety and basic psychological needs satisfaction explained 51%, 72%, and 74% of the variance in shame, depression, and loneliness, respectively.

“…These mediators include low self-esteem (Roberts et al, 1996), problem-solving/coping styles or perceived coping effectiveness (Lopez, Mauricio, Gormley, Simko, & Berger, 2001;Wei et al, 2003), self-splitting and self-concealment (Lopez, Mitchell, & Gormley, 2002), social self-efficacy and emotional awareness (Mallinckrodt & Wei, 2005), maladaptive perfectionism (Wei et al, 2004), and emotional reactivity (i.e., finding it difficult to remain calm when experiencing intense emotions) or emotional cutoff or closure (i.e., pulling away when one is experiencing intense emotions; Wei, Vogel, Ku, & Zakalik, 2005). One limitation of these studies is the use of cross-sectional research designs in which all of the measures were assessed at the same point in time, which limits our ability to draw causal inferences from the findings.…”

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confidence: 99%

Maladaptive perfectionism and ineffective coping as mediators between attachment and future depression: A prospective analysis.

Wei

Heppner

Russell

et al. 2006

123

This study used a longitudinal design to examine whether maladaptive perfectionism and ineffective coping served as 2 mediators of the relation between adult attachment and future depression. Data were collected from 372 undergraduates at 2 time points. Results indicated that (a) the impact of attachment on future depression was mediated through future maladaptive perfectionism and ineffective coping, (b) ineffective coping mediated the relation between maladaptive perfectionism and depression, and (c) maladaptive perfectionism and ineffective coping influenced each other at 1 point in time and across time, and, in turn, both variables contributed to depression. A bootstrap procedure was used to estimate the significance of these indirect effects. About 60% of the variance in future depression was explained in the final model. Future research, counseling implications, and limitations of the present study are discussed.