Appraisal of and Coping with a Real-Life Stressful Situation: The Contribution of Attachment Styles

Abstract

The current study assesses the impact of attachment style on the ways young adults react to the stress of 4-month combat training. Ninety-two Israeli recruits completed an attachment scale at the beginning of the training. Their appraisal of the training their ways of coping with it, and peer evaluations of their leadership ability were assessed 4 months later. Compared with secure persons, ambivalent persons reported more emotion-focused coping, appraised the training in more threatening terms, appraised themselves as less capable of coping with the training, and were evaluated by their peers as less fitting for military leadership. Avoidant persons reported more distancing coping and less support seeking and appraised the training in more threatening terms. They did not differ from secure persons in the appraisal of their ability to cope with the training or in the nominations they received for leadership positions. Results are discussed in the framework of attachment theory.

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

“…The results suggest that persons with anxious and avoidant attachment appraise their coping capabilities across problems in general as more ineffective; these results are similar to the results found by Lopez et al (2001). Thus, adult attachment is related not only to situational styles of coping (e.g., Mikulincer & Florian, 1995) in the previous literature but also to more stable and dispositional styles of coping. Given the strong association between attachment and perceived coping found in this study, it may be helpful to increase a person's coping effectiveness in order to decrease his or her distress.…”

“…Previous research indicates that people with avoidant and anxious attachment rely on less constructive ways of coping than those relied on by secure persons (Mikulincer & Florian, 1995;Mikulincer et al, 1993). Several of the previous studies that linked attachment and coping have used situational coping assessments (e.g., the Ways of Coping Scale; Folkman & Lazarus, 1988).…”

Attachment and Autonomy During Adolescence

“…Thus, it is expected that attachment security would predict various intrapsychic outcomes such as self -esteem and self -efficacy, as well as identity and ego development. While there is some research with both child and adult samples to suggest links between attachment security and views of the self (Cassidy, 1988 ;Mikulincer & Florian, 1995, 1998, these topics have rarely been explored in adolescent samples. Further, results of existing studies are a bit mixed, and in part appear to depend on whether outcomes are assessed via self -reports versus peer reports or interview -based measures.…”

Parental Psychological Distress and Confidence After an Infant’s Birth: The Role of Attachment Representations in Parents of Infants with Congenital Anomalies and Parents of Healthy Infants

“…Individuals with secure working models tend to appraise stressful events as less threatening, to view themselves as more capable to cope with these events and to seek emotional and instrumental support (Mikulincer & Florian, 1995. Conversely, individuals with high scores in the Anxiety dimension tend to be excessively concerned (e.g., mental rumination, hypersensitivity) with their own distress and to overreact to their negative feelings to elicit support from others.…”

“…Conversely, individuals with high scores in the Anxiety dimension tend to be excessively concerned (e.g., mental rumination, hypersensitivity) with their own distress and to overreact to their negative feelings to elicit support from others. Individuals with high scores in the Avoidance dimension seek distance (at the cognitive and behavioral levels) from the stress-inducing event, appear less sensitive to the stressor, and avoid seeking emotional or instrumental support from others (Lopez & Brennan, 2000;Mikulincer & Florian, 1995.…”