Attachment Styles, Perceived Stress and Social Support in a Malaysian Young Adults Sample

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the validity of an adult attachment style questionnaire, to understand the relationships between the type of attachment style in relation to self-perceived stress and social support, and to investigate the influence of gender, ethnicity and religion on the above constructs. The participants were 308 university students from Malaysia. A demographic questionnaire and three self-report inventories were administrated in this study. The data indicated that the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ) is a multidimensional construct with nine factors: “dismissing,” “preoccupied with romance,” “preoccupied with close relationships,” “fearful,” “preoccupied with dependency,” “secure emotional,” “comfortable depending,” “preoccupied with mistrust” and “mutual secure.” Different attachment styles were positively or negatively correlated at a significant level with perceived stress and social support. Attachment styles were explained by 20 and 33% of the total variance in self-perceived stress and perceived social support, respectively. There were significant gender, ethnic and religious differences in attachment styles, perceived stress and social support.

Evaluation of Attachment Style and Social Support in Patients With Severe Migraine. Applications in Doctor-Patient Relationships and Treatment Adherence

“…Study of social support according to the four attachment styles reveals that there is no significant difference in terms of quality: patients with a secure attachment style do not have a better quality of social support than patients with dismissing, preoccupied or fearful attachment styles ( Tables 5 , 6 ). This is surprising because a previous study reported that perception of social support may depend on attachment style ( 16 ). We had therefore initially expected patients with a secure attachment style to be more satisfied with their perceived social support.…”

“…To our knowledge, our study is the first to evaluate attachment style in migraine patients using the four categories defined using the RSQ. We hope to use this categorization to better understand the expectations the patient has of their consultation, the factors that influence the doctor/patient relationship, treatment adherence and the patient's way of reporting symptoms (16)(17)(18)(19)(20).…”

“…It has also been reported in literature that attachment style and social support are linked. In the study by Khodarahimi et al ( 16 ), perceived social support was positively or negatively correlated to the attachment depending on the style. For example, social support was positively associated with a secure attachment style and negatively correlated with a preoccupied attachment style.…”

Attachment, Religiosity, and Perceived Stress Among Religious Minorities During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Impact of Cultural Context

“…In Pakistan specifically, similar to Western countries, parental attachment has been found to be correlate of mental health, particularly depression and anxiety (Khalid et al, 2018;Zia & Shahzad, 2019). Importantly, when considered together, attachment to parents, attachment to God, and religiosity have significant predictive value, above and beyond most demographic variables, for perceived stress in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures (Khodarahimi et al, 2016;Reiner et al, 2010). Therefore, this study aims to elucidate the levels of perceived stress among adult Christian minorities in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic and to ascertain the predictive value of demographic variables, religiosity, attachment to parents, and attachment to God, on their perception of stress.…”

Attachment, Rejection Sensitivity, Support, Psychological Capital and Alcohol Dependency in Students

“…In adults social support is perhaps the key mediator of stress and trauma on mental health and wellbeing (Taylor, 2011). Insecure attachment interacts with ineffective support seeking in couples leading to problems in relationships (Khodarahimi, Hashim, & Mohd-Zaharim, 2016;McLeod, Berry, Hodgson, & Wearden, 2020). Social support is a key element of any intervention to change problem drinking behaviour (McGaffin, Deane, Kelly, & Blackman, 2018) and is also implicated as a causal factor in alcohol abuse (Hamdan-Mansour, 2016).…”