The Relationship Between Attachment Styles, Emotion Regulation and Psychopathology Symptoms in Turkish and American Students

Abstract

Two samples of university students, one from Turkey and the other from the USA, were compared on measures of attachment styles, difficulties in emotional regulation and self-reported symptoms of psychopathology. Results indicated that for both samples the level of anxiety in attachment and the lack of strategies in emotional regulation predicted several symptoms of psychopathology. Differences emerged in demographic predictors with parents' educational level predicting many of the symptoms in the Turkish population while age was the major demographic predictor in the USA sample. The results suggest that attachment and emotional regulation are universal personality factors contributing to psychopathology across cultures. The collectivistic cultural framework of the Turkish sample showed greater significance to family factors in contrast to the individualistic cultural influences in the USA sample.Keywords: attachment, emotional regulation, psychopathology, cross-cultural Psychopathology is multi-faceted and the determination of its predictors allows for early identification of symptoms, treatment, and prevention. Two major factors that have been related to psychopathology are the capacity for emotional regulation and attachment style (Dozier, Stovall-McClough, & Albus, 2008;Gross, 2014). Manifestations of psychopathology are characterized by disturbances in numerous processes (i.e., attention, cognition, behavior) including dysfunctional emotional processes which are impacted by, and contribute to, difficulties in regulating emotions (Kring, 2008). Insecure attachment styles, formed in childhood, set patterns of maladaptive strategies for maintaining relationships with others that involve the regulation of emotional distress (Dozier et al., 2008). The cross cultural examination between Turkish and USA university students in this current study considers the distinctions and similarities in how these factors predict symptoms of psychopathology across diverse cultural frameworks.In the last two decades, there has been increased attention to emotion regulation and its positive relation with mental health

Attachment Style and Emotional Regulation as Protective and Risk Factors in Mutual Dating Violence among Youngsters: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…Although the above results regarding the influence of difficulties in emotional regulation and attachment styles on violence were expected, given the evidence that had previously linked these variables to violence [41][42][43][44][45][46][47][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68], the role of sexual orientation is noteworthy. In this regard, we can mention that, although violence in couple relationships can come from any person regardless their sexual orientation, recent studies focused on intimate partner relationships agree that heterosexual couples are characterized by a high prevalence of violence in both men and women [49][50][51].…”

“…These studies are consistent with our findings, which show a high prevalence of insecure attachment styles in subjects with emotional regulation difficulties. These facts seem to explain the connection found between difficulties in emotional regulation, violence and the presence of insecure attachment styles [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. Therefore, this combination of factors could translate into violent responses towards their partners when the aggressors feel that their attachment needs are not satisfied [ 68 ].…”

“…In this way, several authors have indicated that aggressive attitudes are correlated with low levels of emotional regulation, while the absence of violent behavior is associated with greater emotional regulation. Likewise, they point out that difficulties in emotional regulation cause not only various health problems, but they also negatively affect cognitive processes and behavior, facts that can finally lead to the development of different psychopathologies [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ].…”

The Associations Between Attachment Insecurity and Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder or Problematic Pornography Use: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties

“…Consequently, its significance results from the dependence of CSBD and PPU symptoms on cultural factors (Bőthe et al, 2023). Not only are attachment (Keller, 2013;Rothbaum et al, 2000;van Ijzendoorn & Sagi-Schwartz, 2008) and emotion regulation abilities (Keller & Otto, 2009;Matsumoto et al, 2008) sensitive to cultural differences in socialization, but also relationships between attachment, emotion regulation, and psychopathological symptoms can differ in various cultural contexts (Vatan & Pellitteri, 2016;Wang et al, 2022).…”

Emotion regulation strategies and the two-dimensional model of adult attachment: a pilot study

“…Given that various investigations have shown that emotional regulation difficulties and high levels of attachment insecurity underlie various health problems (Hu et al, 2014), it is important to conduct research in the areas of emotion regulation and attachment. Moreover, maladaptive strategies in managing emotional arousal can negatively affect cognitive processes and behavior which can lead to the development of psychopathology (Vatan and Pellitteri, 2016). For example, a deficiency in emotion regulation strategies and an anxious attachment style can predict psychopathological symptoms and adaptive problems.…”