Attachment, Social Competencies, Social Support, and Psychological Distress.

Abstract

In this survey study of 430 undergraduates, elements of the social competencies and interpersonal processes model (B. Mallinckrodt, 2000) were tested. Two social competencies were hypothesized to mediate the direct effects of 2 independent variables, attachment anxiety and avoidance, on 2 outcomes, psychological distress and perceived social support. Social self-efficacy was expected to be a significant mediator only for attachment anxiety. Emotional awareness, construed as low levels of alexithymia, was expected to be a significant mediator only for attachment avoidance. A bootstrap method was used to estimate the significance of indirect effects. Structural equation analyses suggested that, instead of specialized significant parings of one mediator with one independent variable, both social self-efficacy and emotional awareness served as significant mediators for both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance.

The mediating roles of anticipated risks, anticipated benefits, and attitudes on the decision to seek professional help: An attachment perspective.

“…Factor analysis of the ISCI supports the existence of three subscales within the measure, labeled Psychological and Interpersonal Concerns (10 items; ␣ ϭ .90), Academic Concerns (4 items; ␣ ϭ .71), and Drug Use Concerns (2 items; ␣ ϭ .86), with correlations among the subscales ranging from .18 to .50 (Cepeda-Benito & Short, 1998). For the current study, only the Psychological and Interpersonal Concerns subscale (covering such topics as loneliness, depression, and inferiority feelings) was used, as attachment dimensions are significantly related to psychological distress (e.g., Lopez, Mitchell, & Gormley, 2002;Mallinckrodt & Wei, 2005), depression (e.g., Wei, Mallinckrodt, Russell, & Abraham, 2004), and loneliness and interpersonal distress (e.g., Wei, Russell et al, 2005) and, as previously stated, today's college students are increasingly concerned by psychological and interpersonal issues. Scale responses are summed, with higher scores indicating a greater likelihood of seeking counseling for psychological and interpersonal concerns.…”

Validation of the French Version of the Experiences in Close Relationships– Revised (ECR-R) Adult Romantic Attachment Questionnaire

“…Studies have shown that attachment insecurity is linked with a lower satisfaction with sexual activities and a greater fear of sexual activities (Brassard, Shaver, & Lussier, 2007;Davis et al, 2006;Rogers, Bidwell, & Wilson, 2005). The FRENCH VALIDATION OF THE ECR-R 6 third variable was a sense of self-worth and competence, as this has been repeatedly shown to be associated with attachment: The more anxious the individuals, the lower their self-esteem, while the more avoidant the individuals, the higher their self-esteem, as part of the avoidant strategy is to enhance self-reliance (Mallinckrodt & Wei, 2005;Schmitt & Allik, 2005).…”

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

“…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 .…”