Three-dimensional attachment and psychological vulnerability: Mediation role of mental well-being

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research was to investigate the associations between attachment styles, mental well-being and psychological vulnerability. The sample comprised a total of 257 university students including 205 women (79.8%) and 52 men (20.2%). The ages of university students varied from 18 to 34 years [M_age= 21.37, SD  = 2.13]. The Process Macro (Model 4) application was used to test the mediation analysis. According to mediation analysis findings, secure attachment style (ab = −.20, SE = .05, 95% CI [−.31, −.09]), anxious-ambivalent attachment style (ab = .08, SE = .02, 95% CI [.04, .13]), and avoidant attachment style (ab = .08, SE = .02, 95% CI [.03, .14]) had significant indirect effects on psychological vulnerability. Additionally, mental well-being had full mediation role in the association between secure attachment style and psychological vulnerability, while mental well-being was determined to have partial mediation role in the associations between anxious-ambivalent and avoidant attachment styles with psychological vulnerability.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment styles
• Ainsworth’s attachment model
• mental well-being
• psychological vulnerability
• mediation analysis

Acknowledgement

This manuscript was presented as an oral presentation at the 8th International Scientific Research Congress in August 2020.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

All participants participated voluntarily and provided informed consent to participate in the present research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Evren Erzen

Evren Erzen is an assistant professor at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University. He earned his PhD in 2018 at Osmangazi University. He has many years of experience in counselling psychology. His interest includes attachment styles, well-being, phubbing.

Özkan Çikrikçi

Özkan Çıkrıkçı is an associate professor at Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University. He earned his PhD in 2015 at Ataturk University. He has many years of experience in counselling psychology and positive psychology. His research interest includes behaviour addictions, positive psychology, attachment styles, cognitive structures effecting well-being, metacognition.