AI Article Synopsis
- An insecure attachment style can increase the risk of psychological problems, particularly during stressful events like the COVID-19 pandemic, as found in a study involving Italian participants.
- The research showed that loneliness and COVID-19-related anxiety symptoms play a mediating role between insecure attachment styles and mental health issues.
- The findings emphasize the need for effective prevention and intervention strategies that address attachment styles and their effects on mental health during crises.
Article Abstract
Background: An insecure attachment style is an important risk factor for psychological problems. The aim of this study was to use Bartholomew and Horowitz's model (Bartholomew and Horowitz in J Pers Soc Psychol 61(2): 226, 2019) to test a sample of Italian individuals to determine the mediation role of loneliness and COVID-19-related anxiety symptoms in the relationship between attachment styles and mental health issues in the context of the pandemic.
Method: A cross-sectional research study was conducted using a sample of 330 Italian participants (82.1% women; mean age = 34.3 years; SD = 13.16) who completed online self-reported measures of attachment styles (RQ), loneliness (RULS), COVID-19-related anxiety symptoms (C-19ASS) and mental health problems (GHQ-12). Serial mediation analyses were performed, and bootstrap tests were included.
Results: Our results supported the hypothesized model with respect to each attachment style (p < 0.001). In particular, insecure attachment styles predict mental health problems both directly and indirectly, through loneliness and COVID-19-related anxiety symptoms. In addition, loneliness directly influences mental health problems and also mediates the relationship between insecure attachment styles and COVID-19-related anxiety symptoms which, in turn, positively predict mental health problems.
Conclusions: Our findings reinforce the importance of attachment in people's processes of adapting to experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. The study makes an important contribution to developing effective prevention and intervention strategies to support people's wellbeing in the context of the pandemic.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8919140 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00767-y | DOI Listing |
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