Relationship between attachment, emotion regulation and symptoms of depression and anxiety

Teorija privrženosti izvorno je nastala s ciljem opisivanja emocionalne veze roditelj-dijete, no u zadnje se vrijeme sve više koristi kao osnova za istraživanje psiholoških procesa poput emocionalne regulacije te simptoma psihopatologije. Internalni radni modeli osnova su za kasnije odnose te, osim što utječu na percepciju sebe i drugih, utječu na otpornost i ranjivost pojedinca na stresne životne događaje, a time na blagostanje i mentalno zdravlje. Osim privrženosti, emocionalna regulacija značajno doprinosi razumijevanju razvoja psihopatologije. Prijašnja su istraživanja utvrdila kako nesigurna privrženost i određene strategije emocionalne regulacije značajno doprinose anksioznosti i depresivnosti. Ipak, nije sasvim jasno je li ova veza izravna, ili emocionalna regulacija posreduje u odnosu privrženosti i navedenih simptoma. S obzirom na važnost utvrđivanja čimbenika i mehanizama koji dovode do negativnih ishoda poput anksioznosti i depresije, cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati odnos privrženosti, emocionalne regulacije i simptoma anksioznosti i depresivnosti. Provjereni su međuodnosi navedenih konstrukata, te se metodom strukturalnog modeliranja (SEM) provjerila posredujuća uloga emocionalne regulacije (supresije i reprocjene) u odnosu privrženosti (dimenzije izbjegavanja i anksioznosti) i distresa (simptoma depresivnosti, anksioznosti i stresa). Istraživanje je provedeno na 250 studenata/studentica (149 djevojaka i 101 mladić) različitih fakulteta u Hrvatskoj, prosječne dobi 22 godine. Primijenjeni su sljedeći mjerni instrumenti: Modificirana verzija Brennanovog Inventara iskustava u bliskim vezama, Upitnik strukture veza, Upitnik emocionalne regulacije, Kognitivna emocionalna regulacija te Skala depresivnosti, anksioznosti i stresa – skraćena verzija. Rezultati ovog istraživanja pokazali su značajnu pozitivnu povezanost dimenzija privrženosti i simptoma emocionalnog distresa, kao i povezanost određenih strategija emocionalne regulacije i navedenih simptoma. Rezultati također upućuju na zaključak da nesigurno privržene osobe u manjoj mjeri koriste adaptivne strategije emocionalne regulacije te se više oslanjaju na maladaptivne. Nadalje, utvrđeno je kako supresija kao strategija emocionalne regulacije u potpunosti posreduje vezu izbjegavajuće privrženosti i distresa, dok anksiozna privrženost ima izravan doprinos simptomima distresa.Attachment theory was originally formulated to describe and explain infant – parent emotional bonding, but recently it has been used as a foundation to explore the psychological processes such as emotion regulation and symptoms of psychopathology. Internal working models are the basis for later relationships and, in addition to affecting the perception of self and others, they affect the resilience and vulnerability of the individual to stressful life events and thus the well-being and mental health. Besides attachment, emotion regulation plays an important role to understanding development of psychopathology. Previous studies have found that insecure attachment and certain strategies of emotion regulation significantly contribute to anxiety and depression. However, it is less clear if there is a direct relation, or whether emotion regulation helps explain the relation between attachment dimensions and emotional distress. Given the importance of determining factors and mechanisms that lead to negative outcomes such as anxiety and depression, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of attachment, emotion regulation and symptoms of anxiety and depression. This study examined interrelations of those contructs. Furthermore, by using structural equation modeling (SEM), we examined emotion regulation (reappraisal and suppression) as a mediator between adult attachment (anxiety and avoidance) and psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress). 250 students (149 girls, 101 boys) from Croatia universities participated in this study, average age of 22 years. Participants were asked to complete The Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory, Relationship Structures Questionnaire, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and The short-form version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Results of this study showed a significant positive correlation between the dimensions of attachment and symptoms of emotional distress, as well as the connection of certain strategies of emotion regulation and these symptoms. Results also suggest that insecurely attached individuals rely on maladaptive, rather than adaptive strategies of emotion regulation. Furthermore, it was found that suppression as an emotion regulation strategy fully mediated the relation between attachment avoidance and distress, while anxious attachment had a direct contribution to the symptoms of distress