Attachment and Hurt Feelings: Mediation Model Predicting Long-Term Effects on the Victim

Hurtful events in romantic relationships can have substantial effects on victims and on the couple bond. The current study investigated the associations of attachment dimensions with conceptually relevant variables, as well as testing a mediation model predicting the long-term effects of hurtful events on the individual who identifies as the victim. Participants (N = 127) were asked to provide a written description of an event in which their partner had hurt their feelings, and then to answer questions measuring their perceptions of that event, along with other variables of interest on a survey. The hypothesised relationships amongst attachment anxiety and hurt-proneness, rejection sensitivity, rumination and neuroticism were supported; however, after controlling for neuroticism, only the associations with rejection sensitivity and rumination remained significant. Further, the associations of attachment avoidance with rejection sensitivity, suppression and low extraversion were also significant, although only the association with suppression remained significant after controlling for extraversion. For the mediation analyses, results indicated that the association between attachment anxiety and long-term effects on the victim was explained partially by immediate victim responses of soft emotion, negative self-perceptions, sense of rejection and sense of powerlessness, as predicted. However, contrary to prediction, attachment avoidance did not have a direct path to long-term effects on the victim, or indirect paths via low levels of soft emotion or negative self-perception. The results suggest that hurt is a multifaceted experience, with dimensions of attachment security and immediate emotional and cognitive reactions all affecting the long-term effects of hurtful events. The results highlight the complexity of hurt feelings, and future research should examine possible moderators of the relationships between attachment dimensions and long-term effects of hurtful events on the victim