The influence of adult attachment on symptom reporting: Testing a mediational model in a sample of the general population

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that adult attachment style affects symptom reporting, yet relatively little is known about the variables that mediate this relationship. Participants (N = 202) completed a series of measures designed to tap psychosocial variables associated with both attachment style and symptom reporting, namely, social support, self-esteem, positive affect, negative affect, and emotional expressivity. As predicted, people with secure attachment styles differed significantly from those with insecure attachment styles (i.e., avoidant and anxious/ambivalent) on all dependent variables. Negative affect was the principal mediator of the effects of secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent attachment styles on symptom reporting. The discussion focuses on the practical and theoretical implications of this work, and in particular on the role of negative affect on symptom reporting.