Parental Attachment Predicting Emotions and Stress During Positive Life Events.

Camden, Abigail A.; Hughes, Jennifer L.

Relationships with parents such as those addressed in attachment theory can dictate emotion processing and perception of situations. Namely, insecure parental attachment (i.e., higher attachment-based anxiety and avoidance scores; Fraley, Heffernan, Vicary, & Brumbaugh, 2011b) can compromise emotion regulation and affect. However, although previous attachment research has addressed emotions during daily positive events (Gentzler, Kerns, & Keener, 2010), to our knowledge no studies have evaluated participants' attachment in relation to their emotions during major positive life events that involve their parents (e.g., a wedding or holiday). Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate this and extend previous research (Gentzler & Kerns, 2006; Gentzler et al., 2010; Sheinbaum et al., 2015). This is important because major positive life events might solidify internal working models of attachment. Additionally, secure attachment and savoring positive emotions correlate with well-being. Participants (N = 310; Mage = 31.26) completed measures of attachment (i.e., attachment-based anxiety and avoidance) and emotions (e.g., joy, stress) in positive life events involving parents. Results of multiple hierarchical regression showed that insecure attachment predicted decreased joy (p < .001) and increased stress (p < .001) for positive events, after controlling for gender and age. Similarly, for imagined future events, insecure attachment predicted less positive emotions (p < .001) and more negative emotions (p < .001). These results imply that parental attachment can negatively impact positive emotions such as joy during positive life events. Implications and applications are discussed.

ATTACHMENT behavior in children; PARENTAL influences; PARENT-child relationships; EMOTIONS in children; CHILD behavior

Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 2018, Vol 23, Issue 2, p119

2164-8204

Academic Journal

10.24839/2325-7342.JN23.2.119