{"title":"Adult attachment style, perceived social support, and post-traumatic stress among female victims of sexual assault","authors":"Liza Zvi, Avia Rachimi","doi":"10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100481","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The present study aimed to investigate the interplay between adult attachment style, perceived social support, and post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms among adult female victims of sexual assault)SA(. While prior research has established the link between insecure attachment style and PTS, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. The potential role of perceived social support as a mediator in this relationship has been largely neglected and there is a dearth of studies investigating this mediation among victims of SA. The present study sought to address this gap in literature. Two hundred twenty-six women who have endured SA completed self-report measures of attachment style, perceived social support, and PTS, using an online survey. The results confirmed the anticipated pattern, showing a positive correlation between insecure attachment styles and PTS, as well as a negative correlation with perceived social support. A mediation analysis indicated that perceived social support may be a mechanism linking attachment styles to PTS. Following SA, insecurely attached women, especially those with avoidant attachment, have difficulties relying on and utilizing support from their environment, which may render them more susceptible to PTS. Nevertheless, the mediation was partial, indicating that attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance independently contribute to the development and maintenance of PTS.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47673,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1697260024000462/pdfft?md5=9ebe6e1394dfe71f233c9b5c64442a81&pid=1-s2.0-S1697260024000462-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1697260024000462","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the interplay between adult attachment style, perceived social support, and post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms among adult female victims of sexual assault)SA(. While prior research has established the link between insecure attachment style and PTS, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. The potential role of perceived social support as a mediator in this relationship has been largely neglected and there is a dearth of studies investigating this mediation among victims of SA. The present study sought to address this gap in literature. Two hundred twenty-six women who have endured SA completed self-report measures of attachment style, perceived social support, and PTS, using an online survey. The results confirmed the anticipated pattern, showing a positive correlation between insecure attachment styles and PTS, as well as a negative correlation with perceived social support. A mediation analysis indicated that perceived social support may be a mechanism linking attachment styles to PTS. Following SA, insecurely attached women, especially those with avoidant attachment, have difficulties relying on and utilizing support from their environment, which may render them more susceptible to PTS. Nevertheless, the mediation was partial, indicating that attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance independently contribute to the development and maintenance of PTS.
本研究旨在调查成年女性性侵犯(SA)受害者的成人依恋风格、感知到的社会支持和创伤后应激反应(PTS)症状之间的相互作用。 虽然先前的研究已经确定了不安全依恋风格和创伤后应激反应之间的联系,但对其背后的机制还不甚了解。在这一关系中,感知到的社会支持作为中介的潜在作用在很大程度上被忽视了,而且在性侵害受害者中调查这种中介作用的研究也非常缺乏。本研究试图填补这一文献空白。226 名经历过 SA 的女性通过在线调查完成了依恋风格、感知社会支持和创伤后应激障碍的自我报告测量。结果证实了预期的模式,显示出不安全依恋风格与创伤后应激障碍之间的正相关,以及与感知到的社会支持之间的负相关。中介分析表明,感知到的社会支持可能是连接依恋风格和创伤后应激障碍的机制。在SA之后,不安全依恋女性,尤其是那些具有回避型依恋的女性,很难依赖和利用来自环境的支持,这可能会使她们更容易受到创伤后应激障碍的影响。尽管如此,这种中介作用是部分的,表明依恋焦虑和依恋回避独立地导致了创伤后应激障碍的发展和维持。
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology is dedicated to publishing manuscripts with a strong emphasis on both basic and applied research, encompassing experimental, clinical, and theoretical contributions that advance the fields of Clinical and Health Psychology. With a focus on four core domains—clinical psychology and psychotherapy, psychopathology, health psychology, and clinical neurosciences—the IJCHP seeks to provide a comprehensive platform for scholarly discourse and innovation. The journal accepts Original Articles (empirical studies) and Review Articles. Manuscripts submitted to IJCHP should be original and not previously published or under consideration elsewhere. All signing authors must unanimously agree on the submitted version of the manuscript. By submitting their work, authors agree to transfer their copyrights to the Journal for the duration of the editorial process.