Adult Attachment, Loneliness, Covid-19 Risk Perception and Perceived Stress During Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has spread throughout the world, affecting the psychological well-being of individuals. Drawing on the attachment theory perspective, the present work sought to understand individual differences in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, analyzing the emotional and cognitive factors involved. A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the complex relationship between attachment anxiety and avoidance, loneliness, Covid-19 risk perception, and perceived stress during the Covid-19 pandemic. Seven hundred sixty-one participants were involved. Data were analyzed using path analysis. Consistent with attachment theory, results showed a direct relationship between attachment anxiety and perceived stress during the Covid 19 pandemic, mediated in part by loneliness and Covid 19 risk perception. Similarly, attachment avoidance was directly related to perceived stress during the Covid-19 pandemic;this relationship was partially mediated by loneliness but not by Covid-19 risk perception. Our results demonstrate the influence of adult attachment on perceived stress during the Covid-19 pandemic through its effect on emotional and cognitive variables, providing useful information for implementing interventions to promote individual well-being during these times of health emergency © 2022. by the Author(s);licensee Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, Messina, Italy. This article is an open access article, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License