The mediating role of psychological resilience, anger, and hostility in university students’ attachment styles and life satisfaction

Abstract

This study examined the function of psychological resilience, anger, and hostility as mediators in the connection between attachment styles and life satisfaction among university students in Turkey. The sample size of the study was 326 university students, consisting of 218 (66.9 %) females and 108 (33.1 %) males. The mean age was 21.4 and the standard deviation of the statistic for their age was 2.7. The distribution of the sample according to grade level was as follows: first year, 92 (28.2 %) second, 152 (46.6 %) third, 46 (14.1 %) and fourth, 36 (11.1 %). The Three-Dimensional Attachment Styles Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Brief Psychological Resilience Scale, and Symptom Screening List were used to collect data. The study’s findings indicate that secure attachment, anxious attachment, psychological resilience, anger, and hostility are statistically significant determinants of life satisfaction. Bootstrapping analysis revealed that psychological resilience, as well as anger and hostility, partially mediated the association between secure and anxious attachment styles and life satisfaction. These results improve our understanding of the underlying mechanisms between attachment styles and life satisfaction by considering the roles of hostility and psychological resilience. We can design prevention and intervention programs to enhance psychological resilience and reduce hostility, thereby reducing the impact of anxious attachment on life satisfaction. Similarly, interventions to increase the impact of secure attachment on life satisfaction can focus on developing psychological resilience and reducing hostility.