Trauma Coping Self-Efficacy Mediates Associations Between Adult Attachment and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms.

Charles C. Benight,Margaret Morison

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.799608

Charles C. Benight, Margaret Morison

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.799608

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Abstract

Attachment orientations reflect individuals’ expectations for interpersonal relationships and influence emotion regulation strategies and coping. Previous research has documented that anxious and avoidant attachment orientations have deleterious effects on the trauma recovery process leaving these survivors vulnerable to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, avoidant attachment may be more complicated. Prior work has also found those high in avoidant attachment but also low in anxious attachment (i.e., dismissing) may not experience such vulnerabilities. Further, avoidant attachment individuals often report higher self-efficacy than their anxiously attached counterparts. The present study examined trauma coping self-efficacy (CSE-T) as a previously unexamined mechanism of action between adult attachment and PTSD symptoms. Structural equation modeling results showed that anxious attachment was associated with lower CSE-T and greater PTSD symptoms six weeks later. Further, a significant indirect effect of anxious attachment on PTSD symptoms through CSE-T was found. Contrary to hypotheses, avoidant attachment also exhibited an indirect effect on PTSD symptoms through CSE-T, such that avoidant attachment was associated with lower CSE-T, which in turn, was associated with greater PTSD symptoms. Also contrary to hypotheses, the interaction between anxious and avoidant attachment was not significantly associated with either CSE-T or PTSD symptoms. Results suggest that both anxious and avoidant attachment orientations contribute to poor self-regulation following trauma, as they undermine perceptions of trauma coping self-efficacy.

Highlights

Caregiving relationships influence how individuals self-regulate in the face of potential threats and remain influential into adulthood (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2016)
In this paper we argue that perceptions of coping self-efficacy (CSE) in dealing with the initial trauma and the recovery process is a key mechanism by which posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms alleviate or worsen during recovery (Benight and Bandura, 2004)
There is no test to differentiate between Missing At Random (MAR) and Not Missing At Random (NMAR), age was included as an auxiliary variable in the structural equation model (SEM) in order to satisfy the assumptions of MAR (Enders, 2010)

Summary

Introduction

Caregiving relationships influence how individuals self-regulate in the face of potential threats and remain influential into adulthood (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2016). Given the relationship between attachment orientations and the regulation of distress, researchers have examined the association between adult attachment and trauma adaptation. Researchers have suggested that the perceived (and often objective) threat faced by trauma survivors elicits the retrieval of preexisting attachment representations that differ depending on previous experiences one has with close relationships (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2016). The current literature does not provide a clear understanding of how attachment styles influence both initial reactions to trauma as well as Trauma Coping Self-Efficacy Mediates Associations posttraumatic adaptation over time. Different levels of CSE perceptions across attachment orientations and the potential mediating role of CSE have yet to be examined.

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