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Attachment, Emotion Regulation and Coping in Portuguese Emerging Adults: A Test of a Mediation Hypothesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Joana Cabral ,
Paula M. Matos ,
Wim Beyers  and
Bart Soenens
Joana Cabral*
Affiliation:
Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
Paula M. Matos
Affiliation:
Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
Wim Beyers
Affiliation:
University of Gent (Belgium)
Bart Soenens
Affiliation:
University of Gent (Belgium)
*
Corresponding concerning this article should be addressed to Joana Cabral. E-mail: cabral.jo@gmail.com
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Abstract

Although the quality of parent-adolescent emotional bonds has consistently been proposed as a major influence on young adult's psycho-emotional functioning, the precise means by which these bonds either facilitate or impede adaptive coping are not well-understood. In an effort to advance this inquiry, the present study examined interrelationships among measures of parental attachment, emotion regulation processes, and preferred coping strategies within a sample of 942 college freshmen. Structural Equation Modelling was used to test whether the link between attachment to parents and the use of particular coping strategies is mediated by differences in emotion regulation mechanisms. As hypothesized, differences in attachment to parents predicted differences in the use of emotion regulation mechanisms and coping strategies. More specifically, having a close emotional bond, feeling supported in autonomy processes and having (moderately) low levels of separation anxiety toward parents predict more constructive emotion regulation mechanisms and coping strategies. Additionally emotion regulation was found to (partly or totally) mediate the association between attachment and coping.

Aunque la calidad de los lazos emocionales entre padres y adolescentes siempre ha sido propuesta como una importante influencia en el funcionamiento psico-emocional del adulto joven, los mecanismos precisos por los cuales estos lazos facilitan o impiden el afrontamiento adaptativo no son bien conocidos. En un esfuerzo por avanzar en esta indagación, el presente estudio examinó las interrelaciones entre las medidas de apego parental, los procesos de regulación emocional, y las estrategias preferidas de afrontamiento en una muestra de 942 estudiantes de primer año de universidad. Para probar si la relación entre el apego a los padres y el uso de determinadas estrategias de afrontamiento está mediada por las diferencias en los mecanismos de regulación emocional, se utilizaran Modelos de Ecuaciones Estructurales. Como fue hipotetizado, las diferencias en el apego a los progenitores se demostraron predictivas de diferencias en el uso de los mecanismos de regulación emocional y estrategias de afrontamiento. Más específicamente, tener un vínculo afectivo cercano con los padres, sentir su apoyo en los procesos de autonomía y sentir niveles (moderadamente) bajos de ansiedad de separación hacia los progenitores, son condiciones predictivas de mecanismos de regulación emocional y estrategias de afrontamiento más constructivos. Además, se encontró en la regulación emocional un mediador (total o parcial) para la asociación entre el apego y el afrontamiento.

Keywords

attachment to parentscopingemotion regulationemerging adultsstructural equations modellingapego a los padresafrontamientoregulación emocionaladultos emergentesmodelos de ecuaciones estructurales
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 1000 - 1012
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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