Adult attachment and mental health : the mediation role of emotion regulation

It is well established in the literature that attachment style is related to mental health. However, theory and research suggest that attachment style does not exert its influence on adults’ mental health directly, but rather that it influences mental health due to its influence on a number of mediating variables. The current study tested the hypothesis that emotion regulation mediates the link between adult attachment and mental health. Five hundred and eighty-five college undergraduates completed an online survey consisting of measures of attachment style, rumination, experiential avoidance, perspective taking, distress, and wellbeing. Structural equation models tested hypotheses and perspective taking partially mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and distress. With replications, these findings suggest promoting adaptive emotion regulation strategies in anxiously attached adults.