The Relationships between attachment dimensions and affect in adulthood: The mediating effects of psychological flexibility

Abstract

This research was conducted during the state of emergency in response to coronavirus pandemic with the aim to further examine the relationships between attachment dimensions – attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance – and affect and to test the mediating role of psychological flexibility in these relationships. The sample which was obtained by using the snowball sampling method consists of 1515 adults from the Republic of Srpska, entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (70.4% females) aged between 18 and 65 who filled an online questionnaire battery. Attachment dimensions were measured by the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), affect by the Negative and Positive Affect Scale (NAPAS), and psychological flexibility by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II). The results indicate that attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance correlate positively with the negative affect and correlate negatively with the positive affect. Furthermore, the results showed that the relationships between attachment dimensions and negative affect can be explained through psychological flexibility – higher values of attachment dimensions contribute to lower psychological flexibility, which then leads to higher negative affect. The obtained findings have been considered in the light of theoretical and practical importance.