A meta-analytic review of the relationship between attachment styles and posttraumatic growth

Overcoming the civil wars: the role of attachment styles between the impact of war and psychological symptoms and post-traumatic growth among Libyan citizens

Background: Civil wars in Libya have impacted the mental health of the general population. The ways in which individuals cope with traumatic events are influenced by several psychological variables.Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate how post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are associated with psychological symptoms and post-traumatic growth (PTG), and to evaluate the role of avoidant and anxious attachment dimensions as mediators in these associations, among Libyan citizens.Method: Three-hundred participants (147 females; age 31.0 ± 8.4 years) completed the Impact of Event Scale - Revised, Experiences in Close Relationships, Patient Health Questionnaire, and Post-traumatic Growth Inventory - Short Form.Results: The structural equation model revealed that insecure attachment dimensions mediated the association between PTSS and psychological symptoms and PTG. PTSS were positively associated with psychological symptoms, PTG, and both insecure attachment dimensions. Insecure attachment dimensions were positively associated with psychological symptoms and negatively with PTG.Conclusion: The present findings contribute to growing empirical research on the roles of insecure attachment dimensions in the association between the impact of war, psychological symptoms, and PTG.

The religious faith item of the Spanish Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and its Short Form (PTGI-SF): challenges and solutions

Background: The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and its Short Form (PTGI-SF) are two instruments highly used in research on posttraumatic growth. They include a religious growth item that has been demonstrated to be problematic in cultures that are not very religious. Previous research has addressed this issue in other countries, but no attention has been paid to this critical problem in Spanish samples.Objective: Our aim is to address the psychometric issues presented by the religious growth item in Spain.Method: To do so, we reviewed several studies conducted with various populations in Spain.Results: The scores of the religious growth item in Spain present very low means and standard deviations, as well as high skewness and kurtosis, all of which point to a floor effect. The item scores show low item-test correlations, and it has failed to load on a specific dimension in factor analyses, thus casting doubts about its validity.Conclusions: The inventory does not seem to work properly in its current form in Spain. The inappropriateness of the item measuring religious growth in Spain may be due to cultural reasons. We recommend using the PTGI expanded version (PTGI-X) instead of the PTGI and exploring the possible substitution of the religious growth item in the PTGI-SF for an alternative item. In both cases, ascertaining the psychometric properties of the scores in Spain will be necessary.

Insecure attachment styles as predictors of posttraumatic growth in a South African student sample

South Africa, as a developing country, is characterized by high levels of crime, partner violence, and other traumatic experiences. Exposure to these traumas may lead to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder or, conversely, post-traumatic growth. Citizens in developing African countries appear to be at risk for the development of insecure attachment styles due to the cumulative effects of socio-economic risk factors. The prevalence of many possible traumatic experiences along with the risk of more insecure attachments set the stage for investigating the impact of insecure attachment on post-traumatic growth. The aim of this study was thus to determine whether two insecure attachment styles, namely anxious and avoidant attachment, were significant predictors of post-traumatic growth. The sample consisted of 233 undergraduate students from a South African university who had experienced a traumatic event. Participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 33 years ( M = 21 years) and were from various ethnic backgrounds (81.5% Black African, 7.7% White, 9% Coloured, and 3.9% Asian/Indian). Two self-report measures were administered via an online survey to assess attachment styles and post-traumatic growth. Results showed that an anxious attachment style was a significant negative predictor of post-traumatic growth. Furthermore, individuals with an avoidant attachment style were significantly less likely to experience post-traumatic growth through relating to others, than along the other domains of post-traumatic growth. The findings contribute by highlighting the importance of considering how insecure attachment styles may impact post-traumatic growth, as this could inform the treatment of trauma victims.

Attachment and Mental Health in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Posttraumatic Growth and Religion as Moderators

Consistent with the teachings in various religious traditions of finding meaning amidst suffering, we suspected that Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) would have a buffering effect on attachment insecurity and psychosocial outcomes. We examined the effects of anxious and avoidant attachment, PTG, and religion on psychosocial outcomes (i.e., anxiety, depression, and loneliness). Data from 466 participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and a college student sample revealed that PTG served as a moderator between anxious attachment and (a) depression and (b) loneliness, and (c) PTG buffered the relationship between anxious attachment and anxiety to a greater extent among Christians, compared to non-Christians. On the other hand, (a) PTG did not moderate the link between attachment avoidance and depression, (b) PTG exacerbated the relationship between attachment avoidance and anxiety, and (c) PTG buffered the association between attachment avoidance and loneliness for non-Christians, but this link was amplified for Christians. We discuss the findings that PTG interacted with religion and offered protective effects for anxious (but not avoidant) attachment. Factors that may have contributed to the difference between the two attachment styles are discussed, along with implications from cultural-religious and adult attachment frameworks.