Predicting change in relationship distress and depressive symptoms among couples in Taiwan: The role of attachment, emotional expressivity, and gender roles in Emotionally Focused Therapy

This pilot study examined predictors of change in relationship distress and depressive symptoms over the course of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) in a one-arm, pragmatic clinical trial of 17 couples in Taiwan. Results revealed that masculine ideology, feminine ideology, traditionalism, and emotional expressivity at intake predicted change in relationship distress. Specifically, women's high traditional gender roles and traditionalism and both partners' high emotional expressivity at intake were associated with decreases in relationship distress over time. In addition, attachment and emotional expressivity predicted change in depressive symptoms. Specifically, high attachment avoidance, high attachment anxiety, and high emotional expressivity at intake were associated with decreases in depressive symptoms over time. While more research is needed, these findings offer preliminary support for the types of partners who may experience more improvement after receiving EFT in Taiwan.

Maternal and Paternal Attachment Patterns in Pakistani Internet Users During COVID-19

With ever-growing Internet penetration and increasing numbers of social media applications, the apprehensions around problematic use of the Internet among young adults are rising. Among the determinants of problematic Internet use (PIU), parental attachment toward both fathers and mothers is considered significant. However, research in Pakistan, despite growing numbers of Internet users, is either insufficient or methodologically challenged. This study aims to address these gaps by using improved methodology to study PIU and parental attachment among young adults while also accounting for the impact of psychological distress due to COVID-19. Using a correlational quantitative research design, we recruited a total of 142 young adults (>18 years) residing in Pakistan, with no previous psychiatric history, who were asked to complete the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale-2, Experiences in Closed Relationships-Relationships Structures scale, and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-10 (K10). Results showed that psychological distress had a significant positive association with PIU and paternal attachment had a significant positive association with PIU. Regression analysis showed that only duration of Internet use and psychological distress were significant predictors in the model and that parental attachment was nonsignificant. Furthermore, securely attached individuals reported significantly less psychological distress than those with fearful-avoidant and dismissive attachment styles. Therefore, our results show that general parental attachments are associated with psychological distress and psychological distress is associated with PIU. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Development and Validity Test of Social Attachment Multidimensional Scale

Social attachment can explain well the bond between users and social media, but existing research lacks measures of social attachment scales. To this end, this study takes attachment theory as the basis for scale development. On the basis of the development of multidimensional scales for adult, brand, and local attachment, it combines existing relevant studies on social attachment, selects three representative social media such as TikTok, WeChat, and MicroBlog as theoretical samples, explores the concept and structure of social attachment, and develops a social attachment scale through qualitative interviews and open-ended questionnaires. This study applied SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 7.0 to test the social attachment scale. The findings reveal that social attachment consists of three constructs: social connection, social dependence and social identity, and the scale possesses high reliability and validity. This study has developed and validated a social attachment scale in the context of social software use, realizing a quantitative study of social attachment and providing a basis for future empirical research related to social attachment.

Validating the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Scale among Chinese Children and Adolescents

The Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures (ECR-RS) scale is designed to capture attachment among diverse relational contexts (e.g., parents, friends). Although the ECR-RS has begun to be applied to children and adolescents, its psychometric properties among children and adolescents are not well-known, especially concerning second-order structural validity, measurement invariance, and longitudinal predictive validity. To fill this gap, the current research examined the ECR-RS among 3,184 Chinese students (9- to 18-year old) using cross-sectional and longitudinal (6 months) data. The results demonstrated generally acceptable composite and test-retest reliabilities, and acceptable second-order structural validity. In addition, the measurement invariance of the ECR-RS held across time, relational contexts, and school levels to varying degrees. Furthermore, using a partial invariance model, we depicted the cross-sectional trajectory of attachment scores across relational contexts and school levels. Finally, attachment was associated concurrently with the Big-Five personality traits in theoretically meaningful ways and longitudinally predicted depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem after controlling for age, gender, and pretest scores. In conclusion, the Chinese ECR-RS has proven to be a valuable instrument for future research among children and adolescents.