The Relationship between Attachment Style and Separation Anxiety Disorder in Badly-Cared and Orphan Adolescent Girls: The Mediating Role of Stress Coping Strategy and Internalized Symptoms

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment styles and Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) through the internalized symptoms and stress coping strategies in badly-cared and orphan adolescent girls living in Tehran in ۲۰۲۲. Method: This was a correlational study of a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) type. The statistical population included all adolescent girls aged between ۱۲ and ۱۸ under the direct or indirect supervision of Tehran’s welfare center, of whom ۲۰۰ were selected by the convenience sampling method. The participants answered the questionnaires of Collins and Reed’s attachment styles, Billings and Moss’s coping strategies, Achenbach and Rascorella’s adolescent self-report, and Morris et al.’s SAD. Results: The findings of SEM demonstrated that the hypothesized model of this study has a good fit in the studied sample. The findings reveal that the secure attachment style is related to separation anxiety both directly (T=-۴.۱۸ and b=-.۲۲) and indirectly through problem-oriented coping style (P<.۰۱ and Z=-۱۰.۸۳) and emotion-oriented coping style (P<.۰۱ and Z=-۷.۲۳). Avoidant attachment style is directly (T=۴.۹۸ and b=.۲۵) and indirectly related to separation anxiety through problem-oriented coping style (P<.۰۱ and Z=۴.۳۳) and emotion-oriented coping style (P<.۰۱ and Z=۸.۷۹) and internalized symptoms (P<.۰۱ and Z=۲.۶۱). Finally, ambivalent attachment style had no significant correlation (P>.۰۵) with separation anxiety. Conclusion: These results emphasize the importance of attachment patterns formed under the influence of adverse conditions of the vulnerable group, and the lifelong effects of these patterns in the mental health of them.

کلیدواژه ها:

Adolescent ، attachment style ، Badly-Cared ، Internalized Symptoms ، Orphan ، Separation anxiety disorder ، Stress Coping Strategy