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Associations between social anxiety and avoidance, attachment styles and parental marital status, in late adolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

B. Rodrigues Maia*
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Philosophy And Social Sciences, Centre For Philosophical And Humanistic Studies, Portugal, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Braga, Portugal
C. Coelho
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Philosophy And Social Sciences, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Braga, Portugal
M. Marques
Affiliation:
Coimbra Hospital And University Centre, Portugal, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, Coimbra, Portugal
F. Carvalho
Affiliation:
Espaço Psicológico – Consultório De Psicologia, Coimbra, Portugal, Espaço Psicológico – Consultório de Psicologia, Coimbra, Portugal, Coimbra, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The relation between insecure general attachment and social anxiety has long been established.

Objectives

To explore the associations between social interaction and performance anxiety and avoidance, attachment styles, and parental marital status.

Methods

146 Portuguese adolescents, with a mean age of 18.99 years old (SD = .848; range: 18-20), filled in the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale and the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Questionnaire.

Results

Distress/Anxiety was correlated with avoidance attachment to mother and father (rs = .17*, p = .04; rs = .18*, p = .03), to anxious attachment to romantic partner (rs = .21*, p = .01), and to anxious and avoidance attachment to best friend (rs = .25**, p = .00; (rs = .17*, p = .035). Avoidance was significantly correlated with avoidance to father and to romantic partner (rs = .18*, p = .03), and to anxious and avoidance attachment to best friend (rs = .21**, p = .009; rs = .18*, p = .03). A significant difference was found in avoidance attachment to father X2 = 10.246 (4, n = 146), p = .036, by parental marital status, with the adolescents with single/divorced parents presenting a higher mean score (Md = 111.10; Md = 82.93) than the other groups.

Conclusions

Distress/anxiety seems to be associated with more close relationships, and a single/divorced status with Avoidance. Longitudinal studies are needed to explore if insecure attachment to parents predicts insecure extra-familiar attachment, and to explore the long-term effects of parental marital status.

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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