The role of anxious attachment in the continuation of abusive relationships: The potential for strengthening a secure attachment schema as a tool of empowerment.

Remaining in an abusive relationship is a strong risk factor for (re)victimization. Due to the relational nature of intimate partner violence attachment theory offers a useful framework for better understanding its dynamics. Within two studies we worked on individual differences regarding imagined attitudes when confronted with intimate partner violence as being the victim. Our first study showed that high level of attachment anxiety is a risk factor for willingness to remain when imagining a hypothetical abusive relationship incidence. The second study presented the effectiveness of security priming in reducing the willingness to remain when imagining being in an abusive relationship and showed that this effect was the strongest in the case of participants with higher levels of attachment anxiety. These findings extend our understanding of the dynamics behind remaining in an abusive relationship and suggest the use of attachment security schemas as an effective technique for inclusion in interventions against (re)victimization.

The association between attachment orientations and empathy: The mediation effect of self-concept clarity.

Although earlier research had demonstrated significant links between attachment and self-concept clarity; attachment and empathy; and self-concept clarity and empathy respectively, there had been no studies examining these associations in conjunction with one another. Therefore, the present studies explored whether individual differences in self-concept clarity would mediate the relationship between attachment orientation (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and empathy (i.e., empathic concern and personal distress). In Study 1, the association between attachment orientation and self-concept clarity was examined among 602 Hungarian university students. In Study 2, the relationship between attachment and empathy was investigated through self-concept clarity among 1000 Hungarian adults. The findings from both samples revealed that attachment avoidance and anxiety were negatively related to self-concept clarity. In Study 2, individuals with greater self-concept clarity showed greater empathic concern and lower personal distress. Attachment avoidance was associated with lower empathic concern, whereas there was no significant association with personal distress. Attachment anxiety was positively related to empathic concern and personal distress. Self-concept clarity partially mediated associations with attachment anxiety and aspects of empathy. These findings suggest the importance of attachment orientations in terms of their influence on the self with regard to interpersonal relations.

Attachment security schemas to attenuate the appeal of benevolent sexism: The effect of the need to belong and relationship security.

Previous research has repeatedly shown a positive association between the need for relationship security and the appeal of benevolent sexism. Possibly, no studies to date had investigated the role of the need to belong with respect to a preference for the ideal partner to endorse benevolently sexist attitudes. Attachment security is considered to attenuate the need for relationship security and to divert the focus from the need to belong. Study 1 therefore investigated potential associations among attachment anxiety, the need to belong, and the appeal of benevolent sexism. It also examined whether the association between the need to belong and a preference for the ideal partner to hold benevolently sexist attitudes is moderated by attachment anxiety. In Study 2, we used a causal design to confirm the findings from Study 1 through the activation of attachment security schema. A moderated regression analysis showed significant interactive effects between the need to belong and attachment anxiety-that is, a positive association between the need to belong and the appeal of benevolent sexism was found only among people high in attachment anxiety. Secure-base scripts attenuated the need to belong as well as the appeal of benevolent sexism. The present findings suggest the importance of attachment schemas in influencing preference for specific partner attitudes through the need to belong and relationship security.

Feminist identification, inclusive victimhood and supporting outgroups.

Our research demonstrates the key role of identity content- feminist, egalitarian, or nonfeminist- in predicting solidarity-based actions towards outgroup members among women with regards to the cognitive construals of victimization-victim consciousness. Perceived similarities with other victim groups-inclusive victim consciousness-may have positive effects on intergroup relations. Using an online large sample of women from Hungary (N = 772; SD = 11.54), we show that feminist identification is associated with higher levels of support for victimized outgroups. However, contrary to our expectations that inclusive victimhood would play a significant role, we identified an association between support for other groups and collective victim beliefs only with respect to the centrality of ingroup victimization. These results contribute to the emerging literature on collective victim beliefs and solidarity towards other victimized groups, suggesting that perceived relevance of victimization for own identity may be a more important link in terms of solidarity between victimized groups than emphasizing shared victimization over different identities that outgroups are formed over.

Attachment anxiety and resilience: The mediating role of coping.

In recent research, attachment has been addressed as a core factor that potentially contributes to resilience. However, there is still much to investigate regarding the mechanisms of this relationship. Emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping strategies may be promising pathways via which attachment associates with resilience. The present study evaluated the role of attachment insecurity (i.e., attachment anxiety and avoidance) in resilience among a Turkish sample during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that individuals with high levels of attachment anxiety would experience lower resilience via emotion-focused coping strategies. On the other hand, we did not have a specific hypothesis for attachment avoidance due to contrasting research findings of previous studies. Participants reported their attachment orientation, resilience, and coping strategies. Attachment anxiety was directly and, through both coping strategies, indirectly linked to resilience however attachment avoidance was only indirectly related to resilience through problem-focused coping. The findings indicate that low levels of attachment anxiety and the ability to use problem-focused coping strategies may be associated with greater resilience. The fostering of attachment security may thus reduce the use of emotion-focused strategies and may promote resilience among individuals with high levels of attachment anxiety. Moreover, our study is one of the first to investigate attachment orientations in relevance with coping and resilience during the ongoing pandemic This research has implications regarding the potentials of introducing psycho-educational trainings for better coping strategies in crisis like COVID-19 pandemic.