https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2023.703
Attachment orientations and emotion regulation: new insights from the study of interpersonal emotion regulation strategies
Submitted: June 26, 2023
Accepted: October 9, 2023
Published: December 31, 2023
Accepted: October 9, 2023
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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A crucial point for the understanding of the link between attachment and emotion regulation concerns the individual tendency in turning to others to alleviate distress. Most previous studies in this field have considered almost exclusively intra-personal forms of emotion regulation, neglecting the role of social interaction in emotion regulation processes. In the present study, instead, we focused on interpersonal emotion regulation. 630 adults were assessed for their attachment orientations, general difficulties in emotion regulation, and habitual intra-personal and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies. Results showed that the imbalance between the hyper-activation and deactivation of the attachment system, which characterize unsecure attachment, reflects a correspondent imbalance in the use of emotion regulation strategies, with an exaggerated dependence on other associated with attachment anxiety and pseudo-autonomy associated to attachment avoidance.
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How to Cite
Messina, I., Calvo, V., & Grecucci, A. (2023). Attachment orientations and emotion regulation: new insights from the study of interpersonal emotion regulation strategies. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 26(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2023.703
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