Attachment Security, Mindfulness, and Psychotherapy: Testing a Mediational Model

Abstract

Previous research shows theoretical and/or empirical support for the relation between attachment security and adaptive functioning, between mindfulness and adaptive functioning, as well as between attachment security and mindfulness. Besides, mindfulness is considered to be theoretically similar to several constructs that has been identified as significant mediators in the relation between attachment security and positive life adaptations (e.g., reflective functioning, affect regulation strategies). The present study mainly examined whether mindfulness mediated the relation between attachment security and adaptive functioning in a clinical sample that consisted of students from a large mid-Atlantic university (N = 90, M (age)= 20.96, SD = 3.15). According to the participants' retrospective pre-therapy and current post-therapy self-report ratings, significant associations were discovered between attachment security and adaptive functioning, between mindfulness and adaptive functioning, as well as between attachment security and mindfulness before and after therapy. Also, the results supported the mediating role of mindfulness in the link between attachment security and adaptive functioning both prior and subsequent to therapy. Limitations of this study, directions for future research, and implications for clinical practice were discussed.