The relationships between attachment styles, perceived social support, and anxiety symptoms in university students

Abstract: The current study objective was to investigate the interrelationship between five attachment styles (need for approval, preoccupation, discomfort with closeness, relationship as secondary, and confidence), perceived social support from family and friends, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. A total of 133 university students at the Department of Psychology in Umeå University filled out a form with a perceived social support from family and friends questionnaire, a scale on symptoms of anxiety and depression, and an attachment style questionnaire. Correlational analysis revealed a significant relationship between (avoidant) attachment style, discomfort with closeness, and low perception of social support from family and friends, and a significant relationship between (secure) attachment style, confidence, and high perception of social support from family. Furthermore, all five attachment styles were significantly related to symptoms of anxiety and depression, e.g., attachment style confidence was related to low reports of symptoms of anxiety and depression, and attachment style preoccupation was related to higher reports of symptoms of anxiety and depression. Results also showed that the relationship between symptoms of anxiety and depression and perceived social support was not significant. Additionally, no mediation of perceived social support from family and friends was found between attachment styles and symptoms of anxiety and depression. It was concluded that individuals with high levels of secure attachment perceive more social support from family and friends than individuals with avoidant attachment style. Moreover, individuals with high levels of insecure and/or avoidant attachment have an increased symptoms of anxiety related to social connection than individuals with high levels of secure attachment. No conclusions could be drawn from no mediation of perceived social support from family and friends on the relationship between attachment style and symptom of anxiety from the current population. Several limitations were discussed.