The influence of attachment on well-being in Spanish youth: the mediating role of emotion regulation

Abstract People build and maintain emotional bonds throughout their entire life cycle. Their way of bonding, i.e. their style of attachment, is a consequence of the mental relationship models constructed during their affective experiences. Individuals with insecure attachment report high anxiety and/or high avoidance when establishing interpersonal relationships. These young people could benefit above all from learning appropriate strategies for regulating their emotions, and thus increase their level of well-being. This paper studies the relationship between attachment and subjective well-being in Spanish young people, considering emotion regulation as a mediating variable. 126 young people (61.9% female) between the ages of 19 and 26 participated (Mean Age = 24.16; SD Age = 3.54). The Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire (ECR-S), the Spanish Trait Meta- Mood Scale (TMMS-24), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) were used. Correlation were performed using SPSS version 24.0 and mediation analyses were performed using PROCESS. The results indicate that emotion regulation mediates the relationship between attachment anxiety and well-being. Avoidance of intimacy is not related to emotion regulation or well-being. The importance of enhancing well-being in youth through emotional education is remarkable, especially among young individuals with anxious attachment traits.