WHEN MARRIAGE BREAKS UP - DOES ATTACHMENT STYLE CONTRIBUTE TO COPING AND MENTAL-HEALTH

This study examines the association between adult attachment style and the way people react to the crisis of divorce. A research group of 12 0 participants undergoing legal procedures related to divorce and a co ntrol group of 108 married participants were classified according to t heir attachment style (secure, avoidant, anxious-ambivalent) and compl eted the Mental Health Inventory, In addition, the divorced participan ts answered scales tapping appraisal of divorce and ways of coping wit h it. As expected, divorced participants reported more distress than m arried ones. This effect was found among avoidant and anxious-ambivale nt participants, but not among secure participants. Significant differ ences were also found among attachment groups in appraisal and coping variables. Structural analyses supported the hypothesis that appraisal and coping mediate the association between attachment style and menta l health during the crisis of divorce. Results are discussed in terms of attachment theory.