The Mediation Model of Actual-Ought Self-Discrepancy between Attachment Anxiety and Codependence

Year 2019, , 85 - 92, 10.08.2019

Cem Malakçıoğlu

https://doi.org/10.35365/ctjpp.19.1.10

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the mediating role of actual-ought self-discrepancy between attachment anxiety and codependence among a group of international university students in Turkey who are fluent in English. Considering the high intensity of agitation-related emotions in individuals with codependence, it is hypothesized that discrepancies between actual and ought to self-states
scores are mediating the relationship between preoccupied-anxious attachment style and codependence scores. Data was collected between March and May 2016 from 67 (34 females, 33 males) university students with at least one dysfunctional significant other. They were recruited via e-mails and web-based online survey applications. The age range of the participants is between 18 and 25 (M=21, SD=2.074). In addition to a short socio-demographic information form, three self-report instruments were administered to participants: The Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS), the Self Concept Questionnaire – Conventional
Constructs (SCQ-CC), and the Codependent Questionnaire (CdQ). Regression and mediation analyses were utilized, and it was found that actual-ought self-discrepancies scores to mediate the relationship between preoccupied-anxious attachment and codependence scores. The results of the study are expected to have important implications for clinical interventions and prevention programs in addressing the attachment insecurities and emotion regulation difficulties of the individuals with codependence. 

Keywords

Attachment, Self-Discrepancy, Codependence, Emotion Regulation, Intimate Relationship

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