Attachment style

Objective: Somatic symptoms consist of a wide range of symptoms and until yet clustering them has been very challenging for researchers and therapists. The present study aims to explore underlying psychological factors of various functional somatic symptoms and determine if there are any similarities or differences in these factors that could help classify these symptoms as one syndrome or discrete ones. Method: This study adopted an association rule mining method based on data mining. 643 participants were recruited using a convenience sampling technique. Data were collected using the checklist of somatic symptoms (Lacourt et al., 2013), Attachment Questionnaire (Hazan & Shaver, 2017), Defense Style Questionnaire (Andrews et al., 1993), and Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (Lane, 2006). Results: Cognitive, gastrointestinal, and fatigue symptoms are related more to immature defense mechanisms. Musculoskeletal, respiratory, and cardiac symptoms are associated with neurotic defenses. Fatigue symptoms are associated with ambivalent attachment and musculoskeletal symptoms are related more to avoidant attachment. Indeed, it could be said that there are two clusters of somatic symptoms, one of which is attachment and the other is defense mechanisms. This supports the splitters’ view about somatic syndromes. Conclusions: These findings show various types of somatic symptoms have qualitatively different risk factors. Our findings imply that psychotherapists should consider the kind of syndromes a patient has and their underlying psychological predispositions to manage the problem better.  

Objective: This study aimed to predict marital intimacy based on attachment styles, early maladaptive schemas, and love styles among married female students. Method: The research employed a descriptive correlational design and included all married female students enrolled during the second semester of the academic year 2021. Out of these, 300 individuals were selected as the sample group and were studied. Research instruments included the Young Schema Questionnaire - Short Form (YSQ-SF), Hendrick's Love Styles Questionnaire, Collins and Read's Attachment Style Questionnaire (RAAS), and Thompson and Walker's (1983) Marital Intimacy Questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data obtained from these instruments. Descriptive statistics included means and standard deviations, while multiple regression was used to examine the research hypotheses. Findings: The regression results indicated that sacrificial love style and the impaired limits schema negatively predict marital intimacy. Conclusions: It can be concluded that the sacrificial love style and the impaired limits schema negatively explain marital intimacy.

Objective: This study aimed to predict the tendency towards divorce in couples involved in infidelity based on marital intimacy and satisfaction, mediated by ethical orientation styles. Method: The research method was correlational, involving a statistical population of couples seeking counseling in districts one and two of Tehran in 2021. The sample size was 250 individuals of both genders, selected through random quota sampling. Data collection tools included: the Tendency Towards Divorce Scale by Rusbult, Johnson, & Morrow (1986), the Infidelity Scale by Yeni Seri & Kokdemir (2006), the Marital Intimacy Scale by Bagarozzi (2001), the Marital Satisfaction Scale by Enrich (1995), and the Ethical Orientation Styles Scale by Haidt & Graham (2007). Data analysis methods used descriptive statistics, structural equation modeling, and PLS3 SMART software. Findings: The results indicated that there was a negative relationship between marital intimacy and the tendency towards divorce among couples involved in infidelity. There was also a negative relationship between marital satisfaction and the tendency towards divorce in these couples. Marital intimacy and satisfaction could predict the tendency towards divorce mediated by ethical orientation styles. Additionally, there was a significant positive relationship between marital satisfaction and intimacy with ethical orientation styles, with ethical orientation styles mediating the relationship between these variables and the tendency towards divorce. Conclusions: This relationship intensifies when mediated by ethical orientation styles. Thus, with an increase in marital satisfaction, the tendency towards divorce due to infidelity decreases. This justifies the use of interventionist approaches to strengthen marital satisfaction to reduce the tendency towards divorce due to infidelity.

Objective: The primary goal of this study was to present a forgiveness model based on childhood maltreatment and attachment styles, with the mediating role of early maladaptive schemas in betrayal victims. Methods: This descriptive correlational study involved betrayal victims who had sought counseling in Tehran in 2022, with a sample of 653 individuals selected through convenience sampling. The instruments used included Bernstein et al.'s (2003) Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Hazan and Shaver's (1987) Attachment Style Questionnaire, Young's (1999) Early Maladaptive Schema Questionnaire, and the Forgiveness Questionnaire by Ray et al. (2001). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and AMOS version 24. Findings: The results indicated a negative relationship between childhood maltreatment, insecure attachment styles, and early maladaptive schemas with forgiveness, while secure attachment showed a positive relationship with forgiveness. Furthermore, the results suggested that early maladaptive schemas mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment, attachment styles, and forgiveness in betrayal victims. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicated that the evaluated structural model was well-fitted, and the findings could assist therapists and counselors in better understanding the forgiveness process in betrayal victims.