Moderating Role of Attachment Styles between Stress Appraisal and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Abstract

The present study investigated the moderating role of attachment styles i.e. secure, anxious and avoidant on the relationship of perceived stress appraisal with post-traumatic stress symptoms severity (PTSS) in adolescents traumatized by flood. The sample consisted of adolescent boys (n = 278) and girls (n = 283) with an age range of 13-17 (M = 14.65, SD = 1.13) years who experienced trauma of flood in Jhang (18-Hazari) and Hafizabad (Vanike Tarrhar) in September 2014. Sample was recruited from government schools. Research instruments included Urdu versions of Attachment Style Classification Questionnaire (Finzi, Cohen, Sapire & Weizman, 2000), Perceived Stress Appraisal Measure (Peacock & Wong, 1990), Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale-13 (Horowitz, Wilner & Alvarez, 1979) and socio-demographic questionnaire. The results showed that attachment styles significantly moderated the relationship of threat and/or centrality appraisals with PTSS and suggested, when threat and centrality appraisals about a threatening condition arise, PTSS also increases if moderated by anxious and avoidant attachments but not when attachment styles are secure. Findings are implicated for psychological management of the adolescents traumatized by flood.