Cited by 60Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsAttachment and Relationship DynamicsMind wandering and attention

Mediators of the Link between Adult Attachment and Mindfulness

Open access
Caldwell, Jon Gordon, Shaver, Phillip Robert·2013·Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships

Abstract

The capacity to be mindfully aware of the present moment without judgment is associated with a number of positive psychological and physiological outcomes. Experiences in attachment relationships are related to specific cognitive-emotional patterns that may contribute to dispositional mindfulness. A sample of young adults (N = 93) completed questionnaires regarding adult attachment, rumination, thought suppression, attentional control, and mindfulness. Attachment-related avoidance predicted lower levels of mindfulness, a relation mediated by thought suppression and poorer attentional control. Attachment-related anxiety also predicted lower levels of mindfulness, a relation mediated by rumination and poorer attentional control. The results suggest that in the context of insecure attachment relationships thought suppression and rumination defend against personal and interpersonal losses by deactivating (in the case of avoidance) or hyperactivating (in the case of anxiety) the attachment system. These habitual defensive patterns may be important links between adult attachment orientations and mindfulness.

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Crossref · 10.5964/ijpr.v7i2.133

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  • Rumination, challenges with attentional control, and thought suppression statistically explain variance in the relationship between attachment anxiety and mindfulness.

    “Several studies report mechanisms in the relationship between attachment anxiety and lower levels of mindfulness: rumination, challenges with attentional control, and thought suppression [69,70].”

    From Being in the moment so you can keep moving forward: Mindfulness and rumination mediate the relationship between attachment orientations and negative conflict styles (2020) · cites this paper as [69]

    The Discussion reports that rumination and attentional dyscontrol mediated the relationship between attachment-related anxiety and mindfulness. It instead identifies thought suppression as a mediator for attachment-related avoidance; the Correlation Analyses also report that anxiety was not correlated with thought suppression. (LLM, conf=0.92)

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  • Attachment avoidance was indirectly associated with mindful awareness through thought suppression and attentional control, whereas attachment anxiety was mediated by rumination and attentional control.

    “Similarly, Caldwell and Shaver (2013) found that attachment avoidance was indirectly associated with mindful awareness through thought suppression and attentional control, whereas the relationship between attachment anxiety and mindful awareness was found to be mediated by rumination and attentional control.”
  • Anxious individuals usually ruminate about their flaws and limitations and ways of changing themselves or their circumstances to obtain desired closeness in relationships and to avoid being abandoned.

    “anxious individuals usually ruminate about their flaws and limitations and ways of changing themselves or their circumstances to obtain the desired closeness in relationships and to avoid being abandoned (Caldwell & Shaver, 2013).”

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1 of the 49 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46-76). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Interpersona 2013, Vol. 7(2), 299-310 doi:10.5964/ijpr.v7i2.133
  2. Cassidy, J., & Kobak, R. R. (1988). Avoidance and its relation to other defensive processes. In J. Belsky & T. Nezworski (Eds.), Clinical implications of attachment (pp. 300-323). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

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Authors
Caldwell, J. G., & Shaver, P. R.
Affiliations
University of California, Davis (US)
Venue
Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
Published
2013-12-20
Volume
7
Issue
2
ISSN
1981-6472 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2132421431
Cited by
60
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 6
FWCI
5.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Interpersona An International Journal on Personal Relationships (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe’s Journal of Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • PsychOpen Gold (Leibniz Institute for Psychology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Psychology Archives (cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
Keywords
adult attachment, mindfulness, insecure attachment, attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, rumination, thought suppression, attentional control, defensive coping, mediation, young adults

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