Adult Attachment Dimensions and College Student Distress The Mediating Role of Hope Ψ

• Published in: The Counseling psychologist Vol. 43; no. 6; pp. 822 - 852
• Main Authors: McDermott, Ryon C., Cheng, Hsiu-Lan, Wright, Christina, Browning, Brandon R., Upton, Amy W., Sevig, Todd D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2015
• Subjects: adult attachment; college students; hope; psychological symptoms
• ISSN: 0011-0000; 1552-3861
• DOI: 10.1177/0011000015575394

The present investigation examined dispositional hope as a psychological strength that mediates the associations between adult attachment dimensions and seven commonly assessed college student psychological symptoms, as measured by the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms–62 (CCAPS-62): depression, eating concerns, substance use, generalized anxiety, hostility, social anxiety, and academic distress. Structural equation modeling of data obtained from students at a large Midwestern university (N = 2,644) revealed that (a) adult attachment dimensions were positively associated with CCAPS-62 domains and negatively associated with hope, (b) hope was negatively associated with all seven CCAPS-62 domains with the exception of substance use, and (c) hope mediated the associations between attachment dimensions and all seven CCAPS-62 psychological symptoms, with the exception of substance use. Findings suggest that addressing adult attachment-driven automatic views of self and others may have important implications for hopeful thinking as well as for counseling intervention and prevention of college student psychological distress.