Poster #76 - The Attachment Network Structure and Adult Mental Health and Well-being

• In Event: Poster Session 05

Abstract

Close relationships are indispensable and essential to the mental health and adaptation of adults (Dunkel Schetter, 2017). The study of close relationships and mental health has concentrated on dyadic interactions in different types of relationships, such as parents, best friends, and romantic partners (Daley & Hammen, 2002, Pietromonaco & Uchino, 2013); much less attention has focused on how a network of close relationships informs mental health. The study will concentrate on a network of five close relationships in relation to adult mental health outcomes. Three network metrics including composition (who), strength (number of attachment figures), and morphology (hierarchical or not) were examined as predictors of adult mental health outcomes. The study longitudinally examined these factors over one year period in a large sample to allow for longitudinal path analysis.
Method
Participants included 1021 adults (57% female) aged from 18 to 80, who completed the Web-based Hierarchical Mapping Technique (WHMT), a diagrammatic measure of attachment network composition, strength, and morphology (Freeman et al., 2021; Freeman & Simon, 2018). Next, participants completed rating scales assessing four indices of mental health, including anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and well-being. During the Fall of 2022, participants will complete the second phase of data collection using the same measures. See table 1 for descriptive statistics and intercorrelations for study variables.
Results and Discussion
Results from Time 1 data are presented here, but the conference paper will include Time 2 results and new analysis using longitudinal structural equation modeling (SEM).
Attachment Network Composition
Primary attachment to a romantic partner was most common (N = 450, 44.1%), followed by mother (N = 147, 14.4%), best friend, (N = 98, 9.6%), father (N = 50, 4.9%), and others (N = 276, 27%). A Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was performed to examine the associations between primary attachment choice (romantic partner, mother, best friend, father, others) and anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and well-being. Primary attachment figure choice was significantly related to differences in depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, but not well-being. Follow-up pairwise contrasts indicated that choosing a romantic partner was associated with more positive mental health, whereas participants who selected best friends tended to have poorer mental health outcomes.
Attachment Network Strength and Morphology
To test the effect of network strength and morphology on anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, and well-being, a series of four hierarchical multiple regressions were run (see table 2 for model summaries). Having more attachment figures significantly predicted less depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, but more positive well-being. Having preferred attachment figure, compared to a non-hierarchical network was generally associated with more positive mental health, however, the associations were not statistically significant.
In summary, findings provide some confirmation in the widely held view that having a romantic partner in adulthood is associated with stronger mental health, however; having more than one attachment figure is even a stronger predictor. The three metrics of social networks
structure provide new insight into how mental health and well-being are situated within multiple ongoing relationship

Group Authors

No

Authors

• Junnan (Bruce) Tian, University of South Dakota
  Presenting Author

• Harry Freeman, University of South Dakota