The Relationship Between Attachment Styles, Defense Mechanisms, Childhood Trauma, and Psychological Hardiness in students
Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 M.Sc. Student psychology, Rahbordshomal Institute of Higher Education, Rasht, Iran.
2 Department of Psychology, Rahbord Shomal Institute of Higher Education, Rasht, Iran
10.22098/pbeo.2025.18868.1076
Abstract
Background and Objective: The student years represent a challenging period for young individuals. During this time, experiences such as assessments, exams, and sometimes confusion about the future put them in vulnerable situations. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between attachment styles, defense mechanisms, childhood trauma, and psychological hardiness.
Method: This is a descriptive-correlational research design. The statistical population of the study consisted of all undergraduate and graduate students in Rasht city during the academic year 2023-2024. A sample of 200 students, with an average age of 26.2 years, and a gender distribution of 77.5% (155) female and 22.5% (45) male, was selected using convenience sampling. To collect data, the following questionnaires were used: Kobasa Maddi's Psychological hardiness (1992), Collins and Read’s Adult Attachment Styles (1990), Anders et al.'s Defense Mechanisms (1993), and Bernstein et al.'s Childhood Trauma (2003). The data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis.
Findings: The results indicated that psychological hardiness had a significant positive relationship with secure attachment style, but a significant negative relationship with anxious attachment style and underdeveloped defense mechanisms. Avoidant attachment style, developed defense mechanisms, neuroticism, and childhood trauma dimensions did not show significant relationships with psychological hardiness. Additionally, the results showed that 43.6% of the variance in the criterion variable (psychological hardiness) could be explained by the predictor variables, with anxious attachment style and underdeveloped defense mechanisms contributing the most to predicting psychological resilience.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that anxious attachment style and underdeveloped defense mechanisms are significantly associated with a decrease in psychological hardiness, while secure attachment style is positively related to an increase in psychological hardiness among students.
Method: This is a descriptive-correlational research design. The statistical population of the study consisted of all undergraduate and graduate students in Rasht city during the academic year 2023-2024. A sample of 200 students, with an average age of 26.2 years, and a gender distribution of 77.5% (155) female and 22.5% (45) male, was selected using convenience sampling. To collect data, the following questionnaires were used: Kobasa Maddi's Psychological hardiness (1992), Collins and Read’s Adult Attachment Styles (1990), Anders et al.'s Defense Mechanisms (1993), and Bernstein et al.'s Childhood Trauma (2003). The data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis.
Findings: The results indicated that psychological hardiness had a significant positive relationship with secure attachment style, but a significant negative relationship with anxious attachment style and underdeveloped defense mechanisms. Avoidant attachment style, developed defense mechanisms, neuroticism, and childhood trauma dimensions did not show significant relationships with psychological hardiness. Additionally, the results showed that 43.6% of the variance in the criterion variable (psychological hardiness) could be explained by the predictor variables, with anxious attachment style and underdeveloped defense mechanisms contributing the most to predicting psychological resilience.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that anxious attachment style and underdeveloped defense mechanisms are significantly associated with a decrease in psychological hardiness, while secure attachment style is positively related to an increase in psychological hardiness among students.
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