Attachment Styles and Gratitude Among Students: Mediating Role of Positive and Negative Affect

Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between attachment styles and gratitude among university students. It further investigated the mediating role of positive and negative affect between attachment styles and gratitude. A purposive sample of 498 students was recruited from various public and private universities of Sargodha. The Relationship Structures Questionnaire (Fraley et al., 2011), Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Karim et al., 2011), and Values in Action Survey (McGrath, 2019) were used to measure attachment styles, positive and negative affect, and gratitude, respectively. Results revealed statistically significant positive correlations between secure attachment, positive affect, and gratitude. They further revealed a statistically significant negative relationships of insecure attachment with gratitude and a statistically significant positive relation with negative affect. Parallel mediation analysis through PROCESS revealed a statistically significant direct effect of secure attachment style on positive and negative affect, and on gratitude. Further, positive and negative affect mediated the relation between secure attachment and gratitude. Moreover, there was a statistically significant direct effect of insecure attachment on positive and negative affect and on gratitude. Positive and negative affect mediated the relationship between insecure attachment and gratitude. Implications of the study and recommendations for the future research are discussed.