Abstract

The purpose of this research was 1) to discover whether there was a difference in affect regulation style according to different adult attachment styles and, more specifically, 2) to find differences in the effectiveness of affect regulation among the different adult attachment styles by controlling four basic negative affects anger, sadness, anxiety, and shame. The experiment involved 440 participants who were asked to complete a questionnaire that measured adult attachment styles, affect regulation styles, and the effectiveness of affect regulation. The collected data was then used to divide the participants into Secure and Insecure (Dismissing, Preoccupied, Fearful) groups and was analyzed through a one-way ANOVA test and Scheffes test. The results showed that there was a significant difference in affect regulation styles according to different adult attachment styles. The Secure attachment style group used support-seeking methods and active ways of affect regulation whereas the Preoccupied attachment style group mainly practiced support-seeking ways. In the cases of the Dismissing and Fearful groups, however, they exhibited low usage in all of the affect regulation styles. The Secure group effectively controlled anger and sadness by using both support-seeking and active ways, anxiety by using support-seeking ways, and shame by using active ways. On the other hand, the Insecure groups affect regulations showed much less effectiveness than that of the Secure group. Finally, the implications and limitations of this research were discussed and suggestions for future research were proposed.