Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation between adult attachment as anindividual's interpersonal style and that person's emotion regulation. In Study 1, aquestionnaire measure of conscious attitudes toward 4 discrete emotions (anger, sadness, fear, and joy) was developed to measure individual differences in emotion regulation. Factor analysis of this scale yielded 4 factors: reflectionon emotions, awareness of one's own emotions, awareness of other's emotions, and negative feelings about emotions. In Study 2, 208 university students completed a scale of adult attachment and the scale of conscious attitudes toward 4 discrete emotions. The results indicated that secure attachment was related to open attitudes, especially about sadness and joy, and to higher reflection on and higher awareness of these emotions. In contrast, avoidance attachment was related to higher negative feelings about sadness and joy. Ambivalent attachment related to biased attitudes, particularly toward anger and joy, and to lower reflection on and lower awareness of these emotions. These findings suggest that each attachment style is characterized by different attitudes toward specific emotions at a conscious level.
