Arthritis and Support Seeking Tendencies: The Role of Attachment

In light of inconsistent findings between attachment and support seeking, this research explored how attachment style ratings with three distinct attachment figures—parents, best friends, and romantic partners—mediated the association between arthritis severity and the seeking of care. In Study 1 these associations were investigated with a group of adolescents (n = 41), and in Study 2 these relationships were further investigated with a group of middle-aged adults (n = 68). In both studies, significant differences were found in attachment style ratings across the three attachment figures. Furthermore, attachment style was found to mediate the relationship between arthritis severity and emotional and instrumental support seeking. These effects were moderated by type of attachment relationship. In Study 1, attachment style specific to all three attachment figures mediated this relationship. In Study 2, only attachment style to a romantic partner mediated this association, while the extent to which attachment figures fulfilled attachment functions was associated with the care seeking tendencies.