Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
J Aging Health. 2013 Feb;25(1):56-79. doi: 10.1177/0898264312466260. Epub 2012 Dec 3.
Patterns of attachment-normative styles of relating to significant others-impact relationships across adulthood. Preliminary studies link attachment with health outcomes but have yet to examine older adults or functional impairment, and the mechanisms behind this relationship remain unclear. This report investigated how attachment predicted symptoms and functional impairment and tested the mediating roles of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA).
1,118 older adults completed measures of attachment, health symptoms, and functional impairment, together with confounds including age, sex, and income.
As expected, security and fearful avoidance predicted greater symptomology, but only fearful avoidance predicted greater functional impairment. Negative affect partially mediated links between attachment and outcomes, but only for fearful avoidance.
Understanding links between attachment, symptom reports, and functional impairment will facilitate better understanding of positive aging versus premature decline, help identify at risk individuals, and guide interventions to assist optimal functioning in later life.
与重要他人相关的依恋规范模式——关系贯穿成年期。初步研究将依恋与健康结果联系起来，但尚未研究老年人或功能障碍，这种关系背后的机制仍不清楚。本报告调查了依恋如何预测症状和功能障碍，并测试了积极情绪（PA）和消极情绪（NA）的中介作用。
1118 名老年人完成了依恋、健康症状和功能障碍的测量，同时还包括年龄、性别和收入等混杂因素。
正如预期的那样，安全性和恐惧回避预测了更多的症状，但只有恐惧回避预测了更多的功能障碍。消极情绪部分中介了依恋与结果之间的联系，但仅对恐惧回避有影响。
理解依恋、症状报告和功能障碍之间的联系将有助于更好地理解积极老龄化与过早衰退，帮助识别高风险个体，并指导干预措施，以帮助老年人实现最佳功能。
