Do emotion regulation strategies mediate the attachment-paranoia association? An experimental study of repeated attachment imagery priming and stress buffering.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Paranoia describes unfounded interpersonal threat beliefs. Secure attachment imagery attenuates paranoia, but limited research examines mechanisms of change and no studies examine how secure imagery may be implemented most effectively in clinical practice. In this study, we tested: (a) the causal impact of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment imagery on paranoia and anxiety, (b) whether emotion regulation strategies mediate these relationships, and (c) whether secure imagery buffers against social stress.

Design

We utilized a longitudinal, experimental design.

Method

A general population sample with high non-clinical paranoia (N = 265) completed measures of paranoia, anxiety, and emotion regulation strategies. Participants were randomly allocated to sec

SUBMITTER: Sood M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9543866 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature