Abstract :
Although adult attachment insecurity has consistently been linked to poor psychological adjustment, the mechanisms underlying this association in the Pakistani context remain unexplored. Emotional dysregulation was found to play a mediating role, in the present study, in the relationship between depressive symptoms in university students, adult attachment styles, and emotional dysregulation. Data collected from 400 university students (18-29 years) enrolled in public and private universities across Pakistan by using the experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) Questionnaire (Fraley et al. 2000), Difficulties in Emotional Regulation (DERS) Questionnaire (Gratz et al. 2004) and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ 9) (Kroenke et al. 2001). According to correlation analyses, emotional dysregulation and symptoms of depression were positively correlated with attachment anxiety. Emotional dysregulation was found to partially mediate the connection between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms in mediation analysis. In contrast to that, avoidant attachment was not found to be a significant predictor of depressive symptoms and emotional dysregulation. These results have shown that difficulties in emotion regulation may represent an important pathway through which attachment anxiety contributes depressive symptoms among university students. Hence the present study emphasizes the potential benefits of focusing interventions on emotional regulation in universities and schools to improve mental health among students.