Socioeconomic Disadvantage as a Risk Factor for Attachment Insecurity: The Moderating Role of Gender


Sakman E., Solak N., Sumer N.

JOURNAL OF FAMILY ISSUES, vol.44, no.10, pp.2774-2795, 2023 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 44 Issue: 10
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1177/0192513x221105250
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF FAMILY ISSUES
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Periodicals Index Online, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Violence & Abuse Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.2774-2795
  • Keywords: attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance, socioeconomic disadvantage, gender, evolutionary, and cultural perspectives, ROMANTIC ATTACHMENT, SELF-ESTEEM, HEALTH, SECURITY, INFANTS, PERSPECTIVES, EXPERIENCE, PATTERNS, CHILDREN, BEHAVIOR
  • TED University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Although socioeconomic conditions are crucial predictors of adult attachment, the relationships between attachment patterns and distinct dimensions of socioeconomic disadvantage, reflecting its structure as a multi-faceted social construct, remain largely unexplored. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of the previous studies utilized samples from Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies, so little is known about how these relationships unfold in underrepresented cultural contexts. To fill these gaps, we explored the relationships between attachment dimensions and multiple indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage in a large community sample of married couples (N = 2622) in Turkey. We expected that indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage would be positively related to both attachment anxiety and avoidance, particularly among women. In line with our expectations, we found that several indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage are related to both dimensions of insecure attachment. Furthermore, lower income levels emerged as a predictor for women's attachment avoidance. Results are discussed in light of gender, evolutionary, and cultural perspectives.