Not Feeling Safe Enough to Explore More Aspects

Abstract: Attachment style could be regarded as a prerequisite to resilience, playing an important role in positive adaptation, yet little is known about the mechanism of this attachment-resilience relationship. The present study explored the relationship between attachment style, dichotomous thinking, and resilience. Cross-sectional data from 3,760 participants were used for analysis. The results showed that attachment anxiety, not avoidance, had a statistically significant negative correlation with dichotomous thinking. Both attachment anxiety and avoidance had significant correlations with subscales of dichotomous thinking, though in different directions. Dichotomous thinking, preference for dichotomy, and profit-loss thinking were significantly associated with resilience, yet dichotomous belief was negatively associated with resilience. Attachment anxiety had a negative impact on resilience by increasing the level of dichotomous belief and a positive impact on resilience by increasing the level of preference for dichotomy. Attachment avoidance could have a negative impact on resilience by decreasing the level of preference for dichotomy and increasing the level of dichotomous belief. These findings suggest that dichotomous belief could be one shared feature both dimensions of insecure attachment.