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Attachment security refers to individuals' ability of viewing attachment figures as a secure base for exploration and a safe haven in times of need. Two studies examined whether dispositional and temporarily primed attachment security could improve response inhibition following ego-depletion among Chinese college students. We manipulated ego-depletion with a stressful task — preparing a three-minute speech within 5 min and assessed response inhibition with Stroop color naming tasks. Study 1 randomly assigned participants to the ego-depletion and control groups and assessed dispositional attachment anxiety and avoidance. Results showed that participants in the ego-depletion group reacted slower to incongruent trials than their counterparts. Whereas attachment avoidance predicted faster reactions to incongruent trials in the ego-depletion group, such relationship was absent in the control group. Study 2 randomly asked participants to visualize a responsive and available other (attachment security priming condition) or an acquaintance (acquaintance priming condition). Results indicated that following ego-depletion, attachment avoidance again predicted faster reactions to incongruent trials, and participants from the attachment security priming condition also reacted faster to incongruent trials than those from the acquaintance priming condition. Findings offer additional support for social defense theory and the broaden-and-build cycle of attachment security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article explored the effect of attachment on grandiose narcissism via perceived parental trust through a cross-sectional investigation using moderated mediation models. The Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory, Perceived Parental Trust Questionnaire, and Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire were administered to 2260 middle school students of China (1094 seventh and 1166 tenth grade students). Results indicated that attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety exert distinct influence on narcissism's self-enhancement (i.e., admiration) directly, while both attachment anxiety and avoidance foster self-protection (i.e., rivalry) directly. Furthermore, the strength of the indirect effect of one attachment dimension on narcissism via perceived parental trust is stronger when the other is lower, or when the grade is younger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study seeks to examine the effect of attachment orientations on dispositional gratitude and whether it would be mediated by self-esteem and perceived social support. Nine-hundred-and-twenty-eight Chinese college students completed the Self-esteem Scale (SES), the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale (MPSSS), the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory (ECR), and the Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test (GRAT). It was revealed that both attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety were negatively associated with dispositional gratitude. Mediational analyses showed that attachment avoidance was indirectly related to dispositional gratitude through perceived social support and self-esteem, whereas attachment anxiety exerted effect on dispositional gratitude both directly and indirectly through self-esteem. These findings highlight the importance of attachment security for cultivating virtues such as dispositional gratitude and contribute to a more complete understanding of self- and other-representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional study investigates how perceived support and relational conflict mediate the associations of attachment orientations with depressive symptoms among 367 (153 Chinese, 214 American) dating individuals. Results revealed a pan-cultural association of attachment anxiety with depressive symptoms mediated though relational conflict. Attachment avoidance was more strongly related to depressive symptoms through relational conflict in the Chinese sample than in the U.S. sample. Furthermore, attachment anxiety was related to perceived support across both cultural samples, while attachment avoidance was more strongly related to perceived support in the Chinese sample than in the U.S. sample. Findings are discussed in terms of the cultural logics governing interpersonal relationships across cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]