Attachment, emotion and wellbeing in everyday interactions: The influence of relational context

Abstract

In the last two decades, multidisciplinary research in the social sciences has highlighted the key role of emotional and social facets of relating for psychologi­cal wellbeing. In that respect, attachment theory has been a central framework that connects emotions in relationships with wellbeing outcomes. The present study ex­tended (this research by examining emotions in social interactions as a possible me­diating variable in the attachment-wellbeing relation For seven days 52 student participants evaluated the positive and negative emotions, affect and support in interpersonal interactions in their relationships using a variant of the Rochester Interaction Record. Participants also completed measures of well-being (State anxiety, and General Health Questionnaire), adult attachment orientations in the beginning and the end of the week. Emotion in everyday interactions with ac­quaintances and good friends was found to be related to both attachment di­mensions and wellbeing. However, the role of relational context was prominent, since attachment dimensions were found to be related to emotions in interactions with close friends and also positive emotions with close friends only were found to have a beneficial effect for participants well-being. The results are discussed from the emotions-in-relationships perspective.