The role of attachment and emotion regulation in the psychosocial intervention among war-affected children

Abstract

This study examined (1) how attachment style predicts changes in mental health, and (2) whether change in emotion regulation (ER) intensity mediates that association in the context of psychosocial intervention among war-affected children. Participants were 482 Palestinian children whose school classes were randomized to either intervention (Teaching Recovery Techniques, TRT) or waiting-list groups. Attachment style, emotion regulation, and mental health were measured. The children with secure attachment were more likely to gain improved mental health in both conditions, but also preoccupied-insecure children showed improved mental health in the TRT. In the control group, instead, children with more attachment avoidance reported deteriorated mental health, and no changes in mental health was found among preoccupied children. Changes in the ER intensity did not mediate the association …