Relationship between Attachment Styles and Related Factors in the Elderly

Attachment style plays an important role in the continuity of active life in the elderly, which increases the chance of survival and life as well as reduces stress and adverse effects of life. The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between attachment styles and their related factors in older adults.

Participants were 235 elders, selected using stratified random sampling from Retirement Centers in Sari. Data were collected using demographic questionnaire and Hazan and Shaver’s Attachment Style Questionnaire  (1987). Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 through descriptive and inferential tests at P<0.05.

Totally, 51.9% of the participants were women. The mean age of the participants in the current study was 68.2 ± 6.9 years with a range of 60-89 years. The mean score of the pattern of attachment style was 45.3 ± 6.7. The highest and lowest means in attachment styles of elderly were related to secure attachment (16.5 ± 3.3) and avoidant attachment (13.6 ± 4.7), respectively. Most of the elderly (38.7%) had secure attachment. The most common attachment style was ambivalent (18.7%) in the female elderly and secure (20.4%) in the male elderly. There was a significant difference among the elderly under support of Sari Retirement Centers in terms of attachment styles in marital status, family status and physical activity status (P > 0.05).

Providing widespread psychological and social support during aging can provide a secure attachment style for the elderly, which can be effective in coping with and adapting to life-threatening events and can be used to better understand and predict the attitude and satisfaction of the elderly.