A Causal Model for Emotional Self-awareness of Mothers of Elementary School Students in Tehran, Iran Based on Attachment Styles and Perfectionism with the Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy

The present study was conducted with the purpose of developing a causal model of emotional self-awareness of mothers of elementary school students in Tehran based on attachment styles and perfectionism with the mediating role of self-efficacy.

The current research is one of structural equation studies. The statistical population of the research included all the mothers of primary school children who referred to the counseling centers of the link between education and training in Tehran province in 2021. Among these, the data of 331 people were collected and analyzed in the form of multi-stage cluster sampling. The research tools include self-representation and insight questionnaire (SRIS), (emotional self-awareness) (Grant et al., 2002), Collins and Reed (1996) Adult Attachment Styles Questionnaire (RAAS), Scherer General Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (1982) (GSES) and Hill et al.'s (2004) perfectionism questionnaire was (PI). Data were analyzed using SPSS26 and AMOS24 software. The fit indices indicate the good fit of the proposed model with the data.

The findings showed that secure attachment style (β=0.371) and self-efficacy (β=0.503) had a significant direct effect on emotional self-awareness, and insecure/avoidant attachment style (β=-0.611) had a significant effect on emotional self-awareness. It has a significant and opposite effect. Also, self-efficacy showed a significant mediating role in the relationship between secure attachment style (β=0.307), insecure/ambivalent attachment style (β=-0.193) and positive perfectionism (β=0.127) with emotional self-awareness. It did not show a significant mediating role in the relationship between negative perfectionism and emotional self-awareness.

Psychologists' attention to the role of these variables can play an effective and preventive role in improving the emotional self-awareness of mothers of primary school students.