Attachment styles, coping strategies, quality of relationship and empty-nest syndrome in mothers
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2025-10-30
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UMT Lahore
Abstract
The present study examined the relationship between attachment styles, coping strategies, quality of relationship and empty nest syndrome in mothers. A correlational research design was used, with snowball sampling strategy for collecting data from mothers (N = 89), aged 40-60 (Mage = 53.62; SD = 5.16). The measures included the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (Collins, 1996), the Brief COPE Inventory (Carver, 1997), the Quality of Relationship Inventory (Pierce et al., 1991) and the Psychosocial Reactions of Empty-Nest Syndrome (Mushtaq & Farrukh, 2021). Correlation showed that secure attachment styles (close and dependant) was associated with better quality of relationship and lower empty nest syndrome, whereas insecure attachment was linked with greater use of emotion-focused and avoidant coping and higher levels of empty nest syndrome. Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping were positively related to the depth of spousal relationships and empty nest syndrome, while avoidant coping was related only to empty nest syndrome. Quality of relationship (support and depth) also showed a positive association with empty nest syndrome. Regression revealed that unemployment, nuclear family system, anxious attachment style and emotion-focused coping were positive predictors of empty nest syndrome. Mediation revealed that emotion-focused coping partially mediated the relationship between anxious attachment style and empty-nest syndrome. An independent sample t-test showed that mothers in joint families had less empty nest syndrome compared to those in nuclear families.