The Relationship between Parent-Child Conflict and Attachment Styles with Future Anxiety in Nursing Students

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parent-child conflict and attachment styles with future anxiety in nursing students. Methods: The research was conducted based on an applied objective and in terms of data collection method, it was descriptive and correlational in terms of data type. The statistical population included all nursing students in Sari city who were studying in the academic year 2023-24, from which 200 nursing students were selected using convenience sampling. The research tools included the Parent-Child Conflict Questionnaire by Straus (1990), Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Style (1987), and Zaleski's Future Anxiety (1996), and data analysis was performed using SPSS-27 software. Results: The results showed that both parent-child conflict and attachment styles are related to future anxiety, with the ambivalent attachment style component being the strongest predictor of future anxiety. Conclusion: Based on the findings, secure attachment style may be associated with reduced future anxiety. Insecure attachment styles can act as predictors of future anxiety. In this way, these results can be helpful in providing the necessary skills for controlling and reducing future anxiety for students, especially nursing students and those with resulting psychological disorders.