Fear of Abandonment as a Mediator Between Attachment Trauma and Conflict Sensitivity in Romantic Relationships among Women
Keywords:
Attachment trauma, fear of abandonment, conflict sensitivity, romantic relationshipsAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether fear of abandonment mediates the relationship between attachment trauma and conflict sensitivity in romantic relationships among women.
Methods and Materials: A descriptive correlational design was used, and the study sample consisted of 505 women from Poland, selected based on the Morgan and Krejcie table. Participants completed validated self-report measures assessing attachment trauma, fear of abandonment, and conflict sensitivity. Data were analyzed using SPSS-27 for Pearson correlation and AMOS-21 for Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Assumptions of normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and multicollinearity were tested and confirmed prior to analysis.
Findings: Results from Pearson correlation showed significant positive associations between attachment trauma and fear of abandonment (r = .56, p < .001), attachment trauma and conflict sensitivity (r = .49, p < .001), and fear of abandonment and conflict sensitivity (r = .62, p < .001). SEM analysis revealed that the structural model had an acceptable fit (χ²(46) = 98.35, χ²/df = 2.14, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.047). Attachment trauma significantly predicted fear of abandonment (β = 0.56, p < .001), which in turn significantly predicted conflict sensitivity (β = 0.62, p < .001). The direct path from attachment trauma to conflict sensitivity was also significant (β = 0.24, p < .001), and the indirect effect through fear of abandonment (β = 0.35, p < .001) indicated partial mediation. The total effect of attachment trauma on conflict sensitivity was β = 0.59 (p < .001).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that fear of abandonment partially mediates the relationship between attachment trauma and conflict sensitivity in romantic relationships among women. These results highlight the importance of addressing abandonment-related fears in therapeutic settings to mitigate the emotional impact of past trauma on adult romantic functioning.
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