The Influence of Family Emotional Functioning on Insecure Attachment Patterns in Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships: The Mediating Role of Parent–Child Attachment

International College Beijing, China Agricultural University, Beijng, 100083, China

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Abstract

Parent-child attachment is an important factor influencing the young adults’ romantic attachment style. Family emotional function also has an impact on the parent-child attachment (PCA)pattern. Meanwhile, family emotional functions significantly impact young adults’ mental health and their attachment patterns of romantic relationships. Studies show that the proportion of anxious teenagers who suffer from high emotional neglect from their mothers has risen to 23.1%. The result of the father’s neglect is similar to this. This article focuses on exploring the influence of family emotional functioning on insecure attachment patterns in young adults’ romantic relationships: the mediating role of PCA. Through the quantitative analysis method, questionnaires were distributed through Question star. This study used SPSS 25.0 software and its extension program PROCESS v4.0 to analyze the data. The results demonstrate that the link between family emotional functioning and avoidant attachment is partially mediated by PCA, while PCA plays a complete mediating role in the anxious attachment. This study supports the theoretical path that family emotional functions affect the romantic attachment patterns of young adults through PCA, emphasizing the deep influence of the original family on an individual’s romantic behavior.