The role of gestalt contact styles and gestalt contact capacity in the relationship of attachment with somatization and alexithymia

The aim of this study is to examine the role of Gestalt contact styles and Gestalt contact capacity in the relationship between attachment styles and somatization and alexithymia. The study group of the research, which is based on the correlational model, consists of 516 students studying at various universities in the 2020-2021 academic year. Data were collected through Personal Information Form, Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory II, Gestalt Contact Capacity Scale and Gestalt Contact Styles Scale, both of which were developed as part of the current study, Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Brief Symptom Inventory. Structural Equation Modeling was utilized in the analysis of the data. As a result of the analysis; in the model in which somatization and alexithymia were outcome variables and attachment was included as the predictor variable, it was found that anxious and avoidant attachment positively predicted both somatization and alexithymia. In all models in which attachment was the predictor variable, somatization and alexithymia were outcomes, and the role of Gestalt contact capacity and each Gestalt contact style was examined separately, it was found that Gestalt contact capacity predicted somatization and alexithymia negatively. On the other hand, in these models, self-monitoring, deflection and introjection contact styles predicted both somatization and alexithymia in a positive and significant way. While reflection significantly predicted alexithymia in the negative direction, it did not predict somatization. It was also found that confluence did not significantly predict either somatization or alexithymia. In all models, both anxious attachment and avoidant attachment were found to predict Gestalt contact capacity negatively and significantly. On the other hand, anxious attachment predicted self-monitoring, confluence, deflection, introjection and projection contact styles and avoidant attachment predicted self-monitoring, confluence, introjection and reflection contact styles in a positive and significant way.