Examination of the effects of attachment styles on family belongingness and life skills in adults

Attachment has been a widely discussed and written about topic in recent years. The impact of attachment styles on individuals' overall lives and social relationships is one of the most curious subjects. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of attachment styles on family belongingness and life skills. The study was conducted using data obtained from 315 adult individuals in BaĢakĢehir district of Istanbul province through an online platform. The data collected were processed and analyzed using the SPSS method after determining the attachment styles with the YIYE-II scale, measuring self and family belongingness with the "Family Belongingness Scale" (AAÖ), and evaluating life skills with the "Life Skills Scale" (YBÖ). The study was carried out using quantitative method and correlational survey design, and the findings were evaluated. The research findings indicate that there is no difference in terms of Avoidant and Anxious Attachment dimension scores in the YIYE-II scale sub-items according to gender. However, the averages of AAÖ scores were found to be different, with male participants having higher levels of family belongingness and self belongingness compared to female participants. The coping with stress and emotions subscale scores of the YBÖ scores vary according to gender and were found to be higher in favor of men. Additionally, changes in family belonging and self-belonging were detected in the 18-25 age group according to the age variable. It was observed that the avoidant attachment scores of single participants in marital status were higher than married participants. Other variables (e.g., educational background, breastfeeding status) did not show a significant effect on attachment styles. Correlation analysis showed that as anxious-avoidant attachment increased, there was a decrease in self- and family belonging and life skill scores decreased. It was found that the study explained between 20% and 27% of the total variance for certain subdimensions. This study is expected to contribute to our understanding of attachment and lead to new areas of research.