The mediating role of stres in the relationship between attachment, personality types and differentiation-integration

Integration process consists of two main domains called differentiation and interpersonal integration. Differentiation process can be defined as individual's separation from their intermediate environment and social relations to gain their individualism. Interpersonal integration can be outlined as the reconsolidation of the individual who has started to exist as an individual with the community. The most significant detail at this point is that individuals construct a system in harmony with their environment without drifting away from their own selves while integrating. However, realizing the integration may not always be possible and some people experience problems at differentiation or integration stages. The current study aims to assess the effects of attachments styles and personality traits on differentiation and integration by means of stress. In this regard, in the first section of the research, firstly validity and reliability studies of Integration-Differentiation Scale were conducted and tested with Scale of Balanced Differentiation and Integration. In the second section, a model was developed to assess the effects of attachment styles and personality traits on integration processes with the mediating effect of stress. The developed model was tested by using the revised version of Integration-Differentiation Scale which was observed to be valid and reliable on a different sampling, Attachment Based Mental Representation Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory, and Big Five Personality Scale. Results of the study showed that dimensions of secure attachment, extraversion, and openness did not show meaningful relationships on the model. In the framework of the proposed model, insecure attachment which is observed to have meaningful relationships with differentiation and integration, dimensions of personality which are neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and sub-dimensions of stress including anxiety, depression, negative self-concept, somatization, and hostility were included in the analysis. Results indicated that insecure attachment and neuroticism had a positive effect on differentiation and integration processes by means of stress. In addition, it was observed that dimensions of conscientiousness and agreeableness had a negative effect on differentiation and integration processes by means of stress. While the level of conscientiousness and agreeableness is low parallel to the level of insecure attachment, the personality trait that display high levels of neuroticism gets stronger, and an increase is observed in the level of stress proceeding with pschopathology syptoms. The increase in this stress level tend to have an negatively affect on integation process.