The relationship between attachment styles and coping strategies of women during the course of divorce

The aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between the attachment styles and coping strategies and whether the attachment styles and coping strategies differ significantly according to the demographic characteristics in the population of women who are in the divorce process. The sample of the research consists of 120 female participants who are selected randomly among the women who applied for divorce to the Family Courts in İzmir Courthouse, who are referred by the court to the psychologists, pedagogues and social workers working in Family Courts and whose processes of divorce still continues. Three different data collection tools are used within the scope of the research. These are the Coping Strategies Scale, the validity and reliability study of which was carried out by Aysan (1994); the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory, the validity and reliability study of which was carried out by Sümer (2006) and the Demographic Information Form, which was developed by the researcher. In the analyses of the data, various statistical methods are used to determine the differences of attachment styles and coping strategies in terms of several demographic characteristics. In cases that the demographic characteristics are divided into two groups, T Test is used and in cases that the demographic characteristics are divided into more than two groups, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is used. The correlation between the attachment styles and coping strategies is estimated by Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient. In the analysis of all the acquired data, the program of SPSS 15.0 is used. The findings of the research revealed that there is a significant relationship between both avoidant and anxious attachment styles and problem solving, seeking for social support and avoidance strategy. A significant relationship was not found between attachment styles and the women's ages, educational status, perceived social status, the age of marriage, the way and years of marriage, the number of marriages, working status, having children and being the claimant. There was a significant difference in seeking social support according to having children or not. But, there was not a significant relationship between coping strategies and the women's ages, educational status, perceived social status, the age of marriage, the way and years of marriage, the number of marriages, working status and being the claimant.The %65,8 of the participants showed lack of interest, %55,8 showed communication problems, %46,7 showed psychological violence, %43.3 showed cheating and %36,7 of them showed physical violence as the reason of divorce. At the result of the research, the findings are discussed; also, the limitations and strengths of the research are evaluated and suggestions for future research are offered. Key words: Attachment styles, coping, divorce