The Mediating Role of Mentalization in the Relationship between Attachment and Emotioal Dysregulation with Social Anxiety

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of mentalization in the relationship between attachment styles and difficulty in emotion regulation with social anxiety. The research method was descriptive and correlational. The sample consisted of 706 students of Mashhad University who were selected by convenience sampling method and completed the Adult Attachment Scale (Besharat,2011), Reflective Functioning Scale (Fonaghi, Leighton, Molton & Lee, 2016), Social Phobia Inventory (Connor, Davidson, Churchill, Sherwood, & Whistler, 2000), and Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale (Gertz & Romer, 2004). Structural equation modeling analysis showed that mentalization can mediate the relationship between attachment styles and difficulty in regulating emotion with social anxiety symptoms. The direct effects of mentalization, attachment, and emotion regulation difficulty on symptoms of social anxiety were significant. The direct effects of attachment and difficulty in emotion regulation on mentalization were also negative and significant. The indirect effect of attachment styles and difficulty in emotion regulation through mentalization was also significant. Findings suggest that mentalization have a mediating role between attachment styles and difficulty in regulating emotion with symptoms of social anxiety.