Adult attachment and loneliness during the first Covid-19 lockdown in Romania
Adult attachment and loneliness during the first Covid-19 lockdown in Romania

Summary/Abstract: Public health measures measures following the spread of COVID-19 throughout Romania placed individuals at an increased risk of loneliness in spring of 2020. Because loneliness places individuals at greater risk for psychiatric and somatic disorders, the current study setout to explore its determinants during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Romania, with focusing on attachment styles and romantic intimacy. Correlational analyses revealed significant relationships between mental distress, loneliness, intimacy, and attachment dimensions. Attachment dependence emerged as a predictor of intimacy, and a negative predictor of loneliness and mental distress, while attachment anxiety presented as a positive predictor of loneliness and emotional distress, and a negative predictor of intimacy. SEM analysis revealed no significant indirect paths between attachment styles, intimacy and loneliness. Attachment insecurity, particularly anxious attachment, emerged as significant predictors of loneliness and mental distress during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Romania. More research is needed to address loneliness, dyadic coping, and the stress-buffering effect of attachment styles during periods of distress.

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