The Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Intrusive and Deliberate Rumination in the Association Between Insecure Attachment and Prolonged Grief.

This study examined how emotion regulation difficulties and two types of rumination—intrusive and deliberate—mediate the relationship between insecure attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) and prolonged grief symptoms among 342 bereaved Iranian adults. Findings indicated that both anxious and avoidant attachment styles are significantly associated with prolonged grief, with avoidant attachment showing a stronger effect. Emotion regulation difficulties mediated the relationship between both attachment styles and prolonged grief, while deliberate rumination mediated the link between anxious attachment and prolonged grief, and intrusive rumination mediated the link between avoidant attachment and prolonged grief. Additionally, female gender, older age, unexpected death, and closeness to the deceased were significant predictors of prolonged grief symptoms. The results suggest that targeting emotion regulation and rumination in therapeutic interventions may benefit individuals with insecure attachment experiencing prolonged grief.