Free from your experiences to grow: belief in free will moderates the relationship between attachment avoidance and personal growth initiative.
Attachment security
Belief in free will
Moderating effects
Personal growth initiative
Journal
BMC psychology
ISSN: 2050-7283
Titre abrégé: BMC Psychol
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101627676
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
24 Aug 2023
24 Aug 2023
Historique:
received:
13
10
2022
accepted:
16
08
2023
medline:
28
8
2023
pubmed:
25
8
2023
entrez:
24
8
2023
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Attachment theory proposes that attachment security facilitates personal growth. However, attachment security origins in relationship history, and thus, how people treat their experiences may influence the outcomes of attachment security. People differ in the degree in believing that human beings have free will, and belief in free will may influence the relationship between experiences and outcomes. The present cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between attachment security, belief in free will, and personal growth initiative. We used the cross-sectional data of 346 Chinese college students for data analysis, including correlational analyses, regression, and moderation analyses. The nine-item Chinese version of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Scale, the sixteen-item Chinese version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II, and the seven-item Free Will subscale of the Chinese version of the Free Will and Determinism Plus Scale were utilized. Results showed attachment avoidance and belief in free will, not attachment anxiety, was associated with personal growth initiative. Belief in free will moderated the association between attachment avoidance and personal growth initiative. When the centered score of belief in free will was higher than 0.64, attachment avoidance was no longer associated with personal growth initiative. 85.84% of our data were below this Johnson-Neyman significance region, and 14.16% were above. In other words, only those who scored higher than 0.64 on free will beliefs were able to pursue personal growth despite their high attachment avoidance. These findings suggest that when believing in free will, avoidantly attached people may believe in their ability to pursue personal growth and think their future has more possibilities, not influenced by other factors like social support, which they think they lack.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Attachment theory proposes that attachment security facilitates personal growth. However, attachment security origins in relationship history, and thus, how people treat their experiences may influence the outcomes of attachment security. People differ in the degree in believing that human beings have free will, and belief in free will may influence the relationship between experiences and outcomes. The present cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between attachment security, belief in free will, and personal growth initiative.
METHODS
METHODS
We used the cross-sectional data of 346 Chinese college students for data analysis, including correlational analyses, regression, and moderation analyses. The nine-item Chinese version of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Scale, the sixteen-item Chinese version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II, and the seven-item Free Will subscale of the Chinese version of the Free Will and Determinism Plus Scale were utilized.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Results showed attachment avoidance and belief in free will, not attachment anxiety, was associated with personal growth initiative. Belief in free will moderated the association between attachment avoidance and personal growth initiative. When the centered score of belief in free will was higher than 0.64, attachment avoidance was no longer associated with personal growth initiative. 85.84% of our data were below this Johnson-Neyman significance region, and 14.16% were above. In other words, only those who scored higher than 0.64 on free will beliefs were able to pursue personal growth despite their high attachment avoidance.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that when believing in free will, avoidantly attached people may believe in their ability to pursue personal growth and think their future has more possibilities, not influenced by other factors like social support, which they think they lack.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37620912
doi: 10.1186/s40359-023-01289-x
pii: 10.1186/s40359-023-01289-x
pmc: PMC10463692
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
243Commentaires et corrections
Type : ErratumIn
Informations de copyright
© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.
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