TURK PSIKOLOJI DERGISI, cilt.26, sa.67, ss.105-122, 2011 (SSCI)
The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationships between attachment dimensions (i.e., attachment anxiety and avoidance), autobiographical memory, and accepting the past. University students (N = 222, women = 127, men = 95) participated to the study. The relationships between attachment anxiety, avoidance, and autobiographical memory were examined within the context of the phenomenological properties of the autobiographical memory. Results revealed that attachment anxiety significantly predicted visceral reactions, vividness, negative valence, and social aspect of autobiographical memory. Results also indicated that attachment anxiety was a reliable predictor of accepting the past. Attachment avoidance significantly predicted recollection. Furthermore, the interaction between attachment anxiety and avoidance significantly predicted specificity, vividness, and social aspect of autobiographical memories. The patterns of the interaction effect suggested that those with fearful attachment pattern reported higher levels of specificity, vividness, and social components of the recalled memories than those with dismissive attachment. Findings indicated that attachment anxiety, but not avoidance, has a consistent effect on the affective aspects of autobiographical memory.