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The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between attachment styles, emotion regulation strategies, and their possible effects on health-promoting behaviors among those who participate (N = 109) versus those who do not participate in extreme sports (N = 202). Multiple mediation analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. Different nonadaptive emotion regulation strategies mediated the relationship between insecure attachment styles and health-promoting behaviors in two groups of the current study. In the extreme sports group, lack of awareness about emotions and lack of goals while dealing with negative emotions mediated the relationship between anxious attachment style and health-promoting behaviors; and lack of goals while dealing with negative emotions mediated the relationship between avoidant attachment style and health-promoting behaviors. In participants who do not engage in extreme sports, lack of clarity about emotions mediated the relationship between anxious attachment style and health-promoting behaviors. Findings and their implications were discussed in the light of the literature.

Adherence is a documented problem in collegiate athletics. The patient–clinician relationship is an important component of how one will receive the idea of rehabilitation and adhere to the prescribed treatment protocol. Attachment theory states that an emotional bond between two individuals usually flourishes when one individual looks for support and assurance during a time of need. Attachment theory was initially proposed to describe the parent–child relationship and has implications into adulthood. If clinicians understand and recognize the different attachment styles a given patient might portray, then the relationship between the two may flourish, and consequently lead to greater adherence. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a model for improving treatment adherence by adjusting the patient–clinician relationship based on a patient’s attachment style.

The present preliminary study aimed to develop and examine the psychometric properties of a new sport-specific self-report instrument designed to assess athletes’ and coaches’ attachment styles. The development and initial validation comprised three main phases. In Phase 1, a pool of items was generated based on pre-existing self-report attachment instruments, modified to reflect a coach and an athlete’s style of attachment. In Phase 2, the content validity of the items was assessed by a panel of experts. A final scale was developed and administered to 405 coaches and 298 athletes (N = 703 participants). In Phase 3, confirmatory factor analysis of the obtained data was conducted to determine the final items of the Coach-Athlete Attachment Scale (CAAS). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed acceptable goodness of ft indexes for a 3-first order factor model as well as a 2-first order factor model for both the athlete and the coach data, respectively. A secure attachment style positively predicted relationship satisfaction, while an insecure attachment style was a negative predictor of relationship satisfaction. The CAAS revealed initial psychometric properties of content, factorial, and predictive validity, as well as reliability.

The current study aimed to examine whether (a) mean differences and changes in athletes’ attachment style predicted psychological need satisfaction within two diverse relational contexts (coach and parent) and well-being, and (b) mean differences and changes in need satisfaction within the two relational contexts predicted well-being. One hundred and ten athletes aged between 15 and 32 years old completed a multisection questionnaire at three time points over a span of 6 months to assess the main study variables. Multilevel modeling revealed that insecure attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) predicted well-being outcomes at the within- and between-person levels. Avoidant attachment predicted need satisfaction within the parent relational context at both levels, and need satisfaction within the coach relational context at the between-person level. Need satisfaction within both relational contexts predicted various well-being outcomes at the between-person level, while need satisfaction within the parent relational context predicted vitality at the within-person level.

The aim of the current study was to examine actor and partner effects of (a) athletes’ and coaches’ attachment styles (avoidant and anxious) on the quality of the coach-athlete relationship, and (b) athletes’ and coaches’ quality of the coach-athlete relationship on relationship satisfaction employing the actor-partner interdependence model (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006). Coaches (N = 107) and athletes (N = 107) completed a questionnaire related to attachment styles, relationship quality, and relationship satisfaction. Structural equation model analyses revealed (a) actor effects for coaches’ and athletes’ avoidant attachment styles on their own perception of relationship quality and coaches’ and athletes’ perception of relationship quality on their own perception of relationship satisfaction, and (b) partner effects for athletes’ avoidant attachment style on coaches’ perceptions of relationship quality and for coaches’ perceptions of relationship quality on athletes’ perceptions of relationship satisfaction. The findings highlight that attachments styles can help us understand the processes involved in the formation and maintenance of quality relational bonds between coaches and athletes.

Grounded in Bowlby’s (1969/1982, 1988) attachment theory, this study aimed to explore (a) the pervasiveness of the three main functions of attachment within the context of the coach-athlete relationship, (b) the associations of athletes’ attachment styles with such important variables as satisfaction with the relationship and satisfaction with the sport, and (c) the process by which athletes’ attachment styles and satisfaction with sport are associated. Data were collected through self-report measures of attachment functions and styles as well as relationship satisfaction and sport satisfaction from 309 student athletes (males = 150, females = 159) whose age ranged from 18 to 28 years (Mage = 19.9, SD = 1.58 years). Athletes’ mean scores indicated that the coach was viewed as an attachment figure fulfilling all three functions of secure base, safe haven, and proximity maintenance. Bivariate correlations indicated that athletes’ avoidant and anxious styles of attachment with the coach were negatively correlated with both relationship satisfaction and sport satisfaction. Mediational regression analysis revealed that athletes’ satisfaction with the coach-athlete relationship may be a process that links athletes’ attachment styles with levels of satisfaction with sport. The findings from this study highlight the potential theoretical and practical utility of attachment theory in studying relationships within the sport context.