Attachment Anxiety and Psychological Distress among Gen Z Young Adults: The Serial Mediating Roles of Rejection Sensitivity and Affective Dependency

Abstract

In Pakistan, Gen Z youth are increasingly experiencing relational and emotional stressors which can lead to higher levels of psychological stress. In the current research, it was explored whether rejection sensitivity and affective dependency mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and psychological distress among Gen Z young adults. A cross-sectional correlational design was adopted and 300 youthful grown-ups aged from 18 to 25 years (58.7% feminine) were recruited from Lahore by means of convenience sampling. All participants answered the Experiences in Close Relationships Relationship Structures questionnaire, Adult Rejection sensitivity questionnaire, Affective Dependence Scale, and Kessler Psychological Distress scale. Attachment anxiety was positively associated with rejection sensitivity (r = .62), affective dependency (r = .61), and psychological distress (r = .69) and rejection sensitivity (r = .65) and affective dependency (r = .66) were positively linked to psychological distress. Results of serial mediation analysis with PROCESS Model 6 and 5,000 bootstrap samples indicated that there were significant indirect effects through rejection sensitivity (B = 1.05, 95% CI [0.65, 1.47]), through affective dependency (B = 0.73, 95% CI [0.43, 1.07]), and through both mediators in sequence (B = 0.37, 95% CI [0.20, 0.58]). The direct effect was significant, suggesting that the indirect effects accounted for approximately 50% of the total effect and suggested partial mediation. The results indicate that young adults with anxious attachment styles become upset, in part, because they are worried about being rejected by the partner and also are overly dependent on the partner, which has implications for interventions in university counselling and for relationships-oriented interventions aimed at young adults.