Attachment insecurity and psychological (mal)adjustment in older adults: The longitudinal role of fear of self‐compassion

Lúcia Tavares; Paula Vagos; Ana Xavier

doi:10.1111/papt.70059

journal article Open Access Mar 29, 2026

Attachment insecurity and psychological (mal)adjustment in older adults: The longitudinal role of fear of self‐compassion

Lúcia Tavares

Paula Vagos

Ana Xavier

Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1111/papt.70059

Abstract

Abstract

Objectives
Insecure attachment has been suggested to precede and perpetuate fear of self‐compassion, with a negative impact on mental health. However, this evidence was obtained using general‐age samples and cross‐sectional designs. Our objective was to, in an older adult sample, analyse longitudinally the indirect effect of fear of self‐compassion in the relationship between attachment insecurity and psychological (mal)adjustment, controlling for negative life events.

Design
Our study consisted of a repeated‐measures design based on three data assessment moments across 6 months. Participants were 147 Portuguese community‐resident older adults.

Methods
We conducted path analyses to test two models. Model A had attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance as independent variables, fear of self‐compassion as mediator and depressive symptoms and quality of life as dependent variables. Model B consisted of a respecified Model A with negative life events added as covariate.

Results
Attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance predicted increased depressive symptoms fully through increased fear of self‐compassion. Attachment anxiety also predicted decreased quality of life partially through increased fear of self‐compassion. These mediation effects remained significant when negative life events were controlled for.

Conclusions
In older adults, attachment insecurity underlies the fear of being self‐compassionate, which, in turn, leads to increased depressive symptoms and poorer quality of life over time. Fear of self‐compassion, therefore, should be taken into consideration when conducting research and/or intervention in this age‐group.

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Published: Mar 29, 2026
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Authors

L

Lúcia Tavares

Universidade Portucalense Infante D. Henrique (UPT), CINTESIS@RISE, CINTESIS.UPT Porto Portugal

P

Paula Vagos

Departamento de Educação e Psicologia (DEP), William James Center for Research (WJCR) Universidade de Aveiro (UA) Aveiro Portugal; Centro de Investigação em Neuropsicologia e Intervenção Cognitivo‐Comportamental (CINEICC), Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra (FPCEUC) Coimbra Portugal

A

Ana Xavier

Universidade Portucalense Infante D. Henrique (UPT), CINTESIS@RISE, CINTESIS.UPT Porto Portugal; Centro de Investigação em Neuropsicologia e Intervenção Cognitivo‐Comportamental (CINEICC), Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra (FPCEUC) Coimbra Portugal

Funding

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Cite This Article

Lúcia Tavares, Paula Vagos, Ana Xavier (2026). Attachment insecurity and psychological (mal)adjustment in older adults: The longitudinal role of fear of self‐compassion. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.70059

Attachment insecurity and psychological (mal)adjustment in older adults: The longitudinal role of fear of self‐compassion

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