Differences in Resilience and Mental Health Symptoms Among US First Responders With Secure and Insecure Attachment

Abstract

Objective This observational study aimed to determine whether attachment style predicted first responders' mental health and resilience. Method Data were from a treatment-seeking sample of first responders (N = 237). Each participant completed six assessments measuring attachment, resilience, generalized anxiety, depression, suicidality, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Results On the attachment assessment, 25.3% were categorized as secure, 19.0% as dismissive, 25.3% as preoccupied, and 30.4% as fearfully attached. As predicted, securely attached participants had the lowest scores for generalized anxiety, depression, suicidality, and posttraumatic stress disorder and the highest scores on the resiliency measure, followed by dismissive, preoccupied, and fearfully attached participants. Limitations These data are cross-sectional and causality cannot be inferred. Conclusions Results highlight the importance of the study of attachment to psychotherapy and mental health treatment with first responders.