No Safe Base: An Attachment Theory Perspective on the Mediational Effects of Reappraisal and Resilience on the Well-being of Homeless Women in the Skid Row District of Los Angeles

This study aims to test the relationship between attachment style and well-being by examining the possible mediating roles of emotion regulation (conceptualized as reappraisal and suppression) and resilience (Karreman & Vingerhoets, 2012). One hundred homeless women living in homeless shelters in the Skid Row district of Los Angeles were sampled to test Karreman and Vingerhoets’ model of attachment and well-being (2012). Dismissive attachment style comprised the largest group among the four measured attachment styles (n=39). Both dismissive and secure attachment positively correlated with well-being in this sample. Fearful attachment was the only attachment style negatively related to well-being. Preoccupied attachment was not related to well-being. Emotion regulation failed to function as a mediator in this study. Higher resilience mediated the relationship between secure and dismissive attachment styles and well-being, while lower resilience decreased well-being and mediated the relationship between well-being and fearful attachment. Results as well as research and clinical implications of attachment style and well-being in a homeless population are discussed.