Investigating the moderating role of self-compassion and positive thinking in the relationship between attachment styles and adolescents' happiness.

The aim of this research was to investigate the mediating role of self-compassion and positive thinking in the relationship between attachment styles and adolescents' happiness. In regard to the purpose, this research was fundamental, and in regard to procedure, it was a correlation study (structural equation modeling). The statistical population of the study included all first and second-grade high school students of Holeilan City in the academic year 1401-1400, among them 370 students selected as samples by cluster random sampling. Research questionnaires included: the Adult Attachment Styles Questionnaire (AAI) by Simpson (1990), the Self-Compassion Questionnaire (SCS) by Neff (2003), the Positive Thought Questionnaire (ATQ-P) by Ingram and Wisnicki (1988), and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHI) was Argyle et al. (1989). Structural equation analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings showed that happiness had a positive and significant relationship with secure attachment style (β = 0.15) and a negative and significant relationship with insecure attachment style (β = -0.35). On the other hand, the relationship between happiness and secure attachment style through self-compassion and positive thinking was positive and significant (β = 0.27) and with negative and significant insecure attachment style (β = -0.22). The model had a good fit. It can be concluded that happiness is, directly and indirectly, related to attachment styles through the two variables of self-compassion and positive thinking. Thus, compassion and positive thinking themselves can play a mediating role in the relationship between attachment styles and happiness.