Adult attachment style, interpersonal communication competence, and social support

Individuals with a more secure attachment style report having larger and more satisfying social support networks. Individuals with a more anxious or a more avoidant attachment style, by contrast, report having smaller and less satisfying support networks. The present study examined the role of interpersonal communication competence (ICC) as a possible mediator of the association between attachment and social support in a sample of college undergraduates. Strong support was found for the described model. Mediational analyses revealed that global deficits in ICC could account for the smaller social support network sizes and lower levels of satisfaction among both more anxiously attached and more avoidantly attached individuals. In addition, subsequent analyses examining specific dimensions of ICC revealed that the lower support satisfaction among more anxious individuals could be uniquely accounted for by a lack of assertiveness in social interactions. For more avoidantly attached individuals, smaller network sizes could be uniquely accounted for by lower levels of self-disclosure, and less support satisfaction could be uniquely accounted for by a lack of assertiveness in addition to lower levels of self-disclosure. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.