GENÇ KADINLARDA YAKINLIK KORKUSU: BAĞLANMA STiLLERiNiN, REDDEDiLME DUYARLILIĞININ VE DENEYiMSEL KAÇINMANIN ROLÜ

Abstract

The current study examined the role of attachment styles, rejection sensitivity, and experiential avoidance in predicting fear of intimacy among young adult women, after controlling for age and relationship status. A total of 385 Turkish women participated in the study. The Demographic and Romantic Relational Information Form, the Three-Dimensional Attachment Styles Scale, the Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Scale, and the Rejection Sensitivity Scale were used to collect data from the participants. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyse data in this correlational research design. Overall, the final model demonstrated significant explanatory power, accounting for a considerable proportion of variance in fear of intimacy and confirming the significance of the proposed predictors. Parallel to the empirical evidence obtained from past studies, it was found that anxious/ambivalent attachment style, two subdimensions of experiential avoidance (repression/denial and distress endurance), and rejection sensitivity, along with relationship status, were significant predictors of the fear of intimacy. It was also observed that age and relationship status became a predictive factor along with other variables in the final stage of the analysis. The findings have been explicated by examining the existing empirical evidence. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications and recommendations for further research were presented.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. OpenMETU (Middle East Technical University), 2026 · DOI ↗