Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences International Journal of Behavioral Sciences 2322-1194 18 1 2024 04 01 The Relationship between Attachment Style and Separation Anxiety Disorder in Badly-Cared and Orphan Adolescent Girls: The Mediating Role of Stress Coping Strategy and Internalized Symptoms 1 8 198325 10.30491/ijbs.2024.409185.2001 EN Khodamorad Momeni Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran 0000-0001-5129-2451 Zahra Moinoddini Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran 0000-0002-5362-1244 Asie Moradi Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran 0000-0002-5449-905X Journal Article 2023 07 29 <strong>Introduction:</strong> This study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment styles and Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) through the internalized symptoms and stress coping strategies in badly-cared and orphan adolescent girls living in Tehran in 2022.<br /><strong>Method:</strong> This was a correlational study of a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) type. The statistical population included all adolescent girls aged between 12 and 18 under the direct or indirect supervision of Tehran’s welfare center, of whom 200 were selected by the convenience sampling method. The participants answered the questionnaires of Collins and Reed’s attachment styles, Billings and Moss’s coping strategies, Achenbach and Rascorella’s adolescent self-report, and Morris et al.’s SAD.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> The findings of SEM demonstrated that the hypothesized model of this study has a good fit in the studied sample. The findings reveal that the secure attachment style is related to separation anxiety both directly (T=-4.18 and b=-.22) and indirectly through problem-oriented coping style (P<.01 and Z=-10.83) and emotion-oriented coping style (P<.01 and Z=-7.23). Avoidant attachment style is directly (T=4.98 and b=.25) and indirectly related to separation anxiety through problem-oriented coping style (P<.01 and Z=4.33) and emotion-oriented coping style (P<.01 and Z=8.79) and internalized symptoms (P<.01 and Z=2.61). Finally, ambivalent attachment style had no significant correlation (P>.05) with separation anxiety.<br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> These results emphasize the importance of attachment patterns formed under the influence of adverse conditions of the vulnerable group, and the lifelong effects of these patterns in the mental health of them. https://www.behavsci.ir/article_198325_b023cf413b9bb1ec10062ac92ad4a183.pdf