Perceived family support as a double-edged sword: A moderated mediation model of attachment on spiritual well-being among Chinese older adults

Spiritual well-being is increasingly recognized as a critical component of healthy aging, yet its associations with adult attachment remain underexplored, particularly among Chinese older adults. This study examined a moderated mediator model which social self-efficacy played a mediating role in the relationship between attachment and spiritual well-being and perceived family support could moderate this mediation model. Data were collected from 459 older adults in Henan Province, China. Results revealed that attachment anxiety and avoidance negatively predicted spiritual well-being, and these associations were partially mediated by social self-efficacy. Moreover, family support moderated the link between attachment and social self-efficacy. Under conditions of higher family support, the mediation of social self-efficacy in the relation from attachment avoidance to spiritual well-being was significant, whereas under conditions of low family support, the mediation of social self-efficacy in the relation from attachment anxiety to spiritual well-being was significant. These findings suggest that social self-efficacy may play a critical mediating role in the relationship between attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and spiritual well-being among older adults. The observed differential mediation effects under varying levels of family support highlight the importance of considering family support contexts in future intervention research targeting spiritual well-being in this population.

精神福祉（spiritual well-being）日益被视为健康老龄化的关键构成要素，但其与成人依恋（adult attachment）的关联仍未得到充分探索，针对中国老年群体的相关研究尤为匮乏。本研究构建并检验了一个有调节的中介模型（moderated mediator model）：社会自我效能感（social self-efficacy）在成人依恋与精神福祉之间发挥中介作用，而感知到的家庭支持（perceived family support）对该中介模型具有调节效应。研究共招募中国河南省459名老年人作为研究对象并收集相关数据。结果显示，依恋焦虑（attachment anxiety）与依恋回避（attachment avoidance）均对精神福祉存在负向预测作用，且社会自我效能感在上述关联中发挥部分中介效应。此外，家庭支持在成人依恋与社会自我效能感的关联中起到调节作用。在家庭支持水平较高的情境下，社会自我效能感在依恋回避与精神福祉之间的中介效应显著；而在家庭支持水平较低的情境下，社会自我效能感在依恋焦虑与精神福祉之间的中介效应显著。本研究结果表明，社会自我效能感在老年群体的依恋焦虑、依恋回避与精神福祉的关联中发挥关键中介作用。本研究发现不同家庭支持水平下的中介效应存在差异，这提示未来针对该群体精神福祉的干预研究中，应充分考量家庭支持的情境因素。