Pathways Linking Attachment Trauma to Cognitive Flexibility in University Students: The Mediating Roles of Mentalization and Epistemic Trust
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Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between attachment trauma and cognitive flexibility among university students and to test the mediating roles of mentalization and epistemic trust.
Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional correlational design with observed-variable path analysis was used. The population included undergraduate students enrolled in public universities in Tehran during the 2024–2025 academic year. A multistage cluster sampling method was applied. Of 420 invited students, 358 were included in the final analysis after screening for missing data and invalid responses. Data were collected using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire–Short Form, Mentalization Scale, Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire, and Cognitive Flexibility Inventory. Pearson correlations and path analysis were conducted using SPSS version 27 and AMOS version 24. Indirect effects were tested using 5,000 bootstrap resamples.
Findings: The model showed excellent fit, χ²(1) = 1.84, p = .175, CFI = .998, TLI = .986, RMSEA = .049, SRMR = .017. The model explained 45.4% of the variance in mentalization, 49.6% in epistemic trust, and 37.3% in cognitive flexibility. Attachment trauma negatively predicted mentalization, β = −.67, p < .001, epistemic trust, β = −.33, p < .001, and cognitive flexibility, β = −.17, p = .004. Mentalization positively predicted epistemic trust, β = .44, p < .001, and cognitive flexibility, β = .38, p < .001. Epistemic trust also predicted cognitive flexibility, β = .14, p = .023. Indirect effects through mentalization, β = −.25, p < .001, and epistemic trust, β = −.04, p = .012, were significant.
Conclusion: Attachment trauma was associated with lower cognitive flexibility, partly through reduced mentalization and epistemic trust.
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