From attachment insecurity to life satisfaction: the pathway of psychological needs satisfaction among Chinese university students

Background: Life satisfaction represents a core indicator of subjective well-being among university students. Yet the mechanisms linking adult attachment orientations to life satisfaction have not been fully elucidated, particularly within Chinese cultural contexts. Integrating Attachment Theory with Self-Determination Theory, this study aims to investigate how attachment anxiety and avoidance are associated with life satisfaction, with autonomy, competence, and relatedness proposed as parallel mediators. Methods: Using multi-stage stratified random sampling, 488 Chinese university students (48.0% male; Meanage = 20.15, SD = 1.42) were recruited from four universities in Anhui Province, China. Participants completed validated self-report instruments assessing attachment anxiety and avoidance, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and life satisfaction. A parallel mediation model was tested using structural equation modeling with bias-corrected bootstrapping (5000 resamples). Results: The hypothesized model demonstrated acceptable fit (χ 2/df = 3.94, CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.078). Attachment anxiety and avoidance were each negatively associated with all three psychological needs (βs ranging from −0.25 to −0.51, all p < 0.001), which in turn were positively related to life satisfaction (βs ranging from 0.28 to 0.30, all p < 0.001). Total indirect effects were significant for both attachment anxiety (β = −0.33, 95% CI [−0.42, −0.24]) and avoidance (β = −0.25, 95% CI [−0.34, −0.18]), whereas direct effects were nonsignificant, indicating full mediation. The model accounted for 49.2% of the variance in life satisfaction. Conclusions: These findings suggest that insecure attachment is associated with lower life satisfaction indirectly through reduced fulfillment of basic psychological needs. Practically, interventions need not focus exclusively on modifying attachment styles; rather, fostering need-supportive environments represents a viable and culturally appropriate pathway for enhancing well-being among Chinese university students.

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