Impact Parental Bonding and Relationship-Centered Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: The Moderating Role of Adult Attachment among Young Adults in Pakistan

Abstract

One of the most significant sources of psychological distress is romantic relationship difficulties. Relationship centered obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms are easily recognized as a discrete demonstration within the OCD spectrum. Romantic attachment insecurity is shaped by our early childhood experiences that establish into adult relationships. This pathway however, remains unclear. The present study considered whether adult attachment styles (anxiety and avoidance) moderate the relationship between parental bonding (care and overprotection) and relationship-centered OC symptoms among young adults in Pakistan. A cross-sectional design was used with 213 young adults (M age = 23.25, SD = 3.44). The young adults were recruited from universities in Islamabad. Data were collected using the measures such as Relationship Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (Doron et al., 2012), the Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker et al., 1979), and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Short Form (Wei et al., 2007). PROCESS macro, Model 1 (Hayes, 2022) was used for moderation analysis. All four moderation models were significant (p < .05). Attachment anxiety and avoidance each moderated the relationship between parental care, parental overprotection and relationship-centered OC symptoms. Parental bonding across Models, predicted ROC symptoms only at medium and high levels of attachment insecurity. The strongest effect appeared for the Parental Overprotection × Attachment Anxiety interaction (ΔR² = .052, p < .001). These findings propose that adult attachment insecurity strengthens, rather than simply transmits. They also suggest the effect of adverse parental bonding on relationship-centered OC symptoms along with implications for clinical intervention. Also, for understanding relational psychopathology within a South Asian Pakistani cultural context.