Insecure Attachment and Psychological Resilience in Adolescents: The Roles of Self-Esteem and Loneliness

During the adolescent stage, which involves both academic and interpersonal challenges, the relationship between insecure attachment and psychological resilience has attracted attention. However, evidence differentiating avoidant attachment and anxious attachment, and examining the statistical indirect role of self-esteem and the boundary conditions of loneliness within the same model, remains relatively limited. Guided by attachment theory, this cross-sectional study examined the relationship between insecure attachment and psychological resilience. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the research surveyed 820 Chinese middle school students using standardized scales and analyzed the data through PLS-SEM. The results indicate that both avoidant attachment and anxious attachment are negatively correlated with psychological resilience, while self-esteem is positively correlated with psychological resilience. Both types of insecure attachment showed significant statistical indirect associations with psychological resilience via self-esteem. Moderation analysis shows that loneliness significantly moderates the relationship between avoidant attachment and psychological resilience, as well as the relationship between self-esteem and psychological resilience. This study describes an association pattern linking insecure attachment, self-esteem, and loneliness to adolescents’ psychological resilience, providing references for school psychological support.