Abstract

This study explored the relationship between insecure attachment and somatization among university students, emphasizing the mediating role of self-defense ambivalence and the moderating effect of passive stress coping. A total of 280 university students participated in the survey, using several instruments: the Korean version of the Mental Health Screening Questionnaire, the Adult Attachment Scale, the Korean version of the Ambivalence over Emotional Expression Scale, and the Stress Coping Scale. Data were analyzed with SPSS 28.0 and the SPSS PROCESS Macro version 4.0. The results indicated that insecure attachment significantly influenced both self-defense ambivalence and somatization, with self-defense ambivalence fully mediating the relationship between the two. Furthermore, passive coping moderated the connection between self-defense ambivalence and somatization, and the moderated mediation model produced significant findings. These results suggest that interventions aimed at training coping strategies in stressful situations may be crucial for preventing and alleviating somatic symptoms in short-term counseling and clinical contexts. The research findings were discussed in terms of their application to clinical settings addressing somatization symptoms.