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Mental Models of Attachment and Coping with

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Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 1998 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.
1998, Vol. 74, No. 2, 453-467 0022-3514/98/$3.00

Mental Models of Attachment and Coping With Abortion

Catherine Cozzarelli and Nebi Sumer Brenda Major
Kansas State University University of California, Santa Barbara

This study explored the relationships between mental models of attachment and adjustment to abortion
in 408 women undergoing a lst-trimester abortion at a large free-standing abortion clinic. As expected,
mental models of attachment were related to postabortion distress and positive well-being. These
relationships were mediated by feelings of self-efficacy for coping with abortion, perceived support
from a woman's male partner, and perceived conflict from this same source. Model of self and model
of others interacted only in predicting perceived conflict and positive well-being. Model of self was
more strongly related to the mediator and outcome variables than was model of others. The effects
of model of self, however, were largely a reflection of the overlap between model of self and self-
esteem.

In recent years, mental models of attachment have been shown
to be related to behavior and functioning within romantic rela-
tionships and to affect regulation in times of distress. In the
current study, we explored the relationships between mental
models of self and others and adjustment to abortion. We ex-
pected that mental models would influence postabortion adjust-
ment by affecting three mediators: perceived social support from
a male partner, perceived social conflict from this same source,
and self-efficacy for coping with abortion. A second goal of this
study was to examine the extent to which the impact of model
of self on the adjustment process could be attributed to its
overlap with self-esteem.
Attachment Theory
According to Bowlby's (1969/1982) infant attachment the-
ory, as a function of interactions with their primary caregivers,
infants develop stable beliefs or expectations ("mental mod-
els") about their caregiver's responsiveness and about them-
selves as being worthy or unworthy of love. Attachment theorists
have conceptualized these beliefs as mental representations of
experience-based knowledge about the self and attachment fig-
ures (Bowlby, 1973; Bretherton, 1985; Main, Kaplan, & Cas-
sidy, 1985). On the basis of the assumption that mental models
are relatively stable throughout the life span, Hazan and Shaver
(1987) proposed that adults' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
Catherine Cozzarelli and Nebi Sumer, Department of Psychology,
Kansas State University; Brenda Major, Department of Psychology, Uni-
versity of California, Santa Barbara.
Preparation of this article was supported by National Institute of
Mental Health Grant 5R01MH47989.
We thank Marilynn Buckham and the staff of Buffalo GYN Women-
services Clinic, Jill Beck and the staff of Erie Medical Center, and
Shalom Press and his medical staff. Without their help and goodwill,
this study could not have been conducted.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Cather-
ine Cozzarelli, Department of Psychology, Bluemont Hall, Kansas State
University, Manhattan, Kansas 66502. Electronic mail may be sent via
the Internet to psycozz@ksu.edu.
in romantic relationships are also governed by attachment pro-
cesses and may be similar to those characterizing attachment to
primary caregivers during childhood.
Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) proposed a model of adult
attachment based on Bowlby's suggestion that infant-caregiver
interactions result in mental models of the self (which reflect
the extent to which one views the self as worthy of love) and
mental models of others (which reflect the extent to which others
are seen as trustworthy or dependable). Both of these mental
models are thought to vary along a positive-negative continuum
and, when crossed, to result in four attachment classifications
(as opposed to the three described in earlier work by Hazan &
Shaver, 1987): Fearful avoidants (who have negative models of
both self and others) are hypothesized to avoid close relation-
ships because of a fear of rejection; dismissing avoidants (who
have a positive model of self but a negative model of others)
are hypothesized to stress the importance of independence and
self-reliance over close relationships; secure individuals (who
have positive models of both self and others) are hypothesized
to experience a general comfort with closeness and trust in
others; and preoccupied individuals (who have a positive model
of others but a negative model of self) are hypothesized to have
an intense desire for emotional intimacy coupled with a general
distrust in others' availability. Research has confirmed that two
dimensions underlie differences in patterns of adult attachment
(e.g., Brennan & Shaver, 1995; Brennan, Shaver, & Tobey, 1991;
Collins & Read, 1990; Simpson, Rholes, & Nelligan, 1992) and
has provided strong support for the validity of Bartholomew and
Horowitz's operationalization of mental models (e.g., Griffin &
Bartholomew, 1994a, 1994b; Scharfe & Bartholomew, 1994).
Bowlby (1969/1982, 1988) suggested that stressful experi-
ences are especially likely to prime the attachment system and
make attachment processes focal. Research using adult partici-
pants has corroborated that the attachment system is most
strongly activated under conditions of high stress (Simpson &
Rholes, 1994; Simpson et al., 1992). Theoretically, once this
system has been activated, individuals with different mental
models of attachment will attempt to regulate affect and cope
with a given stressor in ways that reflect the patterns that have
been learned or reinforced throughout their relationship histories

453
454 COZZARELLI, SUMER, AND MAJOR
(B. C. Feeney & Kirkpatrick, 1996; Kobak & Sceery, 1988;
Mikulincer, Florian, & Tolmacz, 1990; Simpson & Rholes,
1994) and that reflect their basic beliefs about themselves and
others.
Although researchers have begun to explore how attachment
processes influence adjustment to negative life events, to date
no study has examined the extent to which mental models of the
self and others (as operationalized by Bartholomew & Horowitz,
1991) impact adjustment within the context of a specific, real-
life stressor. (See Mikulincer & Florian, 1995, and Mikulincer,
Florian, & Weller, 1993, for such research using Hazan &
Shaver's 1987, three-category measure of attachment styles.)
Thus, one goal of the present study was to examine the impact
of mental models of the self and others on the process of adjust-
ment to a real-life stressful event (abortion). Furthermore, al-
though it has often been acknowledged that model of self and
self-esteem are conceptually quite similar, prior research has
not examined the extent to which these two variables overlap.
Thus, the second major goal of this study was to explore the
extent to which the impact of model of self on adjustment to a
stressful event could be attributed to its overlap with self-esteem.
Mental Models of Attachment and Adjustment
to Abortion
The stressful life event examined in this study was an un-
wanted pregnancy terminated by abortion, a stressor that is
experienced by approximately lV2 million American women
each year (Russo, Horn, & Schwartz, 1992). Although most
women do not appear to experience severe, negative, postabor-
tion psychological responses (see Adler et al., 1992, and Ma-
jor & Cozzarelli, 1992, for reviews), abortion is perceived as
an acute stressor by a large number of women. Accordingly,
confronting an unintended pregnancy and impending abortion
would be expected to prime the attachment system in the women
experiencing this event. In addition, given that mental models
of attachment reflect beliefs about both the positive or negative
characteristics of the self and the likely availability of others
as social resources, mental models of attachment should affect
numerous facets of the coping process. Three specific aspects
of the coping process were examined in the current study: self-
efficacy for coping, perceived social support from a male part-
ner, and perceived social conflict from this same source. Each
of these is briefly reviewed next.
Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy can be defined as the conviction that one can
execute the behaviors required to produce a desired outcome in
a specific situation (Bandura, 1977). In general, individuals who
feel efficacious have been found to handle stressful life events
more effectively (Bandura, 1977; Cutrona & Troutman, 1986;
Schiaffino & Revenson, 1992; Smith & Coyne, 1988), including
abortion (Major & Cozzarelli, 1992; Mueller & Major, 1989).
Furthermore, self-efficacy beliefs have been found to mediate
the positive effects of more global personal resources such as
self-esteem, optimism, and locus of control on adjustment (Coz-
zarelli, 1993). In the current study, we hypothesized that individ-
uals with a positive model of self (women classified as secure
or dismissing) would report higher feelings of self-efficacy for
coping with abortion than those with a negative model of self
(those classified as preoccupied or fearful) and that self-efficacy
would mediate the relationship between model of self and post-
abortion adjustment (see Major, Richards, Cooper, Cozzarelli, &
Zubek, 1997, for more on the relationship between self-efficacy
and postabortion adjustment).
Social Support
Perceived social support can be defined as information or
actions (real or potential) leading individuals to believe they
are cared for, valued, or in a position to receive help when they
need it. Perceived support has a direct, positive effect on health
and can serve a protective or ' 'buffering'' function for individu-
als experiencing high levels of stress (see Cohen & Wills, 1985,
for a review). In addition, research has shown that perceived
support, particularly from a woman's male partner, is an im-
portant predictor of postabortion adjustment (Major & Cozza-
relli, 1992; Major et al., 1990; Shusterman, 1979). Our prior
research based on the current sample demonstrated that per-
ceived social support from a woman's male partner was associ-
ated with increased levels of postabortion positive well-being,
although it was unrelated to postabortion distress (see Major,
Zubek, Cooper, Cozzarelli, & Richards, 1997, for more
information).
Perceptions of support are based not only on an assessment
of the behaviors or intentions of one's social network but also
on the personality characteristics of the person in need of sup-
port (e.g., Cutrona & Russell, 1990; Dunkel-Schetter & Bennett,
1990; Hobfoll & Freedy, 1990; Hobfoll, Nadler, & Leiberman,
1986). Thus, in general, one would expect that individuals who
have a positive view both of themselves and of their social
network would be more likely to perceive high levels of social
support than those with one or two negative mental models.
Only one study, however, has examined this issue. Blain,
Thompson, and Whiffen (1993) found that secure individuals
perceived more global support from their social networks than
individuals from all three insecure attachment groups. However,
no study has yet examined the impact of mental models of self
and others on perceptions of support within the context of a
specific, real-life stressor (e.g., abortion). Given that positive
models of both self and others underlie the secure attachment
style, we predicted that women who were classified as secure
would perceive higher levels of social support from their male
partners than women in the three insecure attachment groups,
each of which are based on at least one negative mental model.
Furthermore, we hypothesized that perceived support would me-
diate the effects of mental models on postabortion positive well-
being.
Social Conflict
Although social relationships can be important sources of
warmth and nurturance, in many cases relationships with others
can also have negative effects (e.g., be conflicted, time consum-
ing, or psychologically threatening). Research suggests that con-
flictive interactions (even though they are less frequent) may be
at least as important as supportive interactions in determining
 MENTAL MODELS AND COPING
adjustment to a variety of life events or may even have a stronger
effect than social support on emotional functioning (e.g.,
Coyne & DeLongis, 1986; Lepore, 1992; Rook, 1984; Shinn,
Lehmann, & Wong, 1984). Our prior research based on the
current sample demonstrated that perceived social conflict from
a woman's male partner was associated with increased levels of
postabortion distress, although it was unrelated to postabortion
positive well-being (see Major, Zubek, et al., 1997).
No prior study has explored the effects of mental models of
attachment on perceived social conflict during a specific, stress-
ful life event. However, prior research has demonstrated that the
secure attachment style is associated with more constructive
and adaptive responses to conflict and stress than the insecure
attachment styles and that secure individuals are the most likely
to respond to stress in ways that elicit constructive or noncon-
frontational behavior from their partners (J. Feeney, Noller, &
Callan, 1994; Kobak & Hazan, 1991; Levy & Davis, 1988;
Pistole, 1989; Simpson & Rholes, 1994; Simpson, Rholes, &
Phillips, 1996). Thus, consistent with our prediction for social
support, we hypothesized that secure individuals would perceive
lower levels of social conflict from their male partners than
women in the three insecure groups. Furthermore, we hypothe-
sized that perceived social conflict would mediate the effects of
mental models on postabortion distress.
To summarize, we hypothesized that mental models would
affect how supportive and conflictive a woman perceives her
male partner to be and her self-efficacy for coping with her
abortion. Furthermore, we hypothesized that social support, so-
cial conflict, and self-efficacy would function as mediators of
the relationships between mental models and postabortion
adjustment.
Overlap of Mental Model of the Self and Self-Esteem
The common characterization of model of self as a sense of
worthiness or lovability is quite similar to many definitions of
self-esteem (e.g., Rosenberg, 1965). Not surprisingly, several
empirical studies have found that higher levels of global self-
esteem are reported by those with a positive rather than a
negative model of self (e.g., Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991;
Bylsma, Cozzarelli, & Sumer, in press). In addition, one study
(Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994b) found that a latent variable
representing model of self overlapped almost perfectly with a
latent variable representing the self-concept (for which self-
esteem was a marker variable). Prior research on stress and
coping has also demonstrated that self-esteem is an important
predictor of adjustment to negative life events (e.g., Cozzarelli,
1993; Hobfoll & Leiberman, 1987; Hobfoll & London, 1986;
Pearlin & Schooler, 1978) and that those who are high in self-
esteem are more likely to feel efficacious (Cozzarelli, 1993)
and to perceive high levels of social support from significant
others (e.g., Harter, 1990, 1993) than those who are low in
self-esteem. These findings raise the distinct possibility that the
impact of model of self on the stress and coping process derives
primarily from its overlap with self-esteem rather than from any
unique properties of a mental model of attachment per se. In-
deed, although various attachment researchers have noted that
self-esteem and model of self show significant overlap, no study
to date has explicitly examined the extent to which model of
455
self contributes to the process of adjusting to a negative life
event above and beyond the impact of self-esteem. Accordingly,
the second major aim of the current study was to address this
issue. To do so, we examined the effects of model of self on
our proposed mediator variables and postabortion adjustment
with and without self-esteem included in the model as a pre-
dictor variable. We expected to find that, with self-esteem in-
cluded in the model, the effects of model of self would be
substantially reduced if not eliminated.
Measurement Issues
Like other measures of attachment, the Bartholomew and Ho-
rowitz (1991) measure we used in the current study can be
used either as a categorical measure of attachment "styles" or
as an indirect measure of the mental models underlying these
attachment classifications. Although past researchers have typi-
cally focused on the effects of attachment "styles," it is our
opinion that more weight should be given to analyses based on
mental models. First, we do not agree that individuals come in
discrete ' 'types,'' although attachment categories may serve as
useful heuristic devices. Second, many of the predictions that
researchers make about attachment styles are based on an analy-
sis of the continuous mental models underlying them. Thus, we
believe that testing hypotheses in terms of mental models (rather
than styles) allows researchers to more closely map their analyti-
cal strategy to the conceptual logic underlying their hypotheses.
Operationalizing attachment patterns as mental models also
allows the researcher to contrast more clearly the relative contri-
butions of the two types of mental models to the obtained results.
Accordingly, although we present the effects of categorical at-
tachment styles on the mediator and postabortion adjustment
variables, we focus our discussion mainly on analyses in which
the attachment variables are operationalized as mental models
of the self and others (and their interaction).
Overview of Our Hypotheses
To recapitulate our hypotheses:
1. Women with a positive model of self (secures and dismissings)
were expected to be higher in self-efficacy for coping with abortion
than those with a negative model of self (those classified as preoccu-
pied or fearful).
2. Women with positive models of both self and others (those clas-
sified as secure) were expected to perceive higher levels of social
support and lower levels of social conflict from their male partners
than those with at least one negative mental model (those in the
three insecure attachment groups).
3. We expected that perceived support, perceived conflict, and self-
efficacy for coping with abortion would each mediate the effects
of mental models of attachment on adjustment to abortion.
4. We expected to find that, in large part, the effects of model of
self could be explained by its conceptual and empirical overlap
with self-esteem. Thus, we hypothesized that when self-esteem was
added to the path model just described, the effects of model of self
would be substantially reduced if not eliminated.
To test Hypotheses 1 to 3, we conducted a path analysis that
tested the effects of all three mediators simultaneously (see
456 COZZARELLI, SUMER, AND MAJOR
Model of Self
Self-Efficacy
Model of Others Support
Interaction Conflict
Figure 1. Proposed path model.
Figure 1 for a diagram of this model). Note that in the model
the predicted secure versus insecure split in social support and
social conflict is operationalized as an interaction between
model of self and model of others. Although we made no specific
predictions in this regard, we also thought it probable that one
or both of the mental models (or their interaction) would show
a direct, unmediated effect on postabortion adjustment, because
it is unlikely that the attachment-adjustment relationship is en-
tirely mediated by social support, social conflict, and self-
efficacy.
Method
Participants
The participants were 615 women who underwent first-trimester vac-
uum aspiration abortions at one of three free-standing abortion facilities
in Buffalo, New York, between February 1993 and September 1993.
During this time, 1,177 women who arrived at these clinics to obtain
an abortion were approached and invited to participate in a larger study
of women's reactions to abortion (see Major, Zubek, et al., 1997, for
other data based on this sample). Of these, 134 were not eligible to
participate in the study (because they were in their second trimester,
were not pregnant, were lost due to procedural mix-ups, and so on).
Of the 1,043 women who were eligible, 882 (84.5%) agreed to partici-
pate. A comparison of the demographic characteristics of women who
agreed to participate in the study with those who refused revealed that
the two groups were similar on all variables except age. Women who
agreed to participate were younger (M = 23.68 years) than those who
refused (M = 25.92 years), F ( l , 1021) = 19.964, p < .001.
All eligible women who agreed to participate completed a preabortion
questionnaire and a postabortion questionnaire in the clinic on the day
of their abortion procedure. Approximately 1 month after the abortion,
615 (69.7%) of these women also completed a follow-up questionnaire.
These 615 women constitute our initial sample. Comparisons of the
demographic and psychological characteristics of the 615 women who
participated at the follow-up with the 267 women who did not participate
in the follow-up revealed no significant differences between the two
groups.
Participants ranged in age from 14 to 40 years (mean = 23.9 years,
median = 23 years). Sixty-four percent were White and 30.4% were
African-American; 39.8% were Catholic and 37.6% were Protestant.
Thirty-seven percent of the women were students, 51.3% were employed,
and 17.1% were homemakers. The majority of the women were single
(79.6%), and most were currently raising at least one child (61.1%).
About half of the women were having a first abortion (50.3%). Our
sample resembled the population of women obtaining abortions in the
United States (Koonin, Smith, & Ramick, 1993) in terms of race and
marital status. However, the number of women in the 20- to 24-year age
group was somewhat higher in our sample (39.5%) compared with the
national norm (33.2%).
Procedure
In keeping with clinic procedure, women arriving at the clinic com-
pleted a medical history form and were given a blood test. After this,
women met individually with a clinic counselor to review their medical
history and their reasons for having an abortion. After these individual
sessions, women participated in counseling sessions in groups of 5 or
6, during which the abortion procedure, reproduction, and birth control
were discussed and abortion consent forms were signed. During the
waiting period between the two counseling sessions, the women were
asked to participate in the study by a trained researcher, who explained
that a study was being conducted, with the clinic's endorsement, to learn
about women's reactions to having an abortion. They were assured that
their responses would be kept confidential and that if they refused to
participate, their treatment at the clinic would not be affected. Con-
senting women were given a preprocedure questionnaire, which they
completed either individually or in small groups. After the abortion and
a 30-minute recovery period, women completed the immediate postabor-
tion adjustment measures either privately or in groups of 2 or 3.
Follow-up data were collected from the women at a subsequent point
in time. Women who returned to the clinic for their postabortion follow-
up visit (27%) were met by a trained interviewer, who administered the
follow-up questionnaire. Women who did not return to the clinic for their
follow-up visit were interviewed either at the university's Psychological
Services Center or at another agreed-on location (1 % ) . If an interview
site could not be arranged, the women returned the questionnaire by
mail (72%). We compared the responses of women who completed the
postabortion questionnaire at the clinic with those who mailed it to the
 MENTAL MODELS AND COPING
researchers on all of the variables in this study. Only one of these
comparisons was significant: Non-White women (M = 1.68) were more
likely than White women (M = 1.53) to mail back the questionnaire,
F ( l , 608) = 13.17, p < .001. In addition, women who completed the
measure at the clinic (M = 3.85) were marginally higher in self-efficacy
(M = 3.68) than those who mailed back the questionnaire, F(\, 603)
= 3.58, p < .06.
Women were paid $20 for participating in the follow-up. The average
time that elapsed between the abortion and completion of the follow-
up questionnaire was a little more than 1 month (mean = 39 days,
median = 28 days). The range for the follow-up span was 10 days to
8 months; 85% of the women completed the follow-up within 2 V2 months
after their abortions. The exact length of time that elapsed between the
abortion and completion of the follow-up assessment did not have an
effect on any of the outcome variables in this study. Thus, this variable
was not included as a covariate in any of the analyses in this paper.
The present study focuses on women's adjustment at the follow-up
period and not on adjustment immediately after the abortion.
Measures
Variables Assessed Before Abortion
Demographic variables. Women were asked to respond to a series
of demographic variables (e.g., age, race, marital status, highest level
of education obtained, number of prior abortions, and religion). For
the purposes of this article, these demographic variables were used as
covariates.1 The complete procedure that was used to select covariates
is described more fully in the analysis section later.
Perceived social support from the male partner. A seven-item scale
was used to assess perceptions of preabortion social support from a
woman's male partner. On scales ranging from 1 ("didn't do this at
all") to 5 ("did this a great deal"), each woman rated the extent to
which her male partner performed a series of supportive behaviors since
first learning that she was pregnant. Sample items include "Let you
know he'd be there no matter what you decided to do" and "Boosted
your spirits if you were feeling low." The items on this scale were
adapted from Russell and Cutrona's (1984) Social Provisions Scale.
The women were instructed to circle "does not know" if their partner
did not know about their pregnancy. The coefficient alpha for this scale
was .94.
Preabortion social conflict from the male partner was assessed using
an eight-item scale. On scales ranging from 1 ("didn't do this at all")
to 5 ("did this a great deal"), each woman rated the extent to which
her male partner engaged in a variety of negative behaviors since learning
of her pregnancy. Sample items include "Said cruel or angry things to
you" and "Fought or argued with you more than usual." These social
conflict items were created for the purposes of this study. As with the
social support measure, women were instructed to circle "does not
know'' if their partner was not aware of the pregnancy. Coefficient alpha
for this measure was .90. (Additional information about the perceived
social support and social conflict items is provided in Major, Zubek, et
al., 1997.)
Because 23% of our sample (141 women) did not tell their partners
about their abortions, these women could not provide information about
perceived partner support and conflict. We compared women who did
not tell their partners about the abortion with those who did provide
such data in order to test for differences on the demographic, attachment,
self-efficacy, and outcome variables. There were no significant differ-
ences between the two groups on any of these measures.
Preabortion self-efficacy for coping with abortion. The measure of
self-efficacy was a slightly shortened version of a scale that has been
used in prior studies of self-efficacy and abortion (e.g., Cozzarelli,
1993; Major et al., 1990). In light of severe time constraints governing
questionnaire administration in this study, the number of items in the
457
self-efficacy scale was reduced from five to four by selecting the four
items with the highest item-total correlations in a reanalysis of Cozza-
relli's (1993) data. The retained items asked women how sure they were
that within the next 2 months they would be able to think about children
or babies comfortably, spend time around children or babies comfortably,
have good sexual relations, and watch television shows or read newspa-
per or magazine stories about abortion. The coefficient alpha for this
reduced scale was .82, which is comparable to the alpha for the longer,
five-item version (,86). 2
Variables Assessed After Abortion
Attachment styles and mental models of attachment. We used Bar-
tholomew and Horowitz's (1991) Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) to
assess attachment styles and mental models. The RQ consists of four
short paragraphs, each describing one of the four attachment styles
(secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful). Respondents were first
asked to rate the extent to which each prototype described them and
their typical style in emotionally close relationships on separate 7-point
scales (1 = not at all like me; 1 = very much like me). They were then
asked to endorse the one prototype that described them best.
Our main predictions were made specifically in terms of mental mod-
els rather than attachment styles. Because there is no currently available
direct measure of mental models of attachment, we followed procedures
outlined by Griffin and Bartholomew (1994a, 1994b) to calculate mental
model scores using the RQ. Specifically, a model of self score was
obtained by summing participants' ratings on the two attachment patterns
with positive self-models (secure and dismissing) and subtracting their
ratings on the two patterns with negative self-models (fearful and preoc-
cupied). In similar fashion, a model of others score was obtained by
summing the scores on the two attachment patterns with positive models
of others (secure and preoccupied) and subtracting ratings on the two
attachment patterns that have negative models of others (fearful and
dismissing). Mental models scores derived in this fashion have been
shown to load adequately on latent variables reflecting models of self
and others (Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994b).
In using these attachment variables we encountered two types of
missing data. First, 45 women neglected to endorse any of the attachment
prototypes as being the most self-descriptive (thus, they could not be
assigned to an attachment style). We suspect that this was a result of
confusion resulting from the formatting of our questionnaire. Second,
14 women did not respond to all four of the continuous attachment items
1
We also examined whether any of the demographic variables inter-
acted with mental models of attachment in predicting any of the mediator
or postabortion adjustment variables. There was only one significant
interaction. Specifically, model of self interacted with marital status in
predicting postabortion distress. A plot of this interaction revealed that,
among women with a positive self-model, marital status was unrelated
to postabortion distress. However, among those with a negative self-
model, unmarried women were more distressed than those who were
married.
2
Self-efficacy for coping is conceptually quite similar to secondary
appraisal, which has been defined as a cognitive assessment of the extent
to which one has the resources necessary to cope with a given negative
life event (Lazarus & Fblkman, 1984). In the present study, we assessed
secondary appraisal with four items asking women to what extent they
felt they had the resources to deal with their abortion effectively (e.g.,
"I personally have what it takes to deal with this abortion," "I have
the resources I need to successfully handle this abortion experience'').
The coefficient alpha for this scale was .85. We re-ran all the major
analyses presented in this article, substituting secondary appraisal for
self-efficacy. The results were almost identical and did not yield any
substantively different-conclusions.
458 COZZARELLI, SUMER, AND MAJOR

(thus, we could not derive mental models scores for these participants).
Consequently, a total of 59 women had missing data on the attachment
variables. To determine whether participants who were missing attach-
ment data differed from those who provided attachment data, we com-
pared the two groups on all the demographic, mediator, and outcome
variables. Although the two groups did not differ significantly on any
of the mediator or outcome variables, more non-White (M = 1.42) than
White(M= 1.67) women provided attachment data, F ( l , 613) = 15.22,
p < .001. In addition, nonmarried women (M = 1.10) were more likely
to provide attachment data than married (M = 1.23) women, F ( 1, 596)
= 4.17, p < .05.
Self-esteem was measured via Rosenberg's (1965) 10-item Self-Es-
teem Inventory, a well-validated, frequently used measure of trait self-
esteem. Women indicated the extent of their agreement with each item
on scales ranging from 1 (.strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The
internal consistency coefficient for this scale was .89.
Postabortion adjustment. Follow-up adjustment measures assessed
psychological distress and positive well-being.
Psychological distress was assessed with 42 items from the SCL-90-
R (Derogatis, 1983). These items comprised the Depression (14 items),
Anxiety (10 items), Hostility (6 items), and Somatization (12 items)
subscales. Women used 5-point scales to rate the extent to which they
were bothered by each complaint since having the abortion (0 = not at
all; 4 = a great deal). Correlations among the four subscales ranged
from .53 to .82, with an average correlation of .68. A higher order factor
analysis revealed that the four subscales loaded on a single factor. (The
factor loadings were .92, .91, .81, and .68 for Anxiety, Depression,
Hostility, and Somatization, respectively). Thus, we created a composite
measure of psychological distress by averaging scores on the four sub-
scales. Coefficient alpha for the composite distress measure was .90.
Positive well-being was assessed with an 18-item index developed by
Ryff (1989). The measure consists of six 3-item subscales, each as-
sessing an aspect of well-being: Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Per-
sonal Growth, Positive Relations With Others, Purpose in Life, and Self-
Acceptance. Respondents used 6-point agree-disagree scales to indicate
how they "usually" feel and behave. Sample items include "When I
look at the story of my life, I am pleased with how things have turned
out'' and ' 'I live life one day at a time and don't really think about the
future" (reverse scored). Given that we were most interested in pre-
dicting overall well-being, we combined scores on the six subscales
and created one well-being index. The coefficient alpha for this index
was .85.
Results
General Description of Responses
Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and
ranges) for the major variables in the study are presented in
Table 1. Correlations and partial correlations (controlling for
age, marital status, and number of previous abortions) among
these variables are presented in Table 2. To ensure that the same
sample of women was used across all of the various analyses
reported here, we omitted all participants who had missing data
on any of the variables assessed in the study. Thus, the final
sample size for all of the analyses reported next was 408 (141
participants did not provide support-conflict data because their
partners did not know of the abortion, 59 had missing data on
the attachment variables, and 7 had missing data on other vari-
ables in the study).
Of the 408 women, 40% (n = 164) endorsed the secure
attachment prototype as the most self-descriptive; 32% (n =
130) classified themselves as fearful, 9% (n = 36) as preoccu-
pied, and 19% (n = 78) as dismissing. Although the fearful
attachment category was slightly overrepresented in this sample,
this distribution of attachment styles is similar to the distribu-
tions reported by other researchers who have used the four-
category model of attachment (e.g., Bartholomew & Horowitz,
1991; Bylsma et al., in press; Scharfe & Bartholomew, 1994).
In addition, although women had a relatively more positive
model of self than model of others, the means for both mental
models were close to the midpoints of the scales.
As illustrated in Table 2, self-esteem was moderately corre-
lated with model of self (r = .52, p < .001) but was unrelated
to model of others. In addition, both model of self and self-
esteem were positively correlated with perceived social support
(rs = .22, p < .001, and .28, p < .001, respectively) and self-
efficacy ( r s = .21, p < .001, and .33, p < .001, respectively)
and negatively correlated with perceived social conflict ( r s =
- . 1 6 , p < .001, and - . 2 7 , p < .001). However, model of
others was not significantly correlated with any of the mediator
variables.

Table 1
Means, Standard Deviations, and Ranges for the Major Variables

Variable M SD Possible range Obtained range

Continuous measures of attachment styles

Secure 4.23 1.77 1.0 to 7.0 1.0 to 7.0
Fearful 3.84 2.01 1.0 to 7.0 1.0 to 7.0
Preoccupied 2.85 1.78 1.0 to 7.0 1.0 to 7.0
Dismissing 3.42 1.84 1.0 to 7.0 1.0 to 7.0
Model of self 0.96 4.24 -12.0 to 12.0 -12.0to12.0
Model of others -0.18 4.13 -12.0 to 12.0 -12.0to10.0
Self-esteem 3.89 0.71 1.0 to 5.0 1.1 to 5.0
Mediator variables
Perceived support 4.02 1.19 1.0 to 5.0 1.0to5.0
Perceived conflict 1.39 0.77 1.0 to 5.0 1.0 to 5.0
Self-efficacy 3.82 0.94 1.0 to 5.0 1.0 to 5.0
Postabortion measures
Psychological distress 0.61 0.63 0.0 to 4.0 0.0 to 2.99
Positive well-being 4.58 0.69 1.0 to 6.0 2.3 to 6.0

Note. Scales are scored such that higher means represent higher levels of perceived support, perceived
conflict, self-efficacy, self-esteem, distress, and positive well-being.
 MENTAL MODELS AND COPING 459

Table 2
Correlations and Partial Correlations for Variables Used in Path Analyses

Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1. Model of self .18 .52 .21 .22 -.16 -.32 .55

2. Model of others .17 .07 -.01 .09 -.04 -.10 .15
3. Self-esteem .52 .06 .34 .28 -.27 -.41 .79
4. Self-efficacy .22 .01 .35 .15 -.20 -.38 -.32
5. Perceived support .22 .06 .28 -.18 -.52 -.17 .32
6. Perceived conflict -.15 -.02 -.27 .21 -.51 .28 -.24
7. Distress -.31 -.09 -.41 -.36 -.18 .27 -.43
8. Positive well-being .54 .15 .79 .33 .31 -.22 -.43

Note. Zero-order correlations are presented above the diagonal, and partial correlations controlling for
age, whether or not this was a first abortion, and marital status are presented below the diagonal. Scales
are scored such that higher numbers represent a more positive model of self and others, higher self-esteem,
perceived support, perceived conflict, self-efficacy, levels of distress, and positive well-being. Correlations
greater than .09 are significant a t p < .05, .12 a t p < .01, and .15 a t p < .001.

Model of self was positively and significantly correlated with
postabortion positive well-being (r = .55, p < .001), as was
self-esteem (r = .79, p < .001). Model of self and self-esteem
were also negatively correlated with postabortion distress (rs
= - . 3 2 , p < .001, and - . 4 1 , p < .001, respectively). A positive
model of others was weakly, albeit significantly, related to both
increased positive well-being ( r = . 1 5 , p < . 0 0 1 ) and decreased
postabortion distress (r = .10, p < .05).
Selection of Covariates for All Analyses
Several demographic variables were covaried in the analyses
presented later. These covariates were selected by entering all
of the available demographic variables as a block in separate
regression analyses predicting each of the major independent
and dependent variables in the study (attachment styles, mental
models, self-esteem, perceived partner support and conflict, self-
efficacy, and the two adjustment variables). Age, whether or not
this was a first abortion, and marital status emerged as significant
predictors in one or more of these regression analyses. Accord-
ingly, these three variables were held constant in all of the
analyses described later.
Differences by Attachment Type
To test for differences by categorical attachment style, a series
of one-way analyses of covariance (ANCOV\s) were performed
on the mediator and postabortion measures (Table 3). We hy-
pothesized that secure women would perceive higher levels of
social support and lower levels of social conflict from their male
partners than all three types of insecure women. As expected,
there was a significant effect of attachment style on both per-
ceived support, F ( 3 , 401) = 2.91,/? < .05, and perceived con-
flict, F(3, 402) = 3.90, p < .01. Planned contrasts comparing
secures to the other three groups revealed the expected secure
versus insecure split on both variables, F( 1, 401) = 5.35, p <
.05, for social support and F ( l , 401) = 10.99, p < .01, for
social conflict. The ANCOV\ on self-efficacy for coping with
abortion also revealed a significant effect of attachment style,
F ( 3 , 402) = 5.37, p < .001. In support of our hypothesis, a
planned contrast revealed that women with a positive model of
self reported higher levels of self-efficacy for coping with abor-
tion than women with a negative model of self, F ( l , 401) =
15.08, p < .01.
ANCOV\s on the postabortion measures revealed a signifi-
cant effect of attachment styles on both psychological distress,
F(3, 402) = 4.51, p < .001, and positive well-being, F ( 3 , 401)
= 24.24, p < .001. Newman-Keuls post hoc tests revealed that
secures were significantly less distressed than fearfuls and that
secures and dismissings were significantly higher in positive
well-being than preoccupieds and fearfuls. (No other differences
between groups were significant.)
Effects of Mental Models on Postabortion Adjustment
We hypothesized that the effects of mental models of attach-
ment on postabortion distress and positive well-being would be
mediated by perceived social support, perceived social conflict,
and self-efficacy for coping with abortion (see Figure 1). These
hypotheses were tested in the form of a single path model,
which was estimated using the LISREL 8 program (Joreskog &
Sorbom, 1993).
We followed a standard two-step approach in conducting this
analysis. In a first test of the model, we estimated all of the
possible direct and indirect paths between the attachment and
outcome variables to allow for the possibility that the attachment
variables would have direct effects on postabortion adjustment
in addition to the hypothesized mediated effects. This analysis
revealed that several of these paths were not significant (as
would be expected, given our hypotheses). Inspection of modi-
fication indexes also suggested that the fit of the model to the
data would be improved by adding two correlated error terms:
the first between the social support and social conflict variables
(magnitude = .47) and the second between the two adjustment
variables (magnitude = - . 0 8 ) . (These correlated errors are
consistent with the modest correlations between each pair of
variables and with the conceptual similarity of the correlated
constructs.) Thus, in the second step of this analytical procedure,
we re-ran the model after eliminating the paths that were nonsig-
nificant in the first path analysis and after adding the suggested
correlated error terms. The path coefficients that are depicted
460 COZZARELLI, SUMER, AND MAJOR

Table 3
Attachment Style Differences on Mediator and Postabortion Measures

Attachment styles

Mental model Secure Dismissing Preoccupied Fearful

Self positive positive negative negative

Other positive negative positive negative F(3, 401)

Mediator variables
Perceived support 4.20, 4.10b 3.81b 3.83b 2.91*
Perceived conflict 1.25, 1.47b 1.59b 1.49b 3.90**
Self-efficacy 3.93. 4.01, 3.48b 3.64b 5.37***
Postabortion measures
Psychological distress 0.50, 0.57,,b 0.72.,b 0.77b 4.51***
Positive well-being 4.84, 4.73, 4.22b 4.27b 24.24***

Note. Differences between means were probed via planned contrasts for the three mediator variables and
via Newman-Keuls tests for the two adjustment variables. Measures are scored such that higher means
represent higher levels of perceived support, conflict, self-efficacy, psychological distress, and positive well-
being. Values with the same subscript are not significantly different from each other.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

in Figure 2 represent the results of running this second model.
(These coefficients are nearly identical to those obtained in the
model with the nonsignificant paths included.)
The goodness of fit of the model was assessed by evaluating
several goodness-of-fit statistics. First, we examined the chi-
square statistic. Nonsignificant or small chi-square values indi-
cate a good fit. However, because the chi-square statistic is very
sensitive to sample size, we also examined other indexes that
are not so affected: the Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index (AGFI)
and the Non-normed Fit Index (NNFI; Hu & Bentler, 1995).
Values of both of these indexes can range from 0 to 1.0; values
closer to 1.0 indicate a better fit. The model depicted in Figure

-.22

Figure 2. Path model relating mental models of attachment to the mediator and postabortion adjustment
variables. All of the path parameters are significant at .05.
 MENTAL MODELS AND COPING
2 demonstrated a good fit to the data: x 2 ( 7 , N = 408) = 17.30,
p < .05; AGFI = .95; NNFI = .94. Although the chi-square
was significant (most likely because of our large sample size),
it has been suggested that chi-square-degrees of freedom ratios
between 2:1 and 5:1 indicate an acceptable fit (Marsh & Ho-
cevar, 1988). In this case, the chi-square-degrees of freedom
ratio fell within this interval.
Inspection of the path coefficients in Figure 2 reveals that
model of self had significant direct effects on postabortion dis-
tress and positive well-being, such that the more positive a wom-
an's model of self, the less distress and more positive well-
being she reported. Furthermore, the more positive a woman's
model of self, the higher was her self-efficacy for coping, the
more support she perceived from her partner, and the less conflict
she perceived from this same source. Because both self-efficacy
and perceived conflict were also significant predictors of dis-
tress, model of self thus also had indirect effects on postabortion
distress via these two mediators. In addition, because both self-
efficacy and social support were related to positive well-being,
model of self also had indirect effects on positive well-being.
In contrast to the effects for model of self, model of others
was not directly related to postabortion distress or positive well-
being, nor was it related to any of the three mediator variables.
However, the interaction between the two mental models had a
small direct effect on positive well-being. We plotted this inter-
action using the procedures outlined by Aiken and West (1991).
This involved plotting two simple regression lines showing the
regression of positive well-being on model of others for women
with high and low scores on the model of self variable. A high
5.5
5.0
O)
0)
GO
I 4.5
>
CO
o
4.0
3.5
Negative (-12)
Model of Others
Figure 3. Interaction between mental models of attachment on positive well-being. Note: A higher score
equals more positive well-being. Pos. = positive; Neg. = negative.
461
score on model of self was represented by a score that was one
standard deviation above the mean model of self score, and a
low score on model of self was represented by a score that was
one standard deviation below the mean model of self score.
Given that the mean score on the model of self variable was
close to zero, a "high" score on this variable reflects a positive
model of self and a " l o w " score, a negative model of self.
Inspection of Figure 3 reveals that the relationship between
model of others and positive well-being varied for women with
a positive versus a negative model of self. Specifically, among
women with a negative self-model, model of others was unre-
lated to positive well-being; the simple slope was not significant,
f(407) = 1.18. Overall, these women experienced lower levels
of positive well-being than women with a positive model of self.
In contrast, among women with a positive model of self, as
the positivity of model of others increased, positive well-being
increased as well; the simple slope was significant, f(407) =
2.71, p < .01. Figure 3 clearly suggests that the combination
of two positive mental models is uniquely related to higher
positive well-being.
Finally, we also hypothesized that the interaction between the
two types of mental models would predict levels of both per-
ceived support and perceived conflict. However, this interaction
was significant only as a predictor of perceived conflict. The
interaction was plotted in the same way as described earlier for
the interaction on positive well-being. Inspection of Figure 4
suggests that the effect of model of others on perceived conflict
varied according to whether women had a positive or negative
model of self. Specifically, among women with a positive model
Pos. Model of Self
' Neg. Model of Self
Positive (+12)
462 COZZARELLI, SUMER, AND MAJOR

2.5

2.0

o
>^
c
o Pos. Model of Self
O 1.5
CO
Neg. Model of Self
o
o
CO

1.0

0.5
Negative (-12) Positive (+12)
Model of Others
Figure 4. Interaction between mental models of attachment on perceived social conflict. Note: A higher
score equals greater perceived conflict. Pos. = positive; Neg. = negative.

of self, as the positivity of model of others increased, perceived
conflict decreased; the simple slope was significant, (407) =
2.88, p < .01. Thus, women with positive models of both self
and others (the combination of mental models, which underlies
the secure attachment style) perceived the lowest levels of con-
flict from their partner. In contrast, among women with a nega-
tive model of self, as the positivity of model of others increased,
perceptions of conflict increased; the simple slope was signifi-
cant, f(407) = 2.63, p < .01. The combination of a negative
model of self and a positive model of others (characteristic of
the preoccupied attachment style) was associated with the high-
est levels of perceived conflict. Because perceived conflict was
significantly related to postabortion distress, this interaction was
also indirectly related to distress.
All told, as a group, the attachment variables accounted for
5% of the variance in self-efficacy, 6% of the variance in social
support, and 6% of the variance in social conflict. The combina-
tion of the attachment and the mediator variables accounted for
23% of the variance in postabortion distress and 38% of the
variance in postabortion positive well-being.
Effects of Mental Models on Postabortion Adjustment
With Self-Esteem Included in the Model
To examine the extent to which the effects of model of self
could be attributed to its overlap with self-esteem, we re-ran
the model described previously (following identical procedures)
but adding self-esteem as a predictor variable (Figure 5 ). Again,
the coefficients presented in Figure 5 are derived from a second
run of the model, with the nonsignificant paths removed and
the correlated error terms (magnitudes = - .43 and - .08) added.
The model presented in Figure 5 fits the data very well: x 2 ( 12,
N = 408) = 20.88, p < .05; AGFI = .96; NNFI = .98.
A comparison of Figures 2 and 5 reveals that the impact of
model of self was greatly altered in the new model. Most strik-
ingly, with self-esteem in the model, model of self was no longer
related to any of the mediator variables, although self-esteem
emerged as a significant predictor of all three. The magnitudes
of the coefficients linking self-esteem to each of the three media-
tors were all somewhat larger than the coefficients linking model
of self to these same mediators in Figure 2. Because each of
these mediators was related to one of the postabortion outcome
variables in Figure 5 (self-efficacy was no longer a significant
predictor of positive well-being in this model), self-esteem also
had indirect effects on postabortion distress and positive well-
being. (Model of self, in contrast, had no indirect effects.) Model
of self did, however, continue to have direct effects on postabor-
tion distress and positive well-being with self-esteem in the
model, although the magnitudes of these relationships were con-
siderably reduced. Finally, self-esteem also had direct effects
on both postabortion adjustment variables. The magnitude of
the direct relationship between self-esteem and positive well-
being was relatively large, which is not surprising given the
conceptual overlap between these two constructs.
Although the impact of model of others was unaffected by
the addition of self-esteem to the model, the interaction between
the two mental models was no longer a significant predictor of
 MENTAL MODELS AND COPING
.17
Interaction
Self-Esteem
Figure 5. Path model including self-esteem as a predictor variable. All of the path parameters are significant
at .05.
positive well-being. In contrast, this interaction remained
a significant predictor of perceived conflict from a woman's
male partner. (The pattern of this interaction also remained
unchanged.)
All told, in the new model, the attachment variables and self-
esteem accounted for 12% of the variance in self-efficacy, 8%
of the variance in social support, and 9% of the variance in
social conflict. Self-esteem and the attachment and mediator
variables accounted for 24% of the variance in postabortion
distress and 65% of the variance in positive well-being.3
Discussion
Effects of Mental Models of Attachment on the Process
of Coping With an Abortion
On the basis of reasoning derived from the attachment litera-
ture, we predicted that mental models of attachment would have
an impact on postabortion distress and positive well-being via
the mediators of perceived social support, perceived social con-
flict, and self-efficacy for coping with abortion. The results of
our analyses were consistent with this hypothesis and demon-
strated that mental models of attachment had an impact on many
facets of the process of coping with this stressful life event. In
addition, however, our results clearly indicated that model of
self was a more important predictor of postabortion adjustment
than was model of others.
The lack of an effect for model of others (either alone or in
463
combination with model of self) was perhaps most surprising
with regard to perceived social support. We had hypothesized
that the two types of mental models would interact such that
secure women (who have two positive mental models) would
report perceiving higher levels of social support from their male
partners than would women in the three insecure groups. Al-
though secure women did, in fact, report the highest mean level
of social support, the results of the path analysis were more
suggestive of a model of self effect. This finding is consistent
with other research that demonstrates that having a positive self-
3
We also conducted a few supplemental analyses on the data presented
in this article. First, we examined whether mental models of attachment
interacted with any of the mediator variables in predicting postabortion
adjustment. There were no significant interactions. Second, negative af-
fectivity or the tendency to experience negative emotional states across
situations was also assessed in the preabortion questionnaire using the
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clarke, & Tellegen,
1988). Although we would argue that conceptually attachment styles
are to some extent inherently confounded with the tendency to experience
certain affective patterns, we re-ran all of the major analyses in this
article, holding negative affectivity scores constant to examine the extent
to which negative affectivity might account for some of our findings. In
some cases, the coefficients we obtained when negative affectivity was
held constant were slightly reduced compared with the coefficients we
obtained without negative affectivity in the analysis, but the overall
conclusions suggested by the two sets of analyses did not differ in any
substantive way.
464 COZZARELLI, SUMER, AND MAJOR
view is critical for successfully mobilizing and taking advantage
of one's social network in times of stress (e.g., Cozzarelli,
Karrasch, Sumer, & Major, 1994; Hobfoll, Nadler, & Leiberman,
1986). Thus, the preoccupied women in the present study (who
have a positive view of others but a negative view of themselves)
may indeed have sought social support from their male partners,
but because of their negative self-views, may have used ineffec-
tive or inappropriate strategies for obtaining this support. Fear-
fuls, who have two negative models, may simply not have sought
support.
We also expected to find that the two types of mental models
would interact in predicting levels of perceived social conflict
from a woman's male partner. We did indeed obtain such an
interaction in the path analysis, and the pattern of means in
the ANCO\A was also consistent with this hypothesis. Taken
together, the results of these analyses suggested that secure
women perceived the lowest levels of conflict and preoccupied
women, the highest. Although admittedly speculative, it is tempt-
ing to conclude that this effect reflects the fact that both of these
groups of women were more likely to interact with their partners
in the context of the abortion than were the two types of avoid-
ants. However, consistent with their positive model of self, se-
cures may have been able to do so in more constructive and
adaptive ways than preoccupieds, who have a negative self-
model. This supposition is also consistent with literature sug-
gesting that secures are more likely to respond to stress or
potential conflict in ways that elicit nonconfrontational behavior
from others, whereas the opposite is likely to be the case for
those who are preoccupied (Kobak & Hazan, 1991; Simpson &
Rholes, 1994; Simpson et al., 1992).
Overlap Between Model of Self and Self-Esteem
Both model of self and self-esteem are dispositional variables
that reflect the extent to which an individual enjoys positive
self-evaluations, and both initially emerge in the context of early
childhood interactions with important others. Although attach-
ment researchers have routinely noted that self-esteem and
model of self overlap (e.g., Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994b;
Mikulincer, 1995), almost no research has been conducted that
seeks to distinguish these two constructs explicitly or to detail
more precisely the nature or extent of this overlap (cf. Bylsma
et al., in press). The results of the current study make it clear
that empirically these constructs overlap to quite a large extent.
The most striking overlap occurred with regard to the three
mediator variables. For example, a comparison of our two path
analyses strongly suggests that the relationship we obtained be-
tween model of self and self-efficacy is a function of the overlap
between model of self and self-esteem. Indeed, self-esteem has
previously been established as a contributor to feelings of self-
efficacy for coping with abortion (Cozzarelli, 1993). All told,
when self-esteem was included in the path model, model of self
was no longer a significant predictor of any of the mediators.
Self-esteem, in contrast, was significantly related to all three.
Clearly, model of self and self-esteem overlap in their ability to
predict these variables, and when entered together self-esteem
emerges as the stronger predictor. Relatedly, in other analyses
that we have conducted in our laboratory for a variety of pur-
poses, model of self and self-esteem typically perform almost
identically.
Other results obtained in the current study, however, clearly
suggest that model of self and self-esteem do not overlap com-
pletely. For example, the correlation between these variables
was .52, which suggests overlap but not complete redundancy.
In addition, some effects of the attachment variables remained
significant even with self-esteem included in the path model
(e.g., the interaction between the two types of mental models
on perceived conflict). Most strikingly, and in contrast to the
results obtained for the three mediator variables, both self-es-
teem and model of self had significant direct effects on the two
postabortion adjustment variables. Apparently, when predicting
postabortion adjustment, self-esteem and model of self each
appear to retain some unique predictive capacity (although the
effects of self-esteem were clearly stronger). Given that the
attachment literature has not detailed how self-esteem and model
of self differ, our explanation of these findings must, of necessity,
be speculative. We suspect that, although both of these con-
structs may reflect the valence of individuals' global self-evalua-
tions, measures of model of self may diverge from measures of
self-esteem in that they also index the extent to which individu-
als have an internalized sense of self-worth (as opposed to
depending on others for validation) or experience anxiety in
interpersonal contexts or both. This argument is consistent with
Bartholomew and Horowitz's (1991) original conceptualization
of model of self and also with the findings that model of self
is very strongly correlated with the anxiety dimension of both
Collins and Read's (1990) and Simpson et al.'s (1992) attach-
ment measures (Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994b). It is quite
plausible that dependence or anxiety, or both, could have a direct
effect on global measures of psychological adjustment, such as
those used in the current study. Future research is needed to
clarify the extent to which self-esteem and model of self diverge
in their overlap with anxiety and dependence.
In any case, given that there already exists a large volume of
literature detailing the beneficial effects of high self-esteem
(both in general and as a precursor to more adaptive coping
efforts), the field of attachment would benefit from a more
systematic exploration of the extent to which model of self is
a proxy variable for high self-esteem both in general and more
specifically, in situations requiring coping with stressful life
events. Exploring this issue requires a detailed conceptual analy-
sis of the ways in which self-esteem and model of self both
mirror and diverge from each other. Unfortunately, not all attach-
ment researchers define model of the self in the same manner,
and there currently appears to be no consensus regarding the
precise content of mental models of attachment. Thus, clarifying
the mental models construct is a necessary preliminary step in
addressing the overlap between model of self and self-esteem.
Future Research
Future research exploring the effects of mental models of
attachment on adjustment to abortion would be enhanced by a
more thorough investigation of several issues surrounding social
support and social conflict. First, gathering information from
women's male partners concerning their provision of support-
conflict could prove to be quite instructive. (We did not collect
 MENTAL MODELS AND COPING
this information in the current study because of time and finan-
cial constraints.) In particular, given that the support and conflict
measures in the current study were based solely on the subjective
reports of our female participants, it was impossible to tell
whether these perceptions accurately reflected the behavior of
their partners. Second, we found it surprising that secure women
were not more likely than insecure women to have told their
partners about the abortion. One possible explanation for this
finding is that telling one's partner about the abortion may be
perceived by many women as a necessity (e.g., to receive finan-
cial help, transportation to the clinic) or as an obligation rather
than as a means of gaining social support. Thus, for example,
fearful women may have told their partners about the abortion
in order to gain instrumental resources, but they may not have
expected to receive or have actively solicited emotional aid.
As was noted earlier, model of others had surprisingly weak
effects on the mediator and outcome variables in our model. We
were most surprised by the lack of an effect for model of others
on perceived social support (in the path analyses) and by the
small magnitude of the interaction between the two mental mod-
els on perceived social conflict. We had expected that women's
views about the trustworthiness of others would be more
strongly relevant to these judgments. One possible explanation
for the small magnitude of these effects is suggested by the
results of a study conducted by Pierce, Sarason, and Sarason
(1992), in which students' ratings of the supportiveness of two
notes they received from their mothers in the context of a stress-
ful event were influenced by relationship-specific support expec-
tations (i.e., the amount of support they expected to receive from
their mothers, in particular) but not by their support expectations
about people in general. This suggests that a relationship-spe-
cific measure of attachment styles might better predict the level
of support or conflict an individual perceives from a particular
intimate than a more global attachment measure such as the one
we used in the present study (which asked about women's close
relationships, in general). Although attachment styles are typi-
cally assumed to reflect stable patterns of beliefs about the self
and generalized others, it is intuitively possible for an individual
to feel quite differently about the trustworthiness of various
intimates (see also Collins & Read, 1994; Lewis, 1994, on this
point). Further research is needed to clarify the differential
effects of general versus specific mental models of attachment
on a wide variety of processes.
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