As a result of this research, which was conducted to examine the relationship between young people's addictions in romantic relationships and attachment styles, important findings were made. The first of these is that although the young people who participated in the research developed addiction in romantic relationships to a moderate extent, they developed obsessive addiction more. Another important finding is that most of them have a secure attachment style. Secure attachment style is known to be dominated by positive perceptions of self and others. Adults with a secure attachment style have no problems trusting others, they see others as well-meaning and easy to relate to, and they see themselves as worthy of being loved. When all these characteristics come together, it can be said that securely attached individuals can easily establish intimacy with others and can easily cope with being alone [33–34]. In this context, it can be said that high levels of secure attachment are effective in moderate levels of addiction and obsession in young people's romantic relationships.
Another important finding was that men had higher levels of dedication and women had higher levels of anxious-ambivalent attachment in their romantic relationships. Anxious-ambivalent attachment is characterised by high levels of avoidance and anxiety about intimacy. People with this attachment style worry about rejection, which can prevent them from forming a relationship even if they want to. In addition, those who are in relationships may not benefit from them in the same way as those who are securely attached because they use less effective strategies to seek support [35]. A review of the literature revealed that there are studies that conclude that women have higher levels of anxious-ambivalent attachment [36–39]. In addition to these, a small number of studies have also concluded that men have higher levels of anxious-ambivalent attachment [28, 37]. In addition, Çetin and Arslan [40] found that men had higher levels of self-dedicating attachment in their romantic relationships than women as a result of their research. When considered in a general context, these research findings in the literature support the results obtained.
Another important finding obtained is that young people who continue associate degree education have higher levels of addiction in romantic relationships, obsessive attachment in romantic relationships and both avoidant and anxious-ambivalent attachment levels. Associate's degree education is the level of education that is continued after high school and covers a two-year period in the education system of our country. Undergraduate education also covers a period of four years. Significant results were found between undergraduate and associate degree in favour of those who continued associate degree education. Similarly, Çevik [38] determined that the level of anxious attachment was higher in high school and associate degree students. In addition, Ustaosman [41] established a relationship between attachment style and age in his research, and according to the researcher, people between the ages of 18–22 are more obsessive/anxious attached. It is thought that the duration of education is important for the results obtained. The social environment of young people is important for their romantic relationships. In this context, this result of the study can be seen as an indicator of how important the duration of education is in terms of meeting, becoming friends, expanding and maintaining the social circle in romantic relationships. In addition, the results of the analyses showed that the level of anxious-ambivalent attachment was higher among young people who had attended the first class. Thus, these two findings from the research seem to support each other.
Another important finding is that young people who are in romantic relationships have high levels of addiction, dedication, withdrawal and obsession dependency in romantic relationships. When the literature was examined, it was seen that there were studies that concluded that having a romantic relationship had a similar effect on the levels of addiction in romantic relationships [40, 42]. Recent studies show that addiction in romantic relationships is similar to other forms of addiction such as substance addiction [43]. These data, based on behavioural, neurochemical and neuroimaging evidence, highlight the importance of focusing on this type of addiction, which, due to its pervasive nature, has a strong negative impact on the lives of those who suffer from it, including high levels of psychological suffering and loss of control. Dedication, withdrawal and obsession can be explained in this context. Indeed, individuals with addiction in romantic relationship tend to experience negative mood and emotional states when they are away from their partner [44]. There are also various research results suggesting that individuals' attachment styles are associated with fear of loss, anxiety and obsession. Studies show that people with high levels of anxious-ambivalent and avoidant attachment also have increased anxiety levels [41, 45–48]. However, it was determined that individuals with secure attachment style have low anxiety levels [41, 45, 48] and separation anxiety [49].
Another important and final finding is that young people with romantic relationships have a secure attachment style, whereas young people without romantic relationships have an anxious-ambivalent attachment style. Akdağ [36] found that individuals without romantic relationships had higher levels of avoidant and anxious-ambivalent attachment. It can be said that fear of abandonment is at the root of this situation. According to Simpson [50], individuals with an anxious-ambivalent attachment style experience fear of abandonment in romantic relationships. In addition to this, Bartholomew and Horowitz [33] also stated that individuals with an anxious-ambivalent attachment style avoid romantic relationships because they believe that their ego will be damaged. In this context, the results of the study are consistent with the literature.
Limitations of the study
The current study has some limitations that need to be taken into account. First, the sample was unbalanced in terms of gender, with a clear dominance of women over men. Secondly, the cross-sectional nature of the study does not allow us to test the exact causal relationship between variables; this will require longitudinal studies with large samples. Another limitation is that the participants were all healthy, unmarried young adults in higher education. Therefore, it is unknown whether the results can be generalised to other samples, such as married couples. Finally, the current study only included Turkish participants; how the findings can be generalised to other cultural contexts warrants future research.