{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T18:08:30Z","timestamp":1788890910636,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788825600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000286","name":"British Academy","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MCFSS25\\250014"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MCFSS25\\250014"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000286","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Attachment dimensions and loneliness have independently been associated with sleep outcomes, with lower attachment insecurity and lower loneliness generally related to better sleep. However, it remains unclear whether attachment dimensions and loneliness interact in relation to sleep. The current study aimed to examine whether attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance moderated associations between loneliness and self-reported sleep outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Design and measures<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the Touch Test Study, which was originally run to measure outcomes and attitudes towards touch. Attachment dimensions, loneliness, and the interactions between loneliness and each attachment dimension were treated as independent variables. Sleep duration, sleep quality, time to fall asleep, and wake after sleep onset were treated as dependent variables. Adult participants from the UK (N\u2009=\u200915,049) with no health conditions or impairments were included in the study, having been originally recruited through opportunity sampling. The final analytic sample for the main models ranged from N\u2009=\u200911,901 to N\u2009=\u200911,916 across sleep outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Ordinal logistic regression showed that individuals with higher loneliness reported shorter sleep duration at higher levels of avoidant attachment. This was the only significant attachment\u2009\u00d7\u2009loneliness interaction in the adjusted models and remained significant after correction for multiple testing and in a sensitivity analysis excluding participants who reported sleeping more than nine hours.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings provide limited evidence that loneliness and avoidant attachment interact in relation to self-reported sleep duration. However, attachment\u2009\u00d7\u2009loneliness interactions were not observed for sleep quality, sleep onset, or wake after sleep onset. The findings suggest that attachment and loneliness may be relevant relational factors in sleep research, while recognising that the moderation effect observed here was specific to sleep duration and small in magnitude.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0356812","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T17:35:36Z","timestamp":1788888936000},"page":"e0356812","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Adult attachment, loneliness, and self-reported sleep outcomes: A secondary analysis of the Touch Test Study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-7381-621X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jolana","family":"Samii","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol","place":["Bristol, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aikaterini","family":"Vafeiadou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Goldsmiths, University of London","place":["London, United Kingdom"],"department":["Department of Psychology"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Angela","family":"Rowe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol","place":["Bristol, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christopher","family":"Kent","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol","place":["Bristol, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael J.","family":"Banissy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol","place":["Bristol, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0356812.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare7010001","article-title":"The global problem of insufficient sleep and its serious public health implications","volume":"7","author":"VK Chattu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Healthcare (Basel)"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0356812.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"290","DOI":"10.5935\/1984-0063.20180045","article-title":"Quality of sleep and depression in college students: a systematic review","volume":"11","author":"J Dinis","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sleep Sci"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"931","DOI":"10.2147\/NSS.S431442","article-title":"Association between occupational stress and sleep quality: a systematic review","volume":"15","author":"Y Mao","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat Sci Sleep"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101890","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smrv.2023.101890","article-title":"How emotions impact sleep: a quantitative review of experiments","volume":"74","author":"Z Krizan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sleep Med Rev"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101428","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smrv.2021.101428","article-title":"Sleep and social relationships in healthy populations: a systematic review","volume":"57","author":"AM Gordon","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sleep Med Rev"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sleep.2024.03.039","article-title":"Attachment and sleep quality in adults: a multilevel meta-analysis of actor and partner effect","volume":"118","author":"L Hu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sleep Med"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0356812.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.1177\/01461672221123859","article-title":"Mechanisms linking attachment orientation to sleep quality in married couples","volume":"50","author":"Y Xie","year":"2024","journal-title":"Pers Soc Psychol Bull"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0356812.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"531","DOI":"10.1037\/amp0000129","article-title":"Interpersonal mechanisms linking close relationships to health","volume":"72","author":"PR Pietromonaco","year":"2017","journal-title":"Am Psychol"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0356812.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1177\/2055102920913235","article-title":"Loneliness and sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"7","author":"SC Griffin","year":"2020","journal-title":"Health Psychol Open"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref010","volume-title":"Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes","author":"JP Robinson","year":"1991"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0356812.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1080\/15402002.2013.860897","article-title":"Loneliness and sleep quality: Dyadic effects and stress effects","volume":"13","author":"C Segrin","year":"2014","journal-title":"Behav Sleep Med"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0356812.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"495","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smrv.2014.03.002","article-title":"Sleep tight: exploring the relationship between sleep and attachment style across the life span","volume":"18","author":"GC Adams","year":"2014","journal-title":"Sleep Med Rev"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0356812.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"863","DOI":"10.1177\/1359105306069084","article-title":"Attachment, social support and well-being in young and older adults","volume":"11","author":"K Kafetsios","year":"2006","journal-title":"J Health Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref014","volume-title":"Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation","author":"MS Ainsworth","year":"1978"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref015","volume-title":"Attachment","author":"J Bowlby","year":"2008"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0356812.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"226","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.61.2.226","article-title":"Attachment styles among young adults: a test of a four-category model","volume":"61","author":"K Bartholomew","year":"1991","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref017","volume-title":"Attachment theory applied: fostering personal growth through healthy relationships","author":"M Mikulincer","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref018","first-page":"46","article-title":"Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview.","volume-title":"Attachment theory and close relationships","author":"KA Brennan","year":"1998"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0356812.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"354","DOI":"10.1037\/pspp0000027","article-title":"Are adult attachment styles categorical or dimensional? A taxometric analysis of general and relationship-specific attachment orientations","volume":"109","author":"RC Fraley","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2016.04.017","article-title":"Couple conflict: insights from an attachment perspective","volume":"13","author":"JA Feeney","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr Opin Psychol"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0356812.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"511","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.52.3.511","article-title":"Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process","volume":"52","author":"C Hazan","year":"1987","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref022","volume-title":"Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change","author":"M Mikulincer","year":"2010"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref023","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2018.04.004","article-title":"Adult attachment and physical health","volume":"25","author":"PR Pietromonaco","year":"2019","journal-title":"Curr Opin Psychol"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0356812.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"295","DOI":"10.1177\/135910530100600303","article-title":"Associations between attachment representations and health behaviors in late adolescence","volume":"6","author":"E Scharfe","year":"2001","journal-title":"J Health Psychol"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0356812.ref025","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"526","DOI":"10.1037\/0278-6133.24.5.526","article-title":"Attachment, sleep quality, and depressed affect","volume":"24","author":"CL Carmichael","year":"2005","journal-title":"Health Psychol"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0356812.ref026","first-page":"2387","article-title":"Loneliness among university students: predictive power of sex roles and attachment styles on loneliness","volume":"12","author":"T Ilhan","year":"2012","journal-title":"Educ Sci Theory Pract"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0356812.ref027","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"136","DOI":"10.1186\/s40359-023-01172-9","article-title":"The mediating role of early maladaptive schemas in the relationship between attachment styles and loneliness","volume":"11","author":"K Jalilian","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref028","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.1002\/9781118427378.ch3","article-title":"An attachment perspective on loneliness.","author":"M Mikulincer","year":"2013","journal-title":"The Handbook of solitude"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref029","volume-title":"Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change","author":"M Mikulincer","year":"2016","edition":"2"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0356812.ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.1080\/14616730210154171","article-title":"Attachment-related psychodynamics","volume":"4","author":"PR Shaver","year":"2002","journal-title":"Attach Hum Dev"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0356812.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"218","DOI":"10.1007\/s12160-010-9210-8","article-title":"Loneliness matters: a theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms","volume":"40","author":"LC Hawkley","year":"2010","journal-title":"Ann Behav Med"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0356812.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4731","DOI":"10.1007\/s10803-022-05710-z","article-title":"Attitudes to interpersonal touch in the workplace in autistic and non-autistic groups","volume":"53","author":"T Penton","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Autism Dev Disord"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0356812.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1177\/20551029221137008","article-title":"Assessing individual differences in attitudes towards touch in treatment settings: introducing the Touch & Health Scale","volume":"9","author":"A Vafeiadou","year":"2022","journal-title":"Health Psychol Open"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"140","DOI":"10.1027\/1015-5759\/a000243","article-title":"Selecting the best items for a short-form of the experiences in close relationships questionnaire","volume":"32","author":"M Lafontaine","year":"2015","journal-title":"Eur J Psychol Assess"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0356812.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"472","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.39.3.472","article-title":"The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: concurrent and discriminant validity evidence","volume":"39","author":"D Russell","year":"1980","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0356812.ref036","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1688","DOI":"10.1177\/10731911221119533","article-title":"Measuring loneliness in different age groups: the measurement invariance of the UCLA Loneliness Scale","volume":"30","author":"M Panayiotou","year":"2023","journal-title":"Assessment"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0356812.ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1016\/0165-1781(89)90047-4","article-title":"The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research","volume":"28","author":"DJ Buysse","year":"1989","journal-title":"Psychiatry Res"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0356812.ref038","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1111\/jsr.13766","article-title":"Perspectives on interpersonal touch are related to subjective sleep quality","volume":"32","author":"AL Dueren","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Sleep Res"},{"key":"pone.0356812.ref039","article-title":"Tutorial: Power analyses for interaction effects in cross-sectional regressions","author":"DA Baranger","year":"2022","journal-title":"PsyArXiv [Preprint]"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0356812.ref040","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1089","DOI":"10.1037\/pspp0000437","article-title":"The relationship between adult attachment and mental health: a meta-analysis","volume":"123","author":"X Zhang","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0356812.ref041","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.1037\/a0021199","article-title":"Loneliness, attachment, and the perception and use of social support in university students","volume":"43","author":"S Bernardon","year":"2011","journal-title":"Can J Behav Sci"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0356812.ref042","first-page":"302","article-title":"The complexity of loneliness","volume":"89","author":"J Yanguas","year":"2018","journal-title":"Acta Biomed"},{"issue":"22","key":"pone.0356812.ref043","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14831","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph192214831","article-title":"Attached but lonely: emotional intelligence as a mediator and moderator between attachment styles and loneliness","volume":"19","author":"D Borawski","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0356812.ref044","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1080\/14623730.2009.9721797","article-title":"The experience of loneliness: main and interactive effects of interpersonal stress, social support and positive affect","volume":"11","author":"MM Aanes","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int J Ment Health Promot"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0356812","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T17:35:43Z","timestamp":1788888943000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0356812"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Runtang","family":"Meng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Hangzhou Normal University","place":["CHINA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"references-count":44,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0356812","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]}}}