ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Human Developmental Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Power of Relationships in Human Development: From Prenatal Bonding to Attachment Across the LifespanView all 12 articles
When the body speaks of loss: Psychosomatic dysregulation as a mediator between insecure attachment and prolonged grief symptoms in oncological and traumatic bereavement
Provisionally accepted
Vittorio Lenzo1*
Sergio Triscari1
Maria C. Quattropani1
Valentina Bordino2Filomena Cibelli3
Luigi Lombardo4Vincenzo Caretti5
Adriano Schimmenti6
Lucia Sideli5- 1University of Catania, Catania, Italy
- 2Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale di Caltanissetta, Caltanissetta, Italy
- 3Centro di Cure Palliative, Hospice, Korian-Italian Hospital Group,, Guidonia Montecelio, Roma, Italy
- 4Centro di Cure Palliative, Hospice Fondazione Sanità e Ricerca, Roma, Italy
- 5Libera Universita Maria Santissima Assunta, Rome, Italy
- 6Universita degli Studi di Enna 'Kore', Enna, Italy
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Background: This study investigated the role of psychosomatic dysregulation as a mediating factor in the association between attachment insecurity and prolonged grief symptoms. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to survey 227 adults who had lost a loved one due to oncological (n = 138) or traumatic causes (n = 89) (74.0% female; age = 48.11 ± 11.53 years). The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of age, gender, marital status, or living arrangement. Participants completed the Relationship Questionnaire, the Psychosomatic Dysregulation Inventory, and the Traumatic Grief Inventory SR+. Results: The severity of prolonged grief symptoms did not significantly differ between groups, although participants in the oncological loss group reported slightly higher symptom severity compared to the traumatic loss group. The prevalence of probable PGD was similar between groups, with 13.8% of the oncological group and 10.1% of the traumatic group meeting diagnostic criteria. Results of mediation analysis showed that psychosomatic dysregulation partially mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and prolonged grief symptoms, whereas no significant mediation was observed for attachment avoidance. Discussion: These findings point out the importance of addressing psychosomatic processes in individuals with high attachment anxiety, in line with the hyperactivation model of the anxious attachment system, to better understand and support their grief responses.
Keywords: Prolonged grief disorder, Attachment, psychosomatic dysregulation, Cancer, Mediation analysis, oncology, Trauma
Received: 18 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lenzo, Triscari, Quattropani, Bordino, Cibelli, Lombardo, Caretti, Schimmenti and Sideli. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Vittorio Lenzo, vittorio.lenzo@unict.it
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