Friendship attachment style, intolerance of uncertainty, and psychological distress among unaccompanied immigrant minors in times of COVID-19

Introduction: This cross-sectional study used a convergent parallel mixed-method design to investigate friendship attachment style, intolerance of uncertainty, and psychological distress among unaccompanied immigrant minors (UIMs) during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Method: Participants were 80 male UIMs (Mage = 17 years, standard deviation = 0.84) hosted in residential care communities. Individual interviews comprising questionnaires and open-ended questions assessed the constructs of interest. Qualitative data were analyzed through thematic content analysis, whereas descriptive statistics and regression analysis were computed on quantitative data. Results: Several UIMs mentioned positive relationships with peers, but more than half also felt reluctant to trust others and build new friendships due to events experienced before and during migration. However, in quantitative data, 69% identified themselves with the secure friendship attachment style. Regarding intolerance of uncertainty, participants expressed feelings of worry about the pandemic, but also emphasized their resources in terms of confidence, optimism, and planning skills, as well as being accustomed to uncertainty; indeed, levels of this variable were low-to-medium. In regression analysis, insecure attachment and higher intolerance of uncertainty were each associated with greater psychological distress. Moreover, psychological distress was lower among securely attached UIMs with low (vs. high) levels of intolerance of uncertainty. Conclusion: The findings suggest that, even in conditions of societal insecurity, UIMs display resilience and employ effective coping strategies; however, a lack of trust in peer relationships and the inability to tolerate uncertainty may undermine their psychological adjustment. Implications for developmental theory and practice are discussed.