Adult attachment orientations, self–other boundary regulation, and splitting tendencies in a college sample.

Abstract

In a sample of 247 college students, the contributions of adult attachment orientations and several other boundary regulation variables to measures of self-splitting (i.e., the tendency to report diffuse and chaotic self-experiences) and other-splitting (i.e., the tendency to acknowledge unstable perceptions of and feelings toward one's friends) were explored. Adult attachment orientations and self-other boundary regulation variables, respectively, explained unique variance in each criterion measure. High levels of attachment anxiety and self-concealment and low levels of self-other differentiation contributed most prominently to self-splitting, whereas high attachment anxiety, low emotional reactivity, and high needs for social approval best predicted other-splitting. Implications of these findings for advancing a more delineated understanding of splitting tendencies are discussed.