Investigating a four-pathway model of adult attachment orientation and health

Abstract

We tested a model, derived from attachment theory, linking adult attachment orientation to health through four hypothesized intervening paths: affect, stress, social support, and health-risk behavior. Questionnaires were administered to 623 university students and 219 addiction treatment clients. In both samples, attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety dimensions were indirectly, rather than directly, related to lower subjective ratings of health. In both samples, data were consistent with the affect and stress pathways linking attachment to health. Results for the social support and health-risk behavior pathways were less robust. Results were consistent for male and female respondents. Findings are discussed in terms of attachment theory and the affect regulation processes linking attachment and health. Implications are considered, along with directions for future research.