Romantic Attachment Style Research Articles

Avoidant Attachment and the Experience of Parenting

Guided by attachment theory, this research investigated connections between avoidant attachment styles and the experience of parenting after the birth of a couple's first child. One hundred and six couples completed a battery of measures approximately 6 weeks before and 6 months after the birth of their first child. As anticipated, parents with more avoidant attachment styles experienced greater stress after the birth of their child and perceived parenting as less satisfying and personally meaningful. Attachment theory maintains that adult attachment styles should affect relationships with adults and with one's children. The present findings provide some of the first evidence that self-reported adult romantic attachment styles, which have been the focus of attachment research by social and personality psychologists, are systematically associated with parent-child relationships. They also provide insight into the processes through which secure and insecure attachment styles might be transmitted from one generation to the next.

The relation between identity status and romantic attachment style in middle and late adolescence

This study examined the linkages between identity formation and romantic attachment in an ethnically diverse sample of high school ( n = 1 8 9 ) and college students ( n = 3 2 4 ). Individuals in the foreclosed identity status group had significantly lower relationship avoidance scores than the diffused identity status group, and the foreclosed group had significantly lower relationship anxiety scores than both the achieved identity and moratorium groups. Identity status and romantic attachment style were significantly related among the college sample, but not among the high school sample. Some ethnic differences in attachment style were noted. Developmental implications are discussed.

Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence and Romantic Attachment Style in a College Student Sample

Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence and Romantic Attachment Style in a College Student Sample

Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence and Romantic Attachment Style in a College Student Sample

The frequency, severity, and reciprocity of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence and its consequences (i.e., injuries) were investigated in a college sample of women (N = 457). Participants were classified into one of the following four groups on the basis of self-reported physical assault perpetration and victimization against their relationship partners: nonviolent, perpetrator-only, victim-only, and bidirectionally violent. Results showed that females in the bidirectionally violent group had a reportedly higher occurrence (although not always statistically significant) of perpetration and victimization than those in the perpetrator-only and victim-only groups. Additionally, a similar degree of reciprocity was indicated by females in bidirectionally violent relationships in terms of violence severity and the occurrence of injury. Adult romantic attachment style was also examined among a subset of females (N = 328), and bidirectionally violent females were found to have the highest reported levels of attachment anxiety. Further, females high in attachment anxiety and low in attachment avoidance were more likely to report perpetrating violence than females high in both styles. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Simultaneous Administration of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in 53 Nations: Exploring the Universal and Culture-Specific Features of Global Self-Esteem.

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was translated into 28 languages and administered to 16,998 participants across 53 nations. The RSES factor structure was largely invariant across nations. RSES scores correlated with neuroticism, extraversion, and romantic attachment styles within nearly all nations, providing additional support for cross-cultural equivalence of the RSES. All nations scored above the theoretical midpoint of the RSES, indicating generally positive self-evaluation may be culturally universal. Individual differences in self-esteem were variable across cultures, with a neutral response bias prevalent in more collectivist cultures. Self-competence and self-liking subscales of the RSES varied with cultural individualism. Although positively and negatively worded items of the RSES were correlated within cultures and were uniformly related to external personality variables, differences between aggregates of positive and negative items were smaller in developed nations. Because negatively worded items were interpreted differently across nations, direct cross-cultural comparisons using the RSES may have limited value.

Relationships between sensory processing style, adult attachment, and coping

Relationships between the four categories of sensory processing style (sensitivity, seeking, avoidance, and low registration), adult romantic attachment style, and coping style were examined. The following self-report measures were given to 133 participants: the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile, the COPE scale, and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale. Results indicate that sensory sensitivity relates to relationship anxiety ( r = .212, p < .05), and this relationship is partially mediated by a coping style of focusing on and venting emotions. Sensory avoidance is related to relationship avoidance ( r = .278, p < .05). Low registration correlates with both relationship anxiety ( r = .248, p < .05) and relationship avoidance ( r = .224, p < .05), and the relationship between low registration and relationship anxiety is partially mediated by a coping style of denial and disengagement. Sensory seeking relates to secure attachment. Results are discussed in terms of how different sensory processing styles may affect our ability to cope and our relationship styles.

Adolescent Mothers and Internal Representational Models: Abuse, Neglect, and Romantic Relationships

The purpose of this study was to explore risk and protective factors associated with internal representation models of adolescent mothers. The study also looked at the role the mothers’ internal representational models play in their interaction with their romantic partners. The proposed model of abuse and neglect differentiated mothers with adequate internal models from those with abusing or neglecting models. The study was based on data analyses of self-report measures from 28 adolescent mothers from an ongoing longitudinal study. Results confirmed the hypothesis that adolescent mothers with neglecting and abusing internal models, which include a mistrust of self and others, report more depression, lower self-esteem, ineffective problem-solving approach, and pessimism. The results supported the hypothesis that mothers with a history of childhood maltreatment are more likely to have inadequate models. However, mothers who reported maltreatment as a child, but who had an effective problem-solving orientation and trusted themselves, were at less risk for child maltreatment. The results also supported the hypothesis that mothers’ internal models are associated with their romantic attachment style and their interaction with their romantic partners.

Desiring and Avoiding Close Romantic Attachment in Response to Mortality Salience

The purpose of this study was to examine individual differences in the effects of mortality salience on romantic attachment style. Participants were categorized as high or low in both agency and communion. After exposure to either a mortality salience or a control videotape, participants rated the idealness of Hazan and Shaver's (1987) three romantic attachment styles and rated the appeal of romantic involvement. Participants who were high in agency responded to mortality salience with increased endorsement of avoidant attachment, decreased endorsement of secure and anxious-ambivalent attachment, and diminished desire for involvement in a romantic relationship. Participants who were low in communion responded to morality salience with increased endorsement of anxious-ambivalent attachment. The results are discussed in light of research on defense mechanisms, Becker's (1973) theories about the role of romance in symbolic transcendence of death, and terror management theory (Solomon, Greenberg,&amp;Pyszczynski, 1991).

Adult romantic attachment styles and health-related measures

Two studies investigated whether there are differences in how individuals with secure, avoidant or anxious/ambivalent romantic adult attachment styles answer health-related questionnaires. In study 1, 111 young adults were divided into the three categorical Hazan and Shaver (1987) prototypes and completed a measure of coping resources. Individuals with a secure attachment style reported significantly more total coping resources than avoidant and anxious/ambivalent. The same pattern was found for emotional and social sub-scales. There was a different pattern of results for the other sub-scales, with secure reporting more cognitive resources than anxious/ambivalent, but there were no group differences for physical and spiritual/philosophical sub-scales. In study 2, 125 young adults completed the Hazan and Shaver prototypes, a dimensional measure of attachment, and measures of psychological and physical symptoms. The categorical and dimensional measures of adult attachment yielded similar results, with secure attachment associated with low levels of psychological symptoms and anxious/ambivalent associated with high levels of symptoms. There was no association between attachment and physical symptoms. These findings suggest the usefulness of measuring attachment styles when investigating health and coping.

Young people's romantic attachment styles and their associations with well-being

This research, based on attachment theory, examined the relationships between romantic attachment styles, romantic attitudes and well-being among 461 tertiary students, aged 17–21 years. Those with secure romantic attachment styles were less stressed, less lonely and more satisfied academically than those with clingy or casual/fickle styles, independent of current relationship status. Copyright 2002 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Repressive Coping Style and Adult Romantic Attachment Style: is there a relationship?

Abstract Two studies aimed to explore whether individuals who possess a repressive coping style exhibit an avoidant style of adult romantic attachment. The Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC) and the Bendig version of the Taylor Manifest Anxiety (MAS) scale were used to select a repressive coping style group (repressors: high MC, low MAS), three extreme-scoring control groups: low anxious (low MC, low MAS); high anxious (low MC, high MAS) defensive high anxious (high MC, high MAS), and an overall nonrepressor group. Two measures of romantic adult attachment were used: a categorical measure [Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualised as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 52 , 511–524] and a dimensional measure [Romantic Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire, RAASQ; Simpson, J. A. (1990). Influence of attachment styles on romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 59 , 971–980]. Repressors scored significantly higher on the avoidant attachment scale of the RAASQ than all nonrepressor groups, although this result was not found with the categorical measure. The results indicate that repressors report higher levels of romantic avoidant attachment than nonrepressors, and also highlight the importance of the type of measure used to elicit information from repressors. These findings suggest a potential link between the repressive coping literature and adult attachment literature.

Adult attachment and history of psychotherapy in a normative sample.

The willingness to trust and self-disclose to others, key aspects in the decision to seek psychotherapy, is expected to vary across attachment classifications. The current study examined the association between internal working models of attachment and history of psychotherapy in a middle-class sample of 120 women, who were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1985/1996) and the Mental Health Survey (S. A. Riggs & D. Jacobvitz, 2002). Findings supported predictions that security of attachment is linked to history of psychotherapy. Specifically, adults classified as Dismissing were less likely than other adults to report a history of psychotherapy, whereas Secure adults reported the highest rates of couples therapy. A key feature of attachment theory is the principle of continuity, which posits that the way attachment behavior becomes organized in childhood as a strategy for relating to others is carried forward and profoundly influences subsequent behavior in later life (Bowlby, 1980). According to Bowlby (1979), although the organization of attachment behavior develops in infancy and is most obvious in early childhood, it can be observed throughout the life cycle, especially in times of stress and emergency. Considerable agreement exists among attachment theorists that children develop mental representations of themselves, others, and relationships (i.e., the internal working model) through repeated interactions with their caregiver, and it is this internal working model that is carried forward to influence interpersonal relationships in adulthood (Sroufe, 1986; Sroufe & Fleeson, 1986). Based on Bowlby’s contention that attachment behavior is especially activated during stressful periods, Lopez (1995) hypothesized that adult attachment patterns should influence the adaptive mobilization of social support during the stress–coping process. However, the decision to seek social support and more specifically to seek assistance from a mental health professional or benefit from such experiences may depend on the belief that others are capable of providing care and comfort (Bowlby, 1988; Farber, Lippert, & Nevas, 1995; Slade, 1999), a view that is not expected to be consistent across the different attachment categories. Lopez, Melendez, Sauer, Berger, and Wyssman (1998) found that college students with selfreported dismissive and fearful romantic attachment styles were less willing to seek therapy than students with secure or preoccupied romantic attachment styles. We sought to extend Lopez et al.’s findings regarding the associations between differential help-seeking attitudes and internal Shelley A. Riggs, Department of Psychology, University of North Texas; Deborah Jacobvitz and Nancy Hazen, Department of Human Ecology, University of Texas at Austin. This study was part of the Partners and Parents Project, led by Deborah Jacobvitz and Nancy Hazen in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. The project was supported by National Science Foundation Grant SRB-9212990125 and by a grant from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. We are grateful to the parents for investing time in this project. We would also like to thank Lloyd Berg for helping to develop the Mental Health Survey and Holly Koehler for coding numerous interview transcripts. Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to Shelley A. Riggs, PhD, Department of Psychology, Post Office Box 311280, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203–1280. E-mail: riggs@unt.edu PROD #: 211.003

Adult attachment styles, early relationships, antenatal attachment, and perceptions of infant temperament: A study of first‐time mothers

AbstractWe explored the relative contributions of first‐time mothers’romantic attachment styles and early relations with their own mothers to the prediction of infant temperamental difficulty. A mediating role for mother's attachment to the unborn baby was assumed. In a prospective longitudinal study of 115 mothers of healthy babies, a structural model was delineated according to a conception of maternally reported infant temperament as a reflection of basic aspects of the mother's personality and mother‐infant relationships. Mothers’experiences with their own mothers as supportive and nonintrusive differentiated between securely and insecurely attached participants. Security of attachment was found to facilitate antenatal attachment and perceptions of the 4‐month‐old infant as easier. Findings indicate that the effects of the mothers’romantic attachment styles on their perceptions of temperamental difficulty are mediated by their antenatal attachment. Moreover, the pattern of findings obtained suggests a link among mothers’history of relationships, romantic attachment styles, and caregiving characteristics that is congruent with evolutionary theoretical assumptions.

Research on parental sensitivity, trust, intimacy and adult romantic attachment as predictors for sexual delinquency

Some important authors in the field of sexual delinquency stress the importance of inadequate attachment in the aetiology of sexual abusive behaviour. This contribution reports on parental sensitivity, trust, intimacy and adult romantic attachment in a group of sexual offenders (exhibitionists, child molesters and child rapists) and a matched normal control group. Based on the analyses, it appears that parental sensitivity, trust, intimacy and adult romantic attachment significantly differentiate between sexual delinquents and the control group. There is no significant relationship between the different categories of sexual offenders, except for the variable adult romantic attachment. Furthermore, it was found that parental sensitivity, trust and the adult romantic attachment style contribute independently to the explanation of sexual delinquent behaviour. The results tend to be important for the prevention and the treatment of sexual delinquent behaviour.

Family Relationships and Gender as Predictors of Romantic Intimacy in Young Adults: A Longitudinal Study

In a longitudinal study of the influence of gender and family factors on young adult romantic intimacy, we assessed at Time 1 (T1) family cohesion, flexible family control, respect for privacy and parents' marital satisfaction. Six years later, at Time 2 (T2), intimacy was assessed by 3 self-report measures: happiness in love, problems of insufficient intimacy, and romantic attachment style. Participants (n = 122; 60 men, 62 women) and their families were surveyed twice: T1 when youth were between ages 13 and 18 years, and T2 was 6 years later when they were between ages 19 and 25. Men reported more problems of insufficient intimacy than women, regardless of family dynamics. In regressions and discriminant analyses, flexible control, and to a lesser extent cohesion, predicted young adults' intimacy as did mothers' marital satisfaction. There were also gender-differentiated antecedents to intimacy, with family influences stronger for women than for men. Specifically, family respect for privacy predicted ha...

Attachment as a Function of Parental and Partner Approach-Avoidance Tendencies

This two-part investigation develops a new scale of parental attachment that includes the previously under examined form of role reversal, or being a caregiver for one's parent, and explores the contention that romantic attachment is more dyadic than originally conceived, in that it is a function of an interaction between parental attachment style and specific partner romantic attachment style. It was expected that the most secure partners would have secure attachments with their parents and partners who report their own secure romantic attachment, that the most preoccupied partners would have been anxious-ambivalent in their attachment to their parents and paired with dismissively avoidant others, and that the most dismissively avoidant partners would have been role reversed by their parents and paired with preoccupied partners. Support for this expanded model was found, in that parental and partner attachments both influenced the final form of romantic attachment, with partner attachment appearing to have more influence than parental attachment. The relationship of romantic attachment style to the subsequent communication outcome of self-disclosure was also explored. Results supported expectations, with security relating positively to intentional and honest self-disclosure, preoccupation relating negatively with honesty, and dismissive avoidance relating to greater positivity and less honesty.

Relation Between Adult Attachment Styles and Global Self-Esteem

The goal of this research was to explore the relation between adult romantic attachment styles (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) and global self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1979). Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing attachment styles, global self-esteem, and self-perceived competence across a variety of life domains (e.g., athletics, social skills). Results showed that secure and dismissing participants reported higher global self-esteem and greater average competence than did either preoccupied or fearful participants. Significant differences in competence across attachment styles, however, occurred only in socially relevant domains. A commonality analysis indicated that both attachment styles and domain-specific competence accounted for significant independent portions of the variance in global self-esteem, as did the overlap between these two variables. Results are discussed in terms of the conceptual relation between attachment styles and the self.

Attachment style in sex offenders: A preliminary study

In the past few decades, a number of theories have been developed to further our understanding of the various aspects of sex offending. Recent work has been focused on the relationship between early interpersonal experiences and the presence of intimacy deficits in sex offenders. Marshall (1989, 1993, in press) developed an etiological model stressing the importance of insecure attachment and intimacy deficits in both the onset and maintenance of sex offending. In this article we used a reformulation of this model, using Bartholomew's attachment theory, to carry out a preliminary investigation of the nature of attachment relationships in sex offenders. The participants in this study included child molesters (55), rapists (30), violent non‐sex offenders (32), and non‐violent, non‐sex offenders (30). Their general romantic attachment style was assessed using Bartholomew's self‐report scales. Results indicated that the majority of sex offenders were insecurely attached. However, this was true for all four gr...

Sexually Coercive Behavior and Love Styles

The present study investigated the relationship between sexual coercion, theoretical love styles, and adult romantic attachment styles. College men were grouped as either: not having experienced sexual intercourse (n = 25), consensually experienced with intercourse only (n = 56), or sexually coercive (n = 42), based on self-reported sexual history. Comparisons were made on six love styles, three adult attachment styles, and self-reported experiences in love relationships. Results replicated earlier research, finding that men who had been sexually coercive endorsed a manipulative, game-playing orientation toward intimate relationships to a greater extent than both other groups. Although sexually coercive men did not differ from the other two groups in their romantic attachment styles, they did report less happiness, friendship, and trust in their romantic relationships. Results suggest that avoidance does not characterize sexually coercive men, but rather manipulation and deception appear to form the link ...

Self-esteem and perceived quality of romantic and family relationships in young adults

A questionnaire study was conducted with young adults ( M = 26) in which they characterized the degree of problems experienced in their family as adults and during childhood, construals of their relationship with their mother and father (warm, cold, or inconsistent), construals of their adult romantic relationships (secure, avoidant, or anxious), and their social and performance self-esteem. Family problems (childhood and adulthood) were more frequently reported for mothers and fathers described as being cold or inconsistent than those described as warm. Avoidant adult romantic attachment style was associated with cold parenting styles, family problems, and lower social, but not performance, self-esteem, compared to those reporting the secure style. Those with an anxious adult romantic style demonstrated lower performance, but not social, self-esteem, compared to those reporting the secure style. This suggests a compensatory effect in the self-system. The retrospective nature of the design precludes conclusions about the developmental origins of these findings; however, the continuity within the self-system and across relationships has important implications for understanding an individual's future behavior in both family and romantic relationships.