Marital conflict and the development of infant–parent attachment relationships.

Couples were studied before and after the birth of their 1st child to understand processes by which marital conflict influences child development. Hypotheses were tested concerning direct and indirect processes relating marital conflict to the security of infant–mother and infant–father attachment and disorganized attachment behavior. Findings supported the prediction that chronic marital conflict interferes with sensitive, involved parenting and thereby predicts insecurity in attachment relationships, particularly for fathers. It was also argued that chronic marital conflict presents the infant with experiences of frightened or frightening parents and diminished behavioral options to alleviate accompanying distress. As predicted, disorganized attachment behavior with mother and father was explained by chronic marital conflict and not mediated by parental ego development or sensitive parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of caregiving in adult intimate relationships: An attachment theoretical perspective.

Romantic couples (N?=?194) participated in an investigation of caregiving processes in adulthood. In Phase 1, couple members completed questionnaires designed to identify attachment style differences in caregiving behavior and to explore the underlying (personal and relationship) mechanisms that lead people with different attachment styles to be effective or ineffective caregivers. Results revealed that social support knowledge, prosocial orientation, interdependence, trust, and egoistic motivation mediated the link between attachment style and caregiving. In Phase 2, responsive caregiving was assessed behaviorally by exposing one member of the couple to a stressful laboratory situation and experimentally manipulating his or her need for support. Results revealed that attachment style and mediating mechanisms identified in Phase 1 also predicted observable support behavior in a specific episode in which a partner had a clear need for support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychophysiology of adult attachment relationships: Autonomic reactivity in marital and premarital interactions.

To better understand the origins of autonomic reactivity during marital interactions, this study examined the psychophysiological profiles of prototypically secure (vs. insecure) and deactivating (vs. hyperactivating) adults while they talked about areas of disagreement with their (pre)marital partners. Adults who idealized their caregivers and/or normalized harsh childhood experiences during the Adult Attachment Interview (i.e., deactivating adults) manifested heightened electrodermal reactivity, a sign of emotional inhibition, while attempting to resolve conflict in their relationships, whereas individuals who became angrily or passively caught up while discussing their early lives (i.e., hyperactivating adults) later showed increases in heart rate while conversing with their partners, suggesting behavioral activation. In contrast, security was associated with low levels of electrodermal change from baseline in the context of this normatively mild marital stressor. Results were generally consistent for 40 younger engaged and 40 mature married couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult attachment style and narcissistic vulnerability.

Argues that, in adult relationships, insecure attachments reflect strategies for managing a greater level of narcissistic vulnerability than exists in secure attachment. Attachment theory (AT) has traditionally emphasized adaptive responses in the child–parent relationship. However, researchers have applied AT to adult love relationships. Both the child literature and the adult literature have explored individual differences in attachment behavior and have identified stylistic categories of secure and insecure attachments. Although the insecure categories are characterized by overt behavior that appears quite different (i.e., clinging vs distance), in adult relationships where attachment is reciprocal, these stylistic patterns may achieve a similar function. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instability of infant–parent attachment security.

Data from 2 separate projects were examined to address the stability of infant–parent attachment security. Both included infant–mother attachment classifications at 12 and 18 mo of age (n?=?125, n?=?90), and 1 included infant–father classifications at 13 and 20 mo (n?=?120). Significant stability was not discerned in attachment security, either at the level of ABC or secure–insecure classifications. Rates of stability ranged from 46–55%. Results are discussed in terms of the select nature of the samples studied (all sons in 1, some depressed mothers in the other), the fact that past estimates of stability are based on small samples, the potential influence that coding for disorganized behavior may have on how Strange Situations are classified, and the changing ecology of infancy over the past 10–15 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Romantic jealousy and adult romantic attachment

Research on romantic jealousy is consistent with the idea that jealousy is, at least in part, the product of threats to attachment relationships. Attachment theory was used as a framework for examining individual differences in the ways in which people experience and express jealousy. Emotional, behavioral, and cognitive concomitants of romantic jealousy were related to differences in attachment style in ways consistent with attachment theory. For example, anxious participants were relatively more likely than others to resist expressing their anger, avoidant participants were especially likely to turn their anger and blame against the interloper, and securely attached participants were especially likely to express anger toward the partner and to maintain their relationship. Differences in attachment style, not just differences in level of security, are predictive of qualitative individual differences in jealousy experiences.     

Mothers' representations of their relationships with their toddlers: Links to adult attachment and observed mothering.

Mothers (N?=?125) and their firstborn sons were studied over an 11-month period to examine relations between mothers' representations of their relationships with their children (measured at 15 months by using the Parent Development Interview [PDI]), adult representations of attachment (measured at 12 months by using the Adult Attachment Interview [AAI]), and observed mothering (measured at 15 and 21 months). Results indicate (a) that mothers classified as autonomous on the AAI scored highest on the joy-pleasure/coherence dimension of the PDI and mothers classified as dismissing on the AAI scored highest on the anger dimension of the PDI and (b) that mothers scoring higher on the joy-pleasure/coherence dimension of the PDI engaged in less negative and more positive mothering. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult attachment and the transition to parenthood.

This study examined how a major life stressor—the transition to parenthood—affects marital satisfaction and functioning among persons with different attachment orientations. As hypothesized, the interaction between women's degree of attachment ambivalence and their perceptions of spousal support (assessed 6 weeks prior to childbirth) predicted systematic changes in men's and women's marital satisfaction and related factors over time (6 months postpartum). Specifically, if highly ambivalent (preoccupied) women entered parenthood perceiving lower levels of support from their husbands, they experienced declines in marital satisfaction. Women's ambivalence also predicted their own as well as their husbands' marital satisfaction and functioning concurrently. The degree of attachment avoidance did not significantly predict marital changes, although women's avoidance did correlate with some of the concurrent marital measures. These findings are discussed in terms of attachment theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult attachment styles and group psychotherapy attitudes.

The current study examined the relationship between 63 intake clients’ and 28 college student’s attachment styles and their attitudes of group psychotherapy. The authors examined the relationship between attachment anxiety and avoidance and the subscales of the Group Therapy Survey-R (Carter, Mitchell, & Krautheim, 2001). Results revealed a significant relationship between attachment avoidance in adult romantic relationships and increased fears of being vulnerable in group psychotherapy. As hypothesized, avoidance in romantic relationships was related to fears of shame and humiliation in group therapy. Contrary to predictions, clients’ anxiety ratings were negatively related to negative myths of group psychotherapy. The greater the clients rated fears of being rejected and abandoned, the less they rated negative myths about group treatment. Neither attachment anxiety nor avoidance was related to ratings of group therapy efficacy. Implications of the findings for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocal relationships between parent and adolescent internalizing symptoms.

Previous investigations of the association between parent and adolescent internalizing problems have been largely restricted to the unidirectional effect of parent symptoms on their children. This study therefore aimed to investigate potential reciprocal relationships between parent and adolescent internalizing symptoms. One-hundred and seventy-seven adolescents ages 14 to 18 years and their parents (172 mothers, 124 fathers) completed measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms at two time points, 6 months apart. Results supported reciprocity between maternal and adolescent internalizing symptoms but not between paternal and adolescent internalizing symptoms. In addition, the relationship between maternal symptoms and later adolescent symptoms was found to be partially mediated by maternal parenting self-esteem. The study highlights the potential impact of adolescent internalizing problems on maternal well-being, a phenomenon previously neglected in the literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disorders of adult attachment.

This article presents an overview of J. Bowlby's framework of attachment (e.g., 1990) for conceptualizing adult psychopathology and its application to clinical practice. The theory proposes that psychological disorders reflect an internalization of adverse attachment experiences, both current and past, and in particular those that undermine self-reliance and feelings of security. Clinical syndromes indicate intensification of anxiety, depression, and/or anger to a degree which interferes with adaptive functioning and interactions with others. The secure base of therapy provides a new model of what close relationships can be like, as well as a setting for exploring and possibly modifying the meaning given to separation and loss experiences. Issues of prevention and social policy are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child–mother attachment relationships and culture.

Comments on the article by F. Rothbaum et al (see record 2000-02781-001), which highlighted evidence of cultural variations in, and noted ways in which attachment theory is laden with Western values and meaning in comparisons of the US and Japan. Proposing the development of distinct theories for each human culture and subculture, Rothbaum et al challenged the notion that attachment theory can inform psychologists' understanding of close relationships across cultures. According to the present authors, Rothbaum et al overlooked clear evidence about secure base relationships in diverse cultures, including Japan, and they also misunderstood the role of that secure base as a context for socialization. Information to date supports the universality of the secure base phenomenon. Attachment theory can be a valuable framework for examining general questions about interactions between biology and culture during development, and cross-cultural research affords useful opportunities to study these interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult attachment and the suppression of unwanted thoughts.

Dismissing-avoidant adults are characterized by expressing relatively low levels of attachment related distress. However, it is unclear whether this reflects a relative absence of covert distress or an attempt to conceal covert distress. Two experiments were conducted to distinguish between these competing explanations. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed to suppress thoughts of their romantic partner abandoning them. Relative to control conditions, suppression resulted in a decrease in the accessibility of abandonment-related thoughts for dismissing-avoidant adults. Experiment 2 demonstrated that attempts to suppress the attachment system resulted in decreases in physiological arousal for dismissing-avoidant adults. These experiments indicate that dismissing-avoidant adults are capable of suppressing the latent activation of their attachment system and are not simply concealing latent distress. The discussion focuses on developmental, cognitive, and social factors that may promote detachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult attachment in a nationally representative sample.

The explosion of adult attachment research in the last decade has been limited by its reliance on college student and distressed samples. Using a large nationally representative sample of American adults, the authors examined the relation of sociodemographics, childhood adversity, parental representations, adult psychopathology, and personality traits to adult attachment in an effort to replicate previous findings and extend the theory. Distribution of adult attachment styles was similar to that in prior studies: 59% secure, 25% avoidant, and 11% anxious. Adult attachment was associated with several sociodemographic variables (e.g., income, age, race) not previously studied. Childhood adversities of an interpersonal nature were strongly related to insecure adult attachment. Various types of adult psychopathologies and personality traits were also strongly related to adult attachment. Implications for adult attachment theory and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness, and infant attachment: A meta-analysis on the predictive validity of the Adult Attachment Interview.

About a decade ago, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1985) was developed to explore parents' mental representations of attachment as manifested in language during discourse of childhood experiences. The AAI was intended to predict the quality of the infant-parent attachment relationship, as observed in the Ainsworth Strange Situation, and to predict parents' responsiveness to their infants' attachment signals. The current meta-analysis examined the available evidence with respect to these predictive validity issues. In regard to the 1st issue, the 18 available samples (N?=?854) showed a combined effect size of 1.06 in the expected direction for the secure vs. insecure split. For a portion of the studies, the percentage of correspondence between parents' mental representation of attachment and infants' attachment security could be computed (the resulting percentage was 75%; κ?=?.49, n?=?661). Concerning the 2nd issue, the 10 samples (N?=?389) that were retrieved showed a combined effect size of .72 in the expected direction. According to conventional criteria, the effect sizes are large.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of attachment styles on romantic relationships.

Examined the impact of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles on romantic relationships in a longitudinal study involving 144 dating couples. For both men and women, the secure attachment style was associated with greater relationship interdependence, commitment, trust, and satisfaction than were the anxious or avoidant attachment styles. The anxious and avoidant styles were associated with less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions in the relationship, whereas the reverse was true of the secure style. 6-mo follow-up interviews revealed that, among those individuals who disbanded, avoidant men experienced significantly less post-dissolution emotional distress than did other people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's representations of attachment relationships in family drawings

Children's representational models of self and attachment figures were investigated in family drawings at age 8-9 in a high-risk, racially mixed sample. Drawings were scored using a series of specific signs and a group of theoretically derived, global rating scales. When specific signs were treated in a combined way (versus separately), they were significantly related to early attachment history in predicted ways. Similarly, specific rating scales were found to be significantly related to early relationship history. Analyses exploring the relative contributions of early attachment history and contemporary measures of child IQ, life stress, and emotional functioning revealed that even after contemporary influences were taken into account, attachment history made a significant contribution to the prediction of negative drawing outcome. Results were interpreted as supporting an organizational perspective on development where qualitative differences in early relationships are hypothesized to shape core representational models of the self and to exert an ongoing influence on later representational processes.     

Parental attachment styles of late adolescents: Qualities of attachment relationships and consequences for adjustment.

Lack of a self-report measure of late adolescent parental attachment style has threatened to hinder expansion of the empirical basis of attachment theory. Two studies were undertaken that provided evidence of validity for a new classification of parental attachment style from patterns of scores on the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (G. C. Armsden & M. T. Greenberg, 1987). Discriminant function analyses differentiated among secure, ambivalent, and avoidant attachment with 2 empirically derived dimensions, which paralleled the essential attachment functions theorized by M. D. S. Ainsworth (1989). Overall, insecurely attached late adolescents reported greater depression, anxiety, and worry than their securely attached counterparts. For women but not for men, insecure attachment was associated with diminished college adjustment and lower intimacy development. These results portend the promise of investigations of parental attachment style to elucidate contributions of parental attachment to late adolescent development and adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The attachment system in fledgling relationships: An activating role for attachment anxiety.

Is it sensible to study attachment dynamics between potential romantic partners before they share a full-fledged attachment bond? The present data indicate that such an approach may reveal novel insights about initial attraction processes. Four studies suggest that the state-like experience of attachment anxiety has functional implications within fledgling (i.e., desired or undeveloped) romantic relationships, well before the formation of an attachment bond. Studies 1 and 3 reveal that attachment anxiety directed toward a particular romantic interest is elevated before (in comparison with after) participants report being in an established relationship. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrate that such partner-specific attachment anxiety predicts attachment-relevant outcomes in fledgling relationships, including proximity seeking, safe haven, secure base, passionate love, and other approach behaviors. These associations were reliable above and beyond (and were typically as strong as or stronger than) the effect of sexual desire. Finally, Study 4 presents evidence that partner-specific attachment anxiety may cause several of these attachment-relevant outcomes. Attachment anxiety seems to be a normative experience and may signal the activation of the attachment system during the earliest stages of romantic relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)