Is early attachment security carried forward into relationships with preschool peers?

The association between early parent‐child attachment security and peer rejection among preschool children was examined. Children in three preschool classrooms (N = 37) participated. Mothers rated their children's attachment security at age 3 years on the Attachment Q‐Set (Waters, 1987). Sociometric ratings were collected from classmates at age 4 years through individual picture interviews. Teachers rated externalizing and internalizing behaviour exhibited at preschool. Lower attachment security was associated with greater subsequent peer rejection and higher externalizing and internalizing behaviour scores. An exploratory path model suggested that the linkage between early insecure attachment and later peer rejection may be mediated by externalizing behaviour.     

Pushing mom away: Embodied cognition and avoidant attachment

The objective of this research was to examine embodied psychological defense—the way in which defensive processes are manifest in basic motor responses. Forty-one participants were instructed to physically push or pull a lever in response to lexical stimuli presented on a computer display. Participants who were relatively avoidant with respect to attachment were faster to push the lever away from themselves when presented with the word “mom.” These results suggest that basic avoidant motives are automatically primed when attachment-related stimuli are processed, and that these tendencies manifest themselves in basic, motor-specific ways.     

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.     

Perceptions of conflict and support in romantic relationships: the role of attachment anxiety

Guided by attachment theory, a 2-part study was conducted to test how perceptions of relationship-based conflict and support are associated with relationship satisfaction/closeness and future quality. Dating partners completed diaries for 14 days (Part 1) and then were videotaped while discussing a major problem that occurred during the diary study (Part 2). Part 1 reveals that more anxiously attached individuals perceived more conflict with their dating partners and reported a tendency for conflicts to escalate in severity. Perceptions of daily relationship-based conflicts negatively impacted the perceived satisfaction/closeness and relationship futures of highly anxious individuals, whereas perceptions of greater daily support had positive effects. Part 2 reveals that highly anxious individuals appeared more distressed and escalated the severity of conflicts (rated by observers) and reported feeling more distressed. The authors discuss the unique features of attachment anxiety and how changing perceptions of relationship satisfaction/closeness and stability could erode commitment over time.     

Loving styles: relationships with personality and attachment styles

We investigated the ability of the major personality dimensions, some of their underlying facet scales, and attachment styles to predict primary and secondary loving styles, as conceptualized by Lee. Personality was assessed using the International Personality Item Pool, and attachment styles through an inventory devised by Collins and Read. Respondents were 302 undergraduate students (212 females; 90 males) who participated in the study in exchange for course credit. Results of regression path analysis showed that N was the only personality dimension without direct predictive links to loving styles. Instead, the influence of N was through an anxious attachment style. There were no personality predictors of Agape, and similarities were also observed between these results and those obtained in Hong Kong. The results are discussed with reference to previous studies and some suggestions for further research are also noted. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parent-child relationships, partner relationships, and emotional adjustment: a birth-to-maturity prospective study

This study examined whether detrimental childhood relationships with parents were related to partner relationship quality and emotional adjustment in adulthood. The authors tested a theoretical model in which (a) low-quality parent-child relationships were related to conflict and low-quality communication with parents in adolescence, (b) parent-adolescent conflict and low-quality communication were linked to low-quality partner relationships in young adulthood, and (c) low-quality partner relationships in young adulthood were predictive of low-quality partner relationships as well as depression, anxiety, and dissatisfaction with life at midlife. Multi-informant data were used from 212 Swedish individuals who were followed from birth into adulthood. Results demonstrated that, as hypothesized, negative parent-child bonds were indirectly related to low-quality partner relationships and dissatisfaction with life in adulthood (but not anxiety and depression) through conflictual parent-adolescent communication and low-quality partner relationships in young adulthood.     

No man is an island: the need to belong and dismissing avoidant attachment style

The need to belong theory proposes that all human beings need social connections. However, dismissive avoidant individuals claim to be comfortable without close relationships and appear to be indifferent to how other people think of them. The current studies examined the association between dismissing avoidant attachment and the desire to feel accepted by others. In Study 1, high-dismissive participants reported experiencing higher than average levels of positive affect and state self-esteem after learning that other participants accepted them. In Study 2, high-dismissive participants felt better about themselves and experienced higher levels of positive affect after learning that in the future they would be successful in interpersonal relative to independent domains or controls. The results of these studies suggest that dismissive avoidants do not represent a counterexample to the hypothesis that all human beings have a fundamental need and desire to belong.     

Hurt feelings in couple relationships: Exploring the role of attachment and perceptions of personal injury

This research program focused on perceptions of the appraisals and emotions involved in hurtful events in couple relationships. Study 1 tested the broad proposition that hurt feelings are elicited by relational transgressions that generally imply relational devaluation and that evoke a sense of personal injury by threatening positive mental models of self and/or others. Participants (N= 224) provided retrospective accounts of an experience of being hurt by a romantic partner. These accounts, together with expert judges’ ratings, showed that most hurtful events involved relational transgressions that signal both relational devaluation and threat to positive mental models; however, relational devaluation was relatively unimportant in explaining the hurt associated with partners’ distrust. A sense of injury emerged as the dominant theme in open‐ended accounts of emotional reactions; however, other negative emotions also featured and were related to the type of event reported. The emotion terms generated in Study 1 were used as stimuli in a word‐sorting task (Study 2). This study confirmed that many of the terms were perceived specifically as injury related, and shed further light on the link between appraisals and emotions. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Learning to form relationships in infancy: Parallel attainments with parents and peers

Freud's assertion notwithstanding, the attachment relationship is not “without parallel” in social life. Children's attainments in forming attachments to parents parallel the steps they take in relating to their peers. During the first 3 years of life, in both domains, infants come to recognize prospective social partners, communicate with them, engage them in patterned interaction, including both cooperation and conflict, learn from their presence and actions, and interact in idiosyncratic ways with particular companions. Toward the end of this period, children show signs of acquiring generalized concepts of the social relationships in which they engage. It is proposed that biological constraints on learning promote human infants' interest in and rudimentary abilities to interact with other members of their species. Subsequent incidental and intentional learning processes shape both the child's attachments and less intense relationships with other persons.     

Romantic relationships and sexuality in adolescence and young adulthood: The role of parents,peers, and partners

The formation of romantic relationships and the engagement in sexual behaviours are considered normative and salient developmental tasks for adolescents and young adults. These developmental tasks are increasingly viewed from an ecological perspective, thus not only as individual processes, but also as strongly embedded in different social contexts, including the proximal social domains of parents, peers, and partners. This special issue brings together seven recent empirical studies on adolescents' and young adults' romantic relationships and sexuality in the context of relationships and interactions with parents, peers, and partners. In this editorial introduction, we describe two important recent changes in the theoretical perspectives on emerging romantic relationships and sexual activity: from risky behaviours to normative tasks, and from individual to contextualized processes. We then discuss recent advances in empirical research on romantic relationships and sexuality of adolescents and young adults. After that, we review the seven studies in this special issue, and discuss the contributions of these studies to the existing literature. Finally, we discuss directions for future research regarding how the interrelational perspective can be further incorporated into empirical research, and how the gap between the research fields on romantic relationships and sexuality may be bridged.     

The role of attachment in couple relationships described as social systems

The role that attachment plays in adult relationships seems insufficiently elucidated. Of the components of early attachment, proximity seeking and security are of prime importance. Of these two, proximity seeking is also important at the outset of adult relationships. The form of security that is characteristic of adult couple relationships, however, is different from attachment security. Working models of attachment relations also play an important role in new adult relationships. Attachment behaviour may also play a role when, under severe stress, adult coping falls short. In our way of thinking however, the functioning of adult relationships cannot be described in terms of a persistence of attachment qualities but has to be described and explained by the theory of social systems.     

亲子依恋与初中生亲社会行为:有调节的中介效应

亲社会行为是个体在人际交往中表现出的谦让、帮助、合作、分享等行为,是青少年社会能力发展的重要方面。以往研究表明,安全的亲子依恋对亲社会行为具有重要影响,但亲子依恋发挥作用的具体机制及作用条件还有待深入探讨。本研究在发展系统理论及依恋理论指导下,构建一个有调节的中介效应模型,检验心理资本在亲子依恋与亲社会行为之间的中介作用,以及不良同伴交往对上述中介路径的调节作用。采用亲子依恋问卷、心理资本问卷、不良同伴交往问卷以及亲社会行为问卷对737名初中生进行测查。结构方程模型分析表明:(1)在控制了年龄、性别和社会经济地位后,亲子依恋对亲社会行为具有显著的正向预测作用。(2)中介效应检验表明,心理资本在亲子依恋与亲社会行为之间具有完全中介作用。(3)有调节的中介效应检验进一步表明,不良同伴交往调节了"亲子依恋→心理资本→亲社会行为"的前半段,即当初中生的不良同伴交往偏多时,亲子依恋对心理资本的促进作用减弱。本研究的发现表明,安全的依恋关系有利于培养初中生的心理资本,进而促进亲社会行为。但是,较高的不良同伴交往会阻碍亲子依恋积极作用的发挥。本研究验证了家庭系统、同伴系统和个人系统对亲社会行为的联合作用,对初中生亲社会行为的培养具有一定的指导意义。     

Sensory sensitivity, attachment experiences, and rejection responses among adults with borderline and avoidant features

Both avoidant and borderline personality disorder (APD and BPD) are theoretically associated with temperamental vulnerabilities, adverse attachment experiences, and negative (pessimistic or catastrophic) reactions to the threat of perceived rejection; however, more work is needed to differentiate how these processes account for the etiology and maintenance of both disorders. In this study, 156 adults completed questionnaires measuring APD and BPD features, temperament (sensory-processing sensitivity), mood, and attachment experiences. A vignette task was devised to examine pessimistic cognitive-affective reactions in situations signaling potential rejection. Both APD and BPD were associated with temperamental sensitivity, but BPD was uniquely linked with a subscale measuring sensitivity to mental and emotive stimuli, whereas APD was uniquely linked with a subscale measuring the control and avoidance of aversive stimulation. Compared to APD, BPD was more strongly linked with negative moods (anxiety, anger, sadness) and insecure attachment to parents, whereas APD was more strongly linked (than BPD) to pessimistic cognitive-affective responses to rejection-related situations.     

Coping with war captivity: the role of attachment style

The current study examines the implication of attachment style in both immediate coping and long-term adjustment of prisoners of war (POWs). 164-ex-POWs and 184 matched controls filled out a battery of questionnaires, 18 years after the war. They were questioned about their subjective experience of captivity, current mental health status, and characteristic attachment style. Secure individuals, who reported lower levels of suffering, less helplessness and more active coping during captivity, exhibited better long-term adjustment. Avoidant ex-POWs, who reported helplessness and hostility, and ambivalent individuals, who felt abandoned and vulnerable, reported long-term maladjustment. The role of attachment style as a stress-moderating resource is discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parent-child relationships of adopted adolescents in a psychiatric hospital

This study compared the parent-child relationships of 140 adopted and non-adopted adolescents treated in a psychiatric hospital through examination of information contained in the adolescents' medical records. Specifically, comparisons were made of the mention of parental contribution to the problems precipitating hospitalization, psychiatric restriction of parental visits to hospitalized offspring, and referral of parents to an adjunct parents' group. Data were gathered by uninformed research assistants, from the hospital charts of adolescents who had already been discharged from the hospital. Statistical analysis of the data yielded the following results. Adoptive parents were significantly more frequently restricted in their visits to their children. In addition, they were also more likely to have been involved in the precipitants to hospitalization and to have been referred subsequently for adjunctive treatment. It was concluded that parent-child relations may be more problematic among hospitalized adopted, as compared with non-adopted , adolescents. It was also suggested that psychiatric bias concerning "typical" adoptive family dynamics might have contributed to the observed differences.     

An attachment perspective on human-pet relationships: Conceptualization and assessment of pet attachment orientations

In a series of studies we used attachment theory as a framework to examine human-pet relationships. We proposed that, as in interpersonal relationships, people differ in their degree of anxious or avoidant attachment to their pets, and that these individual differences influence pet-related cognitions, emotions, and behavior. We constructed a self-report scale, the Pet Attachment Questionnaire (PAQ), and examined its factorial structure, associations with attachment patterns in human relationships (Studies 1-2), relation to explicit and implicit expectations concerning a pet (3-4), and reactions to the loss of a pet (5). We found that individual differences in pet attachment do occur in the domains of attachment anxiety and avoidance, and these differences contribute uniquely to the prediction of expectations about the pet and emotional reactions to its death.