Adoption,attachment, and relationship concerns: A study of adult adoptees

We examined the impact of adoptive status and family experiences on adult attachment security and how attachment predicts relationship outcomes. Adults adopted as infants (N = 144) and a sample of nonadoptees (N = 131) completed measures of attachment security at recruitment and 6 months later; other measures assessed parental bonding and adoptees’ reunion experiences (Time 1), and relationship variables (e.g., loneliness, relationship quality; Time 2). Insecurity was higher for adoptees and those reporting negative childhood relationships with parents. For adoptees only, recent relationship difficulties also predicted insecurity. Attachment dimensions were more important than adoptive status in predicting relationship variables and mediated the effects of adoptive status. The results support the utility of attachment theory in understanding adoptees’ relationship concerns.     

Explicit thoughts of security activate implicit self‐doubt in anxiously attached participants

People high in attachment‐related anxiety experience greater anxieties and ambivalence (e.g., M. Mikulincer, P. R. Shaver, N. Bar‐On, & T. Ein‐Dor, 2010 ) when feelings of relationship security are activated. The current research suggests that anxiously attached people also experience a decrease in implicit feelings of self‐worth. Across two studies participants high (vs. low) in attachment anxiety reported more negative implicit self‐evaluations after thinking about a time they felt loved and cared for by a close other. Study 2 further revealed that more negative implicit self‐evaluations are not a function of differences in the type of events recalled by high anxiety participants. These latter results suggest that security‐enhancing thoughts automatically activate a negative association with the self that is not consciously reflected in participants' written responses.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG LEADER AND FOLLOWER PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL,SERVICE CLIMATE,AND JOB PERFORMANCE

Using a sample of 79 police leaders and their direct reports (264 police followers), this study investigated the relationships of leader and follower psychological capital, service climate, and job performance. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results revealed that leader psychological capital was positively related to follower performance, with this relationship mediated by follower psychological capital. We also found that the follower psychological capital-performance relationship was moderated by service climate such that the relationship was stronger when service climate was perceived to be high versus low. Finally, exploratory HLM analyses indicated that leader and follower psychological capital interacted to positively predict rated performance. We discuss implications of these findings, limitations, and directions for future research.