Why does attachment style change?
- 1 January 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Vol. 73 (4) , 826-838
- https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.73.4.826
Abstract
Adult attachment research has proceeded on the assumption that attachment style is relatively stable and affects future functioning. However, researchers have become interested in attachment instability and predictors of attachment style change. In this article, 2 conceptualizations of attachment style change were examined: Attachment style change is a reaction to current circumstances, and attachment style change is an individual difference in susceptibility to change that is associated with stable vulnerability factors. A total of 155 women were assessed after high school graduation, and 6 months and 2 years later Results primarily supported the conceptualization of attachment style change as an individual difference. Specifically, some women may be prone to attachment fluctuations because of adverse earlier experiences, and women who show attachment fluctuations are similar to women with stably insecure attachments.Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic reviewClinical Psychology Review, 2010
- Interpersonal attachment cognitions and prediction of symptomatic responses to interpersonal stress.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1995
- Attachment styles and close relationships: A four‐year prospective studyPersonal Relationships, 1994
- Reliability and stability of adult attachment patternsPersonal Relationships, 1994
- On confidence and consequence: The certainty and importance of self-knowledge.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1991
- The Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire: Development and Preliminary ResultsJournal of Personality Disorders, 1988