Individual Differences in Romantic Attachment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
April Bleske-Rechek ◽  
Grace Nuck ◽  
Michaela M. Gunseor
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
The Family ◽  
Attachment Dimensions ◽  
Weak Similarity

Abstract. In the 1980s, psychologists extended attachment theory into the domain of adult romantic bonds by proposing that romantic love can be conceptualized as a process of becoming attached ( Hazan & Shaver, 1987 ). From this perspective, individuals differ in two primary attachment dimensions: anxiety, the extent to which they worry about abandonment in their romantic relationships, and avoidance, the extent to which they are uncomfortable with interdependence and closeness. Research suggests that people perceive the rearing environment as a primary cause of people’s romantic attachment styles ( Tillman et al., 2008 ). If it is, family members should be similar in attachment-related anxiety and avoidance. To test this idea, we collected romantic attachment data on 965 US college students and the family members they nominated (205 siblings, 245 mothers, and 182 fathers). The students and family members in our sample showed negligible-to-weak resemblance in attachment-related anxiety and avoidance. Because previous studies have shown substantial similarity between identical twins and weak similarity between fraternal twins in romantic attachment styles, our data reinforce the possibility that nonshared environmental influences (such as individuals’ specific relationship histories) and genetic influences are the primary sources of individual differences in attachment-related anxiety and avoidance.

The Threat of Separation in Family Conflict

1984 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 610-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Argles
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Family Conflict ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Anxious Attachment ◽  
The Family

Separation threats are frequently used in troubled families as a means of controlling or exploiting other family members. Although such threats are often deliberately concealed from the family worker, a knowledge of attachment theory and of the symptoms of anxious attachment will assist in recognition and treatment of such situations.

The Family-Couple-Parenting Questionnaire

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 957-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Leonilde Carli ◽  
Elena Anzelmo ◽  
Elisa Gatti ◽  
Alessandra Santona ◽  
Stefania Pozzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Parental Bonding ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
The Family ◽  
Reported Study ◽  
Attachment Experience ◽  
Nomological Validity

This work describes the construction of family-couple-parenting (FCP) questionnaire, a new measure of three aspects related to the developmental path toward parenting choices, within the perspective of the family life cycle and attachment theory. Two studies are reported. Study 1 reports the development of the FCP questionnaire and its psychometric properties. Study 2 assesses the FCP’s nomological validity by investigating group differences on FCP factors and links between FCP factors and romantic attachment (experience in close relationships–revised) and recalled parental bonding (parental bonding instrument). Participants were 791 Italian participants: 405 young adults (203 students, 202 workers) and 193 couples (91 childless-by-choice, 102 parents-to-be). The results suggest that the FCP’s stable psychometric structure and strong theoretical basis make FCP a useful instrument for research related to the path to parenthood.

Attachment in adult patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1310-1310
Author(s):  
M. Abdel-Hamid ◽  
V. Heinrich ◽  
S. Sperber ◽  
J. Wiltfang ◽  
B. Kis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Adult Adhd ◽  
Control Sample ◽  
Romantic Love ◽  
Adult Patients ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Matched Sample ◽  
Attachment Dimensions

IntroductionAdult patients with ADHD suffer from marriage problems and increased divorce rates significantly more often. There are, however, only a few studies which analyse romantic attachment to a partner or romantic relationships among patients with ADHD in view of attachment theory.AimsThe aim of the present study is to research if ADHD patients show a diminished quality of romantic relationships in comparison to a matched sample of healthy controls. Furthermore, correlations between ADHD specific characteristics and particular variables of partnership perception and psychosomatic discomfort were analysed within the ADHD subgroup.MethodsWe recruited 39 patients with ADHD and compared them with a matched sample of healthy controls. Self-estimation measures were used to examine the quality of attachment, dimensions of attachment, love styles, psychosomatic discomfort and ADHD specific symptoms.ResultsIn comparison to the control sample, adult ADHD patients show a significantly reduced quality of relationships. ADHD patients rank themselves as more scared of attachment and showing more avoidance of interpersonal relationships in general as well as romantic relationships. They also feel less romantic love. ADHD specific characteristics correlate moderately with the attachment dimensions “Fear” and “Avoidance”, the love style “Mania” and psychosomatic discomfort.ConclusionsThis study lends further support to the assumption that adult patients with ADHD show an impaired quality of attachment, increased fear and avoidance of relationships as well as less romantic love. The results strongly underline the necessity to account for individual attachment styles in psychotherapy of ADHD.

scholarly journals Attached at the lips: The influence of romantic kissing motives and romantic attachment styles on relationship satisfaction

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-30
Author(s):  
Danica J. Kulibert ◽  
Elle A. Moore ◽  
Melinda M. Dertinger ◽  
Ashley E. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Relationship Functioning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Although romantic kissing is an important part of relationship functioning, little research has focused on motives for romantic kissing and how they may relate to other aspects of romantic relationships. To understand how romantic kissing impacts romantic relationship functioning, the current study assessed the relationship between romantic attachment, romantic kissing motives, and relationship satisfaction. Overall, it was hypothesized that (a) those reporting more sexual/explicit kissing motives and fewer goal attainment/insecurity motives would report higher relationship satisfaction, (b) those reporting a more secure attachment style would report higher relationship satisfaction, and (c) the relationship between romantic kissing motives and relationship satisfaction would vary according to one’s romantic attachment styles. Results from a hierarchical linear regression with 286 adults, all of whom were currently in romantic relationships, revealed that sexual/relational (β = 0.25) and goal attainment/insecurity kissing motives (β = -0.35) predicted relationship satisfaction. However, the impact of kissing motives on relationship satisfaction varied according to one’s romantic attachment. Specifically, the influence of sexual/relational motives was only significant for avoidantly attached individuals, whereas the influence of goal attainment/insecurity motives was significant for avoidantly and anxiously attachment individuals. Overall, this suggests that sexual/explicit romantic kissing motives serve to enhance the relationships of insecurely attached individuals, but not securely attached individuals. Furthermore, goal attainment/insecure motives had a negative effect on the relationship satisfaction of insecurely attached individuals, but not securely attached individuals. This study has important implications for both practitioners working with romantic couples and researchers studying romantic relationships.

From Middle Childhood to Adulthood Attachment

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-454
Author(s):  
Marshina Juliza Mohd Hasim ◽  
Hasrina Mustafa ◽  
Nor Hazlina Hashim
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The Stability

Attachment theory argues that attachment styles developed during infancy and childhood will be relatively enduring and continue during adulthood. While research on adult attachment has been mounting in the past, less is known on the enduring effect of attachment styles with mother, father, and their peer or peers during childhood on adult romantic attachment styles. Past research in fact have obtained mixed findings on the stability of attachment styles from childhood to adulthood, especially in the context of Malaysian setting. In order to explore the stability of attachment styles from childhood to adulthood, a survey among 400 married individuals was conducted and partial least squares was employed for data analysis. The application of attachment theory in this study was established via two dimensions of anxiety and avoidance. The result indicated that respondents who exhibited high levels of anxiety and high levels of avoidance with mother, father, and their peers would display the same attachment styles with their romantic partners or spouses during adulthood. The findings provide conclusive evidence on the continuity and stability of attachment styles with stronger and enduring bonds observed for peer-adult attachment.

scholarly journals The paradoxes of love in the Spanish family: a sociological approach

F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 627
Author(s):  
Juan Antonio Roche Cárcel
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Dominant Model ◽  
Dominant Form ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
The Family ◽  
Spanish Family ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Individual

This article defines the Spanish family in the context of the “Mediterranean model” and the “individualization society”. The former is characterised by strong social interrelationships between family members and their emotional ties, while the latter is defined by the separateness of citizens and by institutionalising the basis of society in individuals rather than in the family. The work also describes how modern forms of love, both romantic and confluent, are institutionalized in this society, discussing if they coexist or not, how they exist, and which is the dominant form. Finally, it analyzes the degree of strength or fragility of the family institution and the affective relationships that sustain it.  The work concludes that the Spanish family is balancing between the strong resistance to disappear as an institution and its eclipse, crisis, or complete end. This is because, although the Spanish family still retains a large part of its former functions, at the same time as divorce is on the increase and family members are decreasing, it is increasingly ephemeral and a plurality of family forms have emerged that have broken with the traditional dominant model of lifelong romantic marriage. Moreover, the Spanish family is also among the “familist” model and the individual, while the way of loving fluctuates between the traditional patriarchal and the democratic, individual, and communitary. Thus, the thesis I propose qualifies and questions the majority of theoretical works on love and the Spanish family, which argue that the family is inscribed in the “Mediterranean model”. As will be seen, the romantic relationships that have been institutionalised in the Spanish family are more paradoxical, insofar as they are still inscribed in that model, but they are rapidly approaching those of Northern Europe.

The Nature of Attachment Systems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Barbaro
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
System Approach ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Attachment Research ◽  
Romantic Attachments ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Attachment theory is an enduring and generative framework for understanding infant and romantic relationships. As a lifespan phenomenon, attachment research has focused largely on developmental processes and how to link the infant attachments with later close relationships, but there has been comparably less scholarly attention targeted at the evolutionary origins and functionality of romantic attachments, in particular. Here, I advance a two-system approach to attachment, proposing that infant attachments and romantic attachments constitute etiologically distinct systems that evolved in response to different selection pressures, serve different evolutionary functions, and are fundamentally different in nature with regard to operation and necessity toward their respective evolutionary goals. This two-system approach has downstream implications for future attachment research, most notably with regard to how the romantic attachment system develops over the lifespan, and the extent to which romantic attachments guide the formation of relationships in adulthood.

Family and its Influence on how Athletes Function

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-119
Author(s):  
Ali Aziz Dawood Al Sudani ◽  
Kamila Budzyńska
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Motor Skills ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Young Athlete ◽  
Motivational Climate ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Positive Relationships ◽  
Beliefs And Values ◽  
The Family

Abstract This article presents an application of attachment theory in understanding the quality of sport relationships, it describes types of motivational climate and the differences between performance and mastery in the family and also shows how the beliefs of parents can influence the beliefs of a young athlete. The high quality and positive relationships between athletes and their colleagues seems to reflect the early positive bond which they had with their parents. Children with insecure attachment styles more often have low quality relationships with teammates. Other factors important in the functioning of athletes are the two main types of motivational climate: the mastery/task climate and the performance/ego climate. Both kinds of motivational climate describe which values are the most important for parents and the different influence they have on athletes. Moreover the beliefs of parents have a big impact on the involvement in sport by children, their behaviour during and after sport competitions and what they think about their motor skills and abilities. Parents who care about the sport future of their children should be educated in how important it is to build positive relationships from early childhood, how their beliefs and values create a motivational climate which can support or harm an athletes participation in sport, and how their beliefs influence the involvement in sport of their children.

Gelotophobia in romantic life: Replicating associations with attachment styles and their mediating role for relationship status

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 2890-2897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Brauer ◽  
René T. Proyer
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Relationship Status ◽  
Anxious Attachment ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Lower Likelihood

The fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) plays a detrimental role in courtship (e.g., predicting a lower likelihood of entering a relationship) and romantic relationships (e.g., low relationship satisfaction). Gelotophobia correlates positively with anxious and avoidant romantic attachment. This study aims to replicate (a) the associations between gelotophobia and romantic attachment and (b) the mediating role of attachment in the association between gelotophobia and relationship experience using a sample of N = 531 participants ( M = 32.1 years; 63.7% singles). Previous findings replicated well, as gelotophobia positively relates to avoidant and anxious attachment and lower likelihood of entering a romantic relationship. Contrary to earlier research, only anxiety mediated the association between gelotophobia and relationship status. We discuss the findings regarding the attachment framework of long-term singlehood.

Collectivism and commitment in Chinese people: Romantic attachment in vertical collectivism

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1365-1373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Wang ◽  
Aitao Lu
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Dating Relationship

We investigated the relationships between vertical and horizontal collectivism and commitment to a dating relationship, and the mediating effect of romantic attachment styles (i.e., anxiety and avoidance) on these proposed direct associations. Participants were 191 mainland Chinese university students, of whom 94 were men and 97 were women. They completed anonymous questionnaires regarding their degree of vertical and horizontal collectivism, commitment to a dating relationship, and romantic attachment style. Results showed that vertical collectivism, romantic attachment, and commitment to a dating relationship were significantly associated, but no similar correlations were found for horizontal collectivism. As predicted, romantic attachment mediated the effect of vertical collectivism on commitment to a dating relationship. Implications of the present findings for future research are discussed, as well as potential interventions for improving the quality of romantic relationships.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document