Adult romantic attachments: A developmental perspective on individual differences.

Abstract

Attachment theory has, since its inception, contained the proposition that long-term adult romantic relationships (i.e., relationships described by ethologists as “pair bonds”) are generally attachments. In this article, the possibility that individual differences in adult romantic attachments may emerge, in part, from individual differences in childhood attachments is discussed. The article begins with an examination of the developmental precursors of individual differences in two of the behavioral systems prominent in adult romantic relationships: the attachment system and the caregiving system. For each of these behavioral systems, theory is discussed and the empirical literature is reviewed. The remainder of the article addresses the mechanisms of both continuity across development (i.e., factors that may account for the influences of early attachments on later romantic relationships) and discontinuity (i.e., factors that may account for change in the quality of attachments from childhood to adulthood).

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   Wei, Meifen, Russell, Daniel W., Mallinckrodt, Brent, Vogel, David L. · 2007 · Journal of Personality Assessment
3. Childhood Emotional Abuse and the Attachment System Across the Life Cycle: What Theory and Research Tell Us
   Riggs, Shelley A. · 2010 · Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma
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   Malik, Sonia, Wells, Adrian, Wittkowski, Anja · 2015 · Journal of Affective Disorders
5. Childhood emotional abuse and attachment processes in the dyadic adjustment of dating couples.
   Riggs, Shelley A., Cusimano, Angela M., Benson, Karen M. · 2011 · Journal of Counseling Psychology

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