Adult Romantic Attachment: Theoretical Developments, Emerging Controversies, and Unanswered Questions

“When Hazan and Shaver (1987) began their work on romantic attachment, they adopted Ainsworth's three-category scheme as a framework for organizing individual differences in the way adults think, feel, and behave in romantic relationships.”

“According to recent models of individual differences in attachment organization, attachment-related avoidance is a basic dimension that underlies adult attachment [Brennan et al., 1998; Fraley and Shaver, 2000; Griffin and Bartholomew, 1994a].”

“1. Contemporary models of individual differences in attachment organization hold that there are two fundamental dimensions underlying adult attachment patterns: attachment-related anxiety and attachment-related avoidance (see Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994a; Fraley & Shaver, 2000 ).”

“…being germane because attachment styles are intimately related to expressive patterns, with avoidant children and adults showing restricted expressivity and ambivalent children and adults showing heightened or extreme expressivity (Cassidy, 1994, 2000; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Fuendeling, 1998).”

“Similar to childhood attachment theory, adult attachment theory also focuses on differentiating secure versus insecure attachment style of adult individuals to their significant others (e.g., Collins & Read, 1990; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994).”

“Later, Hazan and Shaver (1987) conceptualized pair bonding, or romantic love, as an attachment process that follows a sequence of steps similar to those observed in infant-parent attachment (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“They minimize expressions of distress (Fraley and Shaver, 2000), dislike physical and emotional intimacy (Brennan, Clark, and Shaver, 1998), and grieve less after a breakup than non-avoidant adults (Fraley et al.”

“…examined attachment – memory links using self-reported attachment styles (i.e., the prototypical patterns of attachment-related expectations, needs, and behaviors individuals might exhibit in the context of close adult relationships; see Fraley & Shaver, 2000; see also Shaver & Mikulincer, 2002).”

“…and adults, most tests of these ideas have focused on a person’s attachment style – the systematic pattern of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors that results from internalization of a particular history of attachment experiences (Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Shaver & Mikulincer, 2002).”

“…to which individuals feel they are worthy of being loved and believe close others will be available when needed, and can impact goals, feelings, and behavior across the lifespan (Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Simpson, W. A. Collins, Farrell, & Raby, 2015; Simpson, W. A. Collins, Salvatore, & Sung, 2014).”

“Specifically, this conceptual application proposes that a person's attachment orientation—a systematic pattern of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviours that result from a particular attachment history (Fraley & Shaver, 2000 )—plays a key role in the type of leadership he or she adopts and the quality of ca…”

“It appears that, in the genus Homo, pairbonds were scaffolded on top of infant–caregiver attachment bonds [6,25,26,31,32].”

“…of emotion is central to attachment theory and the influence of individual differences in attachment style on ER has been extensively demonstrated in a number of studies (e.g., Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Gentzler, Kerns, & Keener, 2010; Goodall, Trejnowska, & Darling, 2012; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007).”

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that such a phasic manipulation can alter people’s childhood memories of their mother; this work also speaks to factors that may influence the stability of attachment (see, e.g., Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“…stable over time, influencing the way people evaluate, appraise, and behave in close relationships across the life span and leading to systematic patterns of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors called attachment orientations (Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016).”

“In general, there is a consensus that two continuous attachment dimensions (i.e., anxiety and avoidance) are the best way to assess adult attachment (e.g., Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Fraley & Waller, 1998).”

“Thus, pair bonds between mates (including romantic bonds between humans), mother–infant bonds, and friendships likely all derive from the same basic mechanism (Bartels and Zeki, 2004; Depue and MorroneStrupinsky, 2005; Fraley and Shaver, 2000; Insel, 1997; Pedersen, 2004).”

“…partners to increase the likelihood that they (especially the father) would invest in the extremely helpless offspring of the bonded partnership (Eastwick, 2009; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Hazan & Diamond, 2000; L. C. Miller & Fishkin, 1997; Stewart-Williams & Thomas, 2013; Zeifman & Hazan, 2008).”

“…responsivity of caregivers, and that these working models influence the way that people perceive and respond to others in close relationships (Bowlby, 1969), including romantic relationships in adolescence and adulthood (e.g., Collins & Sroufe, 1999; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Hazan & Shaver, 1994).”

“…models (Collins, Guichard, Ford, & Feeney, 2004), relational schema (Baldwin, 1992), appraisal and response components of a control systems model (Fraley & Shaver, 2000), and traitlike differences in the tendency to employ hyperactivating or deactivating behavioral strategies to regulate felt…”

“Those working models of attachment remain relatively stable throughout life, but can be influenced by major life events (Bowlby, 1969; Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“R) consists of 36 items that assess the underlying dimensions of adult attachment style (Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000): anxiety (fear of abandonment or loss of love and desire for intense closeness), and avoidance (comfort with interpersonal closeness and depending on…”

“Through consistent interactions with an attachment figure, children develop an internal working model of self in relationship to others that becomes resistant to change (Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Mikulincer, Shaver, Gilath, & Nitzberg, 2005).”

“…these interactions are internalized into attachment working models (mental representations of the self and others) that result in unique attachment orientations – patterns of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors that result from a particular attachment history (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“In adulthood, IWMs tend to be consolidated into what Hazan and Shaver (1987) called a person’s attachment style; patterns of interpersonal cognitions and behaviours within close relationships (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Shaver & Mikulincer, 2002).”

“For example, attachment theory proposes that people evolved to form lasting intimate relationships (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Furthermore, in analytical terms, dimensional attachment measures may be more appropriate for studying variation in romantic attachment than categorical models, which have been criticized for their limited statistical power (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Adult attachment theories have long speculated that the attachment system that governs romantic relationships has developed from an earlier system that governs bonds between infants and caregivers (Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Hazan & Shaver, 1987).”

“Thus, individuals cultivate beliefs about their self-worth and the dependability and supportiveness of others, which then organize their expectations of future relationships (see Baldwin, 1992; Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Attachment orientations are relatively stable patterns of expectations and beliefs about partners (Fraley & Shaver, 2000); they affect individuals’ perceptions of their partners’ behaviors (Collins & Feeney, 2004; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2009; Sümer & Cozzarelli, 2004) and, as a result, likely affect…”

“to have a secure adult attachment style.(3,6,7) Individuals who are more secure in their attachment style are able to create and sustain healthy emotional bonds with others.”

“The failure of caregivers to provide consistent, sensitive, and responsive care during childhood is proposed to lead to greater insecurity in romantic relationships in adolescence and adulthood (e.g., Collins & Sroufe, 1999; Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“In adulthood, attachment security to significant others can be conceptualized as a function of two dimensions: anxiety and avoidance (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“…theoretically influence the developmental course of emotion regulation and behavior in close relationships throughout adulthood (Bowlby, 1988; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Hazan & Shaver, 1987), research on the longitudinal stability of attachment indicates that individuals' attachment…”

“Insecure patterns of attachment and related behaviors are often evident in negative peer relationships and romantic relationships (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Secure attachment functioning is characterized by comfort with interpersonal closeness and a belief that others can be trusted, whereas insecure attachment takes two forms (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“From attachment perspective, representations of interactions with parents form the basis of individual differences in attachment security in childhood and continue to do so in later ages in relationships with others (e.g., Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Mikulincer, Shaver, & Pereg, 2003).”

“…al., 2017; Bjørnebekk & Diseth, 2021; Lochbaum et al., 2013; Rawlings et al., 2020; Sánchez Rosas, 2015; Scott et al., 2015); attachment dimensions (Fraley & Shaver, 2000), namely anxiety and avoidance dimensions, and attachment security as predictors of achievement goals 77 Page 14 of 31 (Elliot…”

“Importantly, research has also revealed that avoidance interacts with emotional distress to shape support-seeking behavior ( Fraley & Shaver, 2000 ).”

“If the associations between attachment orientations and emotional responses are found to be similar in both relationships, it would strengthen the claim that an individual’s attachment orientation guides interpersonal behavior in multiple relationships across the lifespan (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Adult attachment orientations can be reliably measured in terms of two dimensions: attachment anxiety and avoidance (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Adult attachment orientations can be reliably measured along two dimensions: attachment anxiety and avoidance (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“High levels of attachment anxiety are thought to produce chronic attachment-system hyperactivation and hypervigilance for rejection cues (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“This has now been considerably extended to other categories of relationship (e.g., Hazan and Shaver 1987; Ainsworth 1989; Griffin and Bartholomew 1994a, 1994b; Fraley and Shaver 2000).”

“…is customarily displayed in their romantic relationship as the minimization of attachment needs and emotions (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Fraley & Shaver, 2000), a lessened desire for closeness and emotional intimacy (Collins & Feeney, 2003), and an overemphasis on autonomy needs…”

“In studies of adolescents and adults, tests of these theoretical ideas have generally focused on a person’s attachment style, that is, the pattern of relational expectations, emotions, and behavior that results from a particular history of attachment experiences (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Research on adult attachment has focused on people’s generalized attachment style, which is defined as a set of emotions, behaviors, and expectations people have for how others will respond in relationships (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Attachment arises early in development and involves the process of learning that one is able to seek safety and security from an attachment figure in response to a perceived threat (Bowlby, 1969; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Hazan & Shaver, 1987).”

“In sum, an adult’s ‘‘secure attachment’’ is thought to be signified by comfort with intimacy and closeness, capacity for empathy and emotional regulation, and self-reflection and coherence of speech (Fonagy 2003; Hesse 1999; Fraley and Shaver 2000 ).”

“…shaped and altered by social experiences with protective others, resulting eventually in fairly stable individual differences in attachment style – a systematic pattern of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors that results from a particular attachment history (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“According to Fraley and Shaver (2000), the anxiety dimension is primarily an appraisal-monitoring system that gauges the closeness of the attachment figure and monitors for threat-related cues, while the avoidance dimension regulates behavior toward or away from the attachment figure, especially…”

“Bowlby ( 1973 ) also proposed that the parameters of the attachment system are gradually shaped and altered by social experiences with protective others (attachment figures), resulting in relatively stable individual differences in attachment orientation: the systematic pattern of relational expectations, emotions, an…”

“Whereas the avoidance dimension measures the behavioral strategies people use to regulate their attachment needs (Fraley & Shaver, 1998 , 2000 ), the anxiety dimension measures the affective and motivated processes involved in monitoring and appraising events for signs of threats to these needs.”

“Findings highlight how researchers can use the timeline of hominid evolution (i.e., phylogeny) as a tool to complement functional, adaptationist hypotheses.”

“As Zilcha-Mano et al. (2012) and Fraley and Shaver (2000) discussed, attachment theory can be usefully applied to relationships other than caregiver–child or romantic partner– romantic partner relationships.”

“Current approaches to attachment styles in adult relationships view attachment in terms of two orthogonal dimensions (Bartholomew, 1990; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Hollist & Miller, 2005).”

“In fact, the early attachment relationship seems to shape the way people perceive their later relationships (Bowlby, 1988; Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“…& Wall, 1978), as well as those of adolescents and adults, led attachment researchers to define attachment styles: the chronic patterns of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors that result from the internalization of a particular history of attachment experiences (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“For example, secure attachment in infancy correlates with secure romantic attachment in romantic relationships (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“…Immunity 41 (2014) 232–238 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Brain, Behavior, and Immunity j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / y b r b i stressful events (Brennan et al., 1998; Diamond and Fagundes, 2010; Diamond, 2001; Fraley and Shaver, 2000a).”

“…these theoretical ideas in studies of adults, most researchers have focused on a person’s attachment style—the systematic pattern of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors that results from internalization of a particular history of attachment experiences (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”