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.”

“…by Hazan and Shaver (1987), this questionnaire examines the participants’ perceptions of the quality of their relationship with each parent and the parents’ relationship with each other, during their childhood years (Feeney & Noller, 1990; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Levy, Blatt, & Shaver, 1998).”

“Lower levels of each dimension are indicative of a more secure attachment orientation (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“It has been argued that individuals low on attachment-related avoidance feel comfortable opening up to others (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“…the attachment-behavioral system, which already served the function of bonding infants and caregivers, to forge emotional bonds between adult romantic partners as well (Eastwick, 2009; Fraley et al., 2005; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Hazan & Diamond, 2000; Miller & Fishkin, 1997; Zeifman & Hazan, 2008).”

“…of rejection and abandonment, and attachment avoidance, which reflects discomfort with intimacy and dependence (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000).1 Chronically insecure individuals exhibit specific tendencies in situations that evoke…”

“According to Fraley and Shaver (2000), the avoidance of selfobject needs may be a defensive reaction, similar to dismissive attachment styles.”

“As with child attachment (described above), the adult attachment figure is the other with whom the individual wants to maintain proximity and who serves as the individual’s secure base and safe haven (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Adult attachment to romantic partners is typically characterized by two dimensions: fearfulness (also termed avoidance) and preoccupation (also termed anxiety; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Hazan & Shaver, 1987).”

“…& Shaver, 2007a), tests of these theoretical ideas have focused on a person’s attachment orientation – the systematic pattern of relational expectations, emotions, and behavior that results from a particular history of attachment experiences (Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Shaver & Mikulincer, 2002).”

“In social-psychological studies of adolescents and adults, one’s attachment orientations are defined as the systematic pattern of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors, and conceptualized as the psychological residue of one’s unique attachment history (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Romantic partners “typically feel safer and more secure when their partner is nearby, accessible, and responsive” (Fraley & Shaver, 2000 p. 2).”

“Avoidant attachment, defined as a dismissing and fearful orientation toward relationships, was assessed with four items from the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised measure (Brennan et al. 1998; Fraley and Shaver 2000).”

“The success or failure of these early interactions evolves a stable set of behaviors, cognitions, and emotions called “attachment orientations” (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“For example, other aspects of relational functioning, such as interpersonal problems (Pincus, 2018) and problems in adult attachment (Fraley & Shaver, 2000) are each represented by two orthogonal dimensions (warmth/dominance and anxiety/avoidance, respectively).”

“…and responsiveness of their attachment figures (e.g., romantic partners), and attachment avoidance indicates the extent to which individuals approach their attachment figures when their attachment needs are salient, such as when they experience stressful situations (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Attached anxiously and preoccupiedly individuals seek closeness more intensely than other categories and are more eager to receive responses and support from others (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“A securely attached person scores low on both dimensions, generally keeping a healthy balance between dependence and independence (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Attachment orientations are chronic patterns of expectations, emotions, and behaviors in interpersonal relationships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987; Fraley & Shaver, 2000) and are linked to the perceived quality of interactions with caregivers early in life (Bowlby, 1969).”

“There are three main adult attachment styles, or patterns of expectations, needs, and social behaviour that result from attachment experiences (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“These various emotional and behavioural outcomes stem from an individuals’ inability to regulate their emotions, which is a manifestation of an insecure attachment style (Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Goodall, 2015; Karreman & Vingerhoets, 2012; Malik et al., 2015; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007; Schore, 2003).”

“Adult attachment is classified on two continuous dimensions: attachment avoidance (i.e., discomfort with close relationships) and attachment anxiety (i.e., fear of losing others or abandonment) (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Attachment in romantic relationships describes the likelihood of individuals seeking closeness to their romantic partner in order to feel secure and safe (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“While attachment with the primary caregiver (typically parents) develops first, as children’s social network expands with age, peer relationships (e.g., friendships) become increasingly important (e.g., Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Second, the avoidance component is responsible for regulating attachment-related behaviours that determine the extent to which individuals choose to draw nearer to or withdraw from their attachment partner (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Moreover, both emotional reactivity and emotion regulation have been tied to the theoretical structure of IWMs across models (see reviews by Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Pietromonaco & Barrett, 2000), with affect being generally accepted as the “organizer” of interpersonal relationships (Fonagy & Target,…”

“However, Fraley and Shaver (2000) later questioned this idea, indicating that romantic attachment could evolve through relational and romantic experiences.”

“A person’s attachment style is the systematic pattern of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors that results from internalization of a particular history of attachment experiences (Fraley and Shaver 2000; Mikulincer and Shaver 2005; Shaver and Mikulincer 2002).”

“Insecure attachment (Fraley & Shaver, 2000) and traumatic sexualization (Finkelhor & Browne, 1985) may drive the sexual partnerships and behaviors of those with a history of CSA (Senn & Carey, 2010).”

“Each of the attachment styles exhibited in the context of adult romantic relationships is believed to be influenced by earlier experiences with adult caregivers (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“This difficulty with intimacy further limits the pursuit of the intrinsic human need for relatedness, resulting in lower psychological well-being (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“However, much of the research on social support with this age group has focused on the quantity of peer support (Bryant, 1985) or the quality of attachment to parents or romantic partners, rather than peers (e.g., Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Hazan & Shaver, 1987).”

“Anxiety reflects the degree to which individuals are sensitive to cues of potential abandonment and rejection by attachment figures (Fraley & Shaver, 2000 ).”

“Pursuing these theoretical ideas in adulthood, many researchers have focused on a person’s attachment orientation or style, a systematic pattern of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors that results from a particular history of interactions with attachment figures (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“…survival (Bowlby 1969; Simpson and Belsky 2008) but it can also be more broadly defined as B warm and loving contact between individuals, ^ which applies to non-filial relationships such as romantic pair-bonds (Brennan et al. 1998; Cassidy 2000; Fraley and Shaver 2000; van Anders et al. 2013).”

“It is theorized that individuals’ beliefs, expectations, and models of themselves and relationships are relatively stable across the lifespan (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“” Fraley and Shaver (2000) describe the preoccupied attached person as having low thresholds for detecting cues of rejection. These people are concerned about their own worthiness to be loved. The preoccupied person feels comfortable with intimacy, seeks contact with his or her partner, and tends to prefer the affecti…”

“People who are low on both of these indices of attachment are considered to have a secure attachment style (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007).”

“…attachment styles would become paramount (e.g., Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2017).1 Decades of research on attachment have demonstrated that these styles exist along two dimensions: anxiety and avoidance (Fraley et al., 2000; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Gray & Dunlop, 2017).”

“Despite this statistical independence, individual differences in attachment as assessed via the AAI and self-report measures have each been found to correspond with a host of important processes and outcomes (for reviews, see Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2017).”

“An empirically supported, dimensional model of attachment proposes two converging dimensions of attachment insecurity: attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance (Brennan et al., 1998; Fraley and Shaver, 2000).”

“Attachment was measured using the dimensional method (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“Given that these early attachment styles can influence adult relational patterns, particularly romantic partnerships (Fraley & Shaver, 2000), youth raised in chaotic, unstable familial environments may be especially vulnerable for revictimization and potentially volatile intimate partnerships as…”

“Need for approval captures need for other people's acceptance and is directly related to Bartholomew's fearful/worried attachment style.(28) Finally, the preoccupation with relationships dimension captures an anxious and dependent disposition, a central feature of Hazan and Shaver's ambivalent/anxious attachment const…”

“An empirically supported, dimensional model of adult attachment styles proposes secure attachment style and two converging dimensions of insecure attachment styles, including anxious attachment and avoidant attachment (Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Shaver & Hazan, 1987).”

“…features of social–cognitive models of the self and the close relationship partner, referred to as internal working models, but more recent conceptualizations view the dimensions as reflecting the organization of attachment behavioral system dynamics more generally (Fraley and Shaver, 2000).”

“According to adult attachment theory, [12–14] worries about the quality of our interpersonal relationships evoke anxiety that shapes our adult attachment style.”

“logical reasons, the dimensional measurement of attachment insecurity is functional for use in research [36].”

“Harlow and Zimmermann’s (1959) work provided support for these two important components of Bowlby’s theory.”

“…of self and others in close relationships (Mikulincer et al. 2006; Pietromonaco et al. 2006), arising from different interaction patterns with parents or other attachment figures during childhood (Ainsworth et al. 1978; Bowlby 1973; Fraley and Shaver 2000;Mikulincer and Shaver 2003).”

“Although the purpose of regulation may vary as a function of the primary developmental tasks confronting the organism – infants regulating in the interests of proximity and physical protection and adults in regard to felt security (Mikulincer, Gillath, & Shaver, 2002 ) – the regulatory function itself remains across t…”

“Furthermore, Fraley & Shaver, 2000 thought that attachment anxiety had a larger effect on interpersonal trust compared with avoidance while others have concluded that attachment avoidance, not attachment anxiety, had a stronger effect on interpersonal trust (Brennan et al., 1998 Gillath et al.,…”

“It has, however, inherent weaknesses that need to be addressed (for recent reviews see, Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Pietromonaco & Feldman Barrett, 2000; Waters, Crowell, Elliot, Corcoran, & Treboux, 2002).”

“Attachment avoidance represents discomfort with and avoidance of proximity seeking to the attachment figure and perception of the attachment figure’s consistent unavailability or unresponsiveness (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”

“This is a revision based on the item-response theory (Fraley & Shaver, 2000), of the original 18-item Experiences in Close Relations Inventory, originally developed by Brennan, Clark, and Shaver (1998), to measure individual’s attachment on two subscales, namely, “anxious” and “avoidant” attachment…”

“Bowlby (1973) proposed that individual differences in the quality of interactions with attachment figures provide the basis for trait-like attachment orientations—systematic patterns of relational expectations, emotions, and behaviors (Fraley & Shaver, 2000).”