Disorganized Attachment in Adulthood: Theory, Measurement, and Implications for Romantic Relationships
Abstract
Disorganized attachment has been studied extensively in the developmental attachment literature, particularly with regard to infants and children. It has not been studied from a social psychological perspective in adulthood. In this article we contribute to the social psychology literature by beginning to explore the meaning and consequences of disorganized attachment for adults. Based on the literature on disorganization in infants, childhood, and adolescence, we develop a dimensional measure for assessing disorganization in adults and demonstrate that it predicts similar internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors to those observed in children and adolescents. Thus, this scale instrument should provide social psychologists with a means to assess disorganization in adulthood and begin to look at its consequences for romantic relationships. We discuss some of those potential consequences, thereby providing avenues for future research.
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The present sample exhibited higher levels of attachment insecurity compared to the general population.
“However, the present sample exhibited higher levels of attachment insecurity compared to the general population (Paetzold et al., 2015) and higher levels of ER difficulties when compared to both a clinical sample of individuals diagnosed with an emotional disorder (Hallion et al., 2018), and another university sample (Kaufman et al., 2016), rendering their difficulties of clinical interest, des”
From Facets of Mindfulness Mediate the Relationship Between Attachment Orientation and Emotion Regulation in University Students (2024) · cites this paper as Paetzold et al., 2015
In adulthood, disorganized romantic attachment reflects a fear of both abandonment and intimacy.
“In adulthood, disorganized romantic attachment reflects a fear of both abandonment (i.e. attachment anxiety) and intimacy (i.e. attachment avoidance; Paetzold et al., 2015).”
From Facets of Mindfulness Mediate the Relationship Between Attachment Orientation and Emotion Regulation in University Students (2024) · cites this paper as Paetzold et al., 2015
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“…on the Adult Attachment Interview (the AAI, a developmental attachment measure; Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985; George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985) was designed to correspond conceptually to the disorganized attachment category as seen in the Strange Situation (Madigan et al., 2006; van IJzendoorn, 1995).”
BackgroundData collection in a flat world: the strengths and weaknesses of Mechanical Turk samples
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“In a comparison of internalizing and externalizing behaviors, Groh et al. (2012) note that disorganized attachment appears to be significantly more strongly related to externalizing than internalizing behaviors.”
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The brain-body disconnect: A somatic sensory basis for trauma-related disorders
Kearney, B. E., & Lanius, R. A. (2022) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.1015749 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
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Warach, B., & Josephs, L. (2021) · Sexual and Relationship Therapy · doi:10.1080/14681994.2019.1577961 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Steven Rholes, W., Paetzold, R. L., & Kohn, J. L. (2016) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.10.043 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Self-citationAdult attachment and Mindfulness: Examining directionality, causality, and theoretical implications
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Attachment Security and Suicide Ideation and Behaviour: The Mediating Role of Reflective Functioning
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“The dimension of disorganized attachment was measured using the ADA (Paetzold et al., 2015), a 9-item self-report measure.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialWang, H., Han, Z. R., Bai, L., & Li, X. (2020) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12539 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Paetzold, R. L., Rholes, W. S., & Kohn, J. L.
- Affiliations
- Texas A&M University (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Paetzold, Ramona L.
- Venue
- Review of General Psychology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-06
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 146-156
- ISSN
- 1089-2680 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1552
- OpenAlex
- W2183767448
- Cited by
- 125
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 11.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Review of General Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Keywords
- disorganized attachment, adult attachment, romantic relationships, attachment theory, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, child attachment
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