Meta-analytic evidence for stability in attachments from infancy to early adulthood
Abstract
The present meta-analysis integrates results from 127 papers on attachment stability towards mothers and fathers, respectively, from infancy to early adulthood. More than twenty-one thousand attachments (n = 21,072) and 225 time intervals were explored, ranging from half a month to 29 years (348 months). An overall coefficient of r = .39 between times T1 and T2 was obtained, reflecting a medium-sized stability of attachment security. However, no significant stability was found in intervals larger than 15 years. Coefficients are higher for time intervals of less than two years compared to time spans of more than five years, if attachments were assessed beyond infancy using representational rather than behavioral measures and if normal middle class as opposed to at-risk samples were involved. Furthermore, securely attached children at risk were less likely to maintain attachment security whereas insecurely attached children at risk most likely maintained insecurity.
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Attachment style retains moderate stability across the lifespan.
“Although attachment style can evolve through significant relational experiences, longitudinal research indicates that it retains moderate stability across the lifespan [24, 25].”
From The link of adverse childhood experiences and attachment to maladaptive personality traits in adults diagnosed with substance use disorder (2025) · cites this paper as [25]
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The Supervision Partnership as a Phase of Attachment
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“, 2013) and the use of different types of attachment measures at different ages (Pinquart et al., 2013).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialAnimal‐assisted psychotherapy for young people with behavioural problems in residential care
Muela, A., Balluerka, N., Amiano, N., Caldentey, M. A., & Aliri, J. (2017) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2112 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
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Secure attachment promotes the development of effortful control in boys
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“tween parent-child and adult attachment patterns decreases with the length of the interval between assessments (87), and some of this weakening association over time reflects the influence of experiences in close relationships (89).”
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“According to longitudinal studies, security of attachment in infancy is predictive of emotional and social functioning in later childhood but not into adulthood (Pinquart et al., 2013).”
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Stevenson, J. C., Millings, A., Emerson, L.-M., Sirois, F., & Rowe, A. C. (2021) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2020.104043 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
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“…the life span, one of the most central debates surrounding attachment theory is how stable these internal models are (e.g., Fraley et al., 2011; Pinquart et al., 2013; Zhang & Labouvie-Vief, 2004) with some studies even conceptualizing attachment as a temporary state influenced by…”
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“Such studies fail to demonstrate the causative role of attachment not only due to their cross-sectional design, but also since attachment patterns have been shown to lack stability particularly at intervals of more than 15 years (Pinquart et al., 2013).”
High Anxiety Attachment in Eating Disorders: Intergenerational Transmission by Mothers and Fathers
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“In this study, effect sizes for attachment stability to fathers ( k = 29; r = .46) and to mothers( k = 183; r = .37) were not significantly different, but a higher stability to fathers or mothers was found when studies used representational measures (through verbal responses) rather than observational measures such as…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialHammarlund, M., Granqvist, P., Elfvik, S., Andram, C., & Forslund, T. (2022) · Attachment & Human Development · doi:10.1080/14616734.2022.2087699 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“Second, caregiver sensitivity and child attachment quality are both malleable in response to life events and changes in family support (Pinquart et al., 2013), and evidence-”
BackgroundThe Association Between Parent–Child Attachment and Academic Adjustment: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis
Yang, Y. M., Li, S., Fang, X., & Chen, X. (2024) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-024-09920-y · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“This is because the stability of individual differences in attachment security decreases as the interval between assessments increases (Pinquart et al., 2013).”
Attachment to parents and friends and body dissatisfaction in adolescents with eating disorders
Herrero, I. L., Jáuregui‐Lobera, I., Barajas-Iglesias, B., Serrano‐Troncoso, E., Garcia‐Argibay, M., & Germán, M. Á. S. (2020) · Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1359104520962155 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“A meta-analysis by Pinquart et al. (2013) concluded that although short-term stability may be relatively high, long term stability is quite weak.”
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Conceptual and Historical Perspectives
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“Although changes in attachment can occur, often due to significant negative or positive life and relationship events (Hudson, Fraley, Chopik, & Heffernan, 2015; Pinquart et al., 2013), drastic and rapid fluctuations in attachment are less likely.”
BackgroundAnxiety and defensiveness as predictors of maternal child-centrism
Kestler-Peleg, M., & Lavenda, O. (2018) · Feminism & Psychology · doi:10.1177/0959353518757255 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
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“This teenager’s meta-representation of attachment may show discontinuity with his/her attachment patterns at earlier ages, showing more continuity with the (later) adult attachment (Pinquart et al., 2013).”
BackgroundHow Our Caregivers Shape Who We Are: The Seven Dimensions of Attachment at the Core of Personality
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Aliri, J., Muela, A., Gorostiaga, A., Balluerka, N., Aritzeta, A., & Soroa, G. (2018) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/0033294118771970 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“attachments and instability of secure attachments, with the trend between childhood and adolescence being toward insecure attachments (Muela, Balluerka, Torres-Gómez, & Gorostiaga, 2016; Pinquart et al., 2013).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialDaniel, S. I. F., Poulsen, S., & Lunn, S. (2016) · Psychotherapy · doi:10.1037/pst0000046 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Attachment and Developmental Psychopathology
Fearon, P. R. M., Groh, A. M., Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Roisman, G. I. (2016) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119125556.devpsy108 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Pinquart, M. (2023) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-023-02585-1 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“Longitudinal studies showed a moderate correlation between initial behavioral assessments of security with mothers and fathers and verbal measures assessed at a later point in time (Pinquart et al., 2013).”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe relation between changes in maternal sensitivity and attachment from infancy to 3 years
Manning, L. B. (2018) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/0265407518771217 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Posada, G., Trumbell, J. M., Lu, T., & Kaloustian, G. (2018) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/mono.12390 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Oehler, M., & Psouni, E. (2018) · Attachment & Human Development · doi:10.1080/14616734.2018.1517811 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Gastelle, M., & Kerns, K. A. (2021) · Human Development · doi:10.1159/000521393 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“, 2020), meta-analytic results suggest that attachment is moderately stable across ages (Fraley, 2002; Pinquart et al., 2013).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialActivating the attachment system modulates neural responses to threat in refugees with PTSD
Liddell, B., Malhi, G., Felmingham, K., Den, M., Das, P., Outhred, T., Nickerson, A., Askovic, M., Coello, M., Aroche, J., et al. (2021) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsab077 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“close family) (Pinquart et al., 2013; Mikulincer and Shaver, 2016) and are associated with maladaptive responses to threat (Nash et al.”
BackgroundNivison, M. D., Facompré, C. R., Raby, K. L., Simpson, J. A., Roisman, G. I., & Waters, T. E. A. (2020) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579420000528 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Cao, H., Zhou, N., & Leerkes, E. M. (2020) · Journal of Family Psychology · doi:10.1037/fam0000662 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Is middle childhood attachment related to social functioning in young adulthood?
Fransson, M., Granqvist, P., Marciszko, C., Hagekull, B., & Bohlin, G. (2016) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12276 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Integrating Dehumanization and Attachment in the Prediction of Teen Dating Violence Perpetration
Morera, M. D., Quiles, M. N., & González-Méndez, R. (2020) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/0886260520933042 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“, 2018), especially when they belong to at-risk groups (Pinquart et al., 2013).”
BackgroundCortés‐García, L., Hoffmann, S., Warschburger, P., & Senra, C. (2019) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.23086 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Sirois, M., & Bernier, A. (2018) · Parenting · doi:10.1080/15295192.2018.1465305 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“Moreover, attachment becomes more stable after toddlerhood (Pinquart et al., 2013), yet attachment security is usually measured in infancy or toddlerhood.”
BackgroundRaby, K. L., Roisman, G. I., & Booth‐LaForce, C. (2015) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/dev0000053 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Vukovic, J., Boothroyd, L., Meins, E., & Burt, D. (2015) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.03.004 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Subclinical Psychopathic Traits and Romantic Attachment in Treatment‐Seeking Couples
Mayer, J., Savard, C., Brassard, A., Lussier, Y., & Sabourin, S. (2019) · Journal of Marital and Family Therapy · doi:10.1111/jmft.12387 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“Given that data on the stability of adult attachment has displayed a mixed picture (Feeney, 2016; Fraley, Vicary, Brumbaugh, & Roisman, 2011; Pinquart, Feubner, & Ahnertb, 2013) and highlighted that romantic attachment may change when challenged by adverse life events, such as negative relational experiences (Pinquart…”
ResultVogel, L., Löchner, J., Opitz, A., Ehring, T. W., Lux, U., Liel, C., Henning, C., Seiferth, C., & Wittekind, C. E. (2024) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.11.045 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Beijers, R., Miragall, M., van den Berg, Y. H. M., Konttinen, H. M., & van Strien, T. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13051662 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“The present longitudinal and prospective study thus importantly adds to the field, as longitudinal studies help to unravel cause-effect associations between early attachment and later EE [13,16].”
BackgroundResultChange in attachment states of mind of women with binge‐eating disorder
Maxwell, H., Tasca, G. A., Grenon, R., Ritchie, K., Bissada, H., & Balfour, L. (2017) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2095 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
The development of attachment styles
Fraley, R. C., & Hudson, N. W. (2017) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-804674-6.00017-x · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“These studies were meta-analyzed by Fraley (2002) and, more recently, by Pinquart et al. (2013).”
BackgroundMethodMcIntosh, J. E., Opie, J. E., Greenwood, C. J., Booth, A., Tan, E. S., Painter, F. L., Messer, M., Macdonald, J. A., Letcher, P., & Olsson, C. A. (2023) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13865 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“Building upon prior research (Fraley, 2002; Pinquart, Feußner, & Ahnert, 2013; van Ijzendoorn et al., 1999), a recent meta-analysis (Opie et al., 2021) summarised several decades of research on SSP-based attachment continuity data across infancy to school entry period, and across 15 studies ( k =…”
ResultNivison, M. D., Dagan, O., Booth‐LaForce, C., Roisman, G. I., & Waters, T. E. A. (2023) · Infant and Child Development · doi:10.1002/icd.2410 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- Pinquart, M., Feußner, C., & Ahnert, L.
- Affiliations
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- University of Vienna (AT)
- Corresponding author
- Pinquart, Martin
- Venue
- Attachment & Human Development
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2013-03
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 189-218
- ISSN
- 1461-6734 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-2988
- OpenAlex
- W2003695103
- Cited by
- 317
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 67 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 17.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Attachment & Human Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- attachment stability, attachment security, maternal attachment, paternal attachment, time interval effects, insecure attachment, vulnerable children
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Age Factors, Child, Child, Preschool, Humans, Infant, Object Attachment, Parent-Child Relations, Risk Factors, Young Adult
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