Cited by 1,066Attachment and Relationship DynamicsPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology ResearchPersonality Traits and Psychology

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Attachment Stability From Infancy to Adulthood: Meta-Analysis and Dynamic Modeling of Developmental Mechanisms

Chris Fraley, R.·2002·Personality and Social Psychology Review

DOI 10.1207/s15327957pspr0602_03

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Abstract

A central tenet of attachment theory is that a person's attachment pattern in adulthood is a reflection of his or her attachment history—-beginning with the person's earliest attachment relationships. However, the precise way in which early representations might shape adult attachment patterns is ambiguous, and different perspectives on this issue have evolved in the literature. According to the prototype perspective, representations of early experiences are retained over time and continue to play an influential role in attachment behavior throughout the life course. In contrast, the revisionist perspective holds that early representations are subject to modification on the basis of new experiences and therefore may or may not reflect patterns of attachment later in life. In this article, I explore and test mathematical models of each of these theoretical processes on the basis of longitudinal data obtained from meta-analysis. Results indicate that attachment security is moderately stable across the first 19 years of life and that patterns of stability are best accounted for by prototype dynamics.

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“One question is whether attachment is a static personality trait or a fluid, ever-changing, and relationship-specific construct that changes based upon the quality of current relationships (see Fraley, 2002 for a review).”
Background
Rumination moderates the role of meaning in the development of prolonged grief symptomatology
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“Moreover, considering the relative rigidness that characterizes attachment patterns, another point of focus could be the more constant functional aspects (Fraley, 2002), with DER standing out as factors of greater potential in the exploration of strategies with possible therapeutic utility (Clark, 2018, Unpublished).”
Background
Celebrating more than 26,000 adult attachment interviews: mapping the main adult attachment classifications on personal, social, and clinical status
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Dagan, O., Cárcamo, R. A., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2025) · Attachment & Human Development · doi:10.1080/14616734.2024.2422045 · Cited by 31
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“Given the rather stable nature of parental acceptance over time, this finding is not surprising (Fraley, 2002).”
Background
On solid ground: Secure attachment promotes place attachment
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“Attachment theory is concerned with the nature of the relationship between parents and their children [8]; however, internalized patterns of attachment have been shown to endure [9], with the early parent-child relationship establishing a model for later relationships [10].”
Background
Attachment Security and Suicide Ideation and Behaviour: The Mediating Role of Reflective Functioning
Green, J., Berry, K., Danquah, A., & Pratt, D. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18063090 · Cited by 25
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“However, though relatively stable over time, their manifestations are modulated by life events and the context of current relationships [81, 82].”
Background
An Animal Model for Mammalian Attachment: Infant Titi Monkey (Plecturocebus cupreus) Attachment Behavior Is Associated With Their Social Behavior as Adults
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“The frequency of infant attachment styles is paralleled in the adult population suggesting that attachment style may remain consistent throughout life (Bartholomew and Shaver, 1998; Fraley, 2002).”
BackgroundResult
Using brain prints as new biometric feature for human recognition
Aloui, K., Nait-Ali, A., & Naceur, M. (2017) · Pattern Recognition Letters · doi:10.1016/j.patrec.2017.10.001 · Cited by 21
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“Although some researchers maintain that these early representational models are retained over time, others believe that they are subject tomodification on the basis of new experience (Fraley, 2002).”
Background
The relationship between attachment and somatoform symptoms in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Vesterling, C., & Koglin, U. (2020) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.109932 · Cited by 20
A voxel-based morphometry study on adult attachment style and affective loss
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“These findings are in line with one of the basic ideas in Attachment Theory, that is, that one’s close relationships outside the family are partly shaped by the history of interactions with parents (e.g., Ainsworth, 1989; Bowlby, 1969, Fraley, 2002).”
Result
Measuring attachment and parental bonding in psychosis and its clinical implications
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“Although secure and insecure attachment strategies are functional in their developmental context (Fraley, 2002), difficulties in caregiver bonding and attachment-related adverse childhood experiences (e.g., trauma or loss) have been linked to increased risk of later psychopathology in clinical…”
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“…this crucial aspect of attachment remains controversial: attachment studies that investigated its consistency across the lifespan found different results and, often, only modest stability (Waters et al., 2000; Fraley, 2002; McConnell and Moss, 2011; Pinquart et al., 2013; Kobak et al., 2016).”
Result
Children’s autonomic functioning moderates links between maternal rejecting attitudes and preschool aggressive behaviors
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“Mothers’ rejecting child‐rearing attitudes may contrib‐ ute to children’s aggressive behaviors by influencing the formation of uncertain or rejecting internal models of relationships (Bretherton & Munholland, 2008; Fraley, 2002).”
Background
Avoidant romantic attachment in adolescence: Gender, excessive internet use and romantic relationship engagement effects
Stavropoulos, V., Mastrotheodoros, S., Burleigh, T. L., Papadopoulos, N. V., & Gomez, R. (2018) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201176 · Cited by 15
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“As such, IWMs constitute the foundation of a person’s individual attachment style which is thought to remain fairly stable into adulthood (Fraley, 2002; Fraley, Vicary, Brumbaugh, & Roisman, 2011).”
Background
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“life in response to relational stressors (Fraley, 2002), such as rejection from”
Background
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“Fraley (2002) distinguished two perspectives on the mechanisms underlying stability and change of attachment.”
BackgroundInfluential
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Attachment, mentalisation and expressed emotion in carers of people with long-term mental health difficulties
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Not All Children Grow Up the Same
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L’Attachement dans le Trouble de Stress Post-Traumatique chez l’adulte : revue de la littérature
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“Since attachment patterns show moderate stability across the lifespan (Fraley, 2002) and considering the partial difficulties with intimacy observed among kibbutz children (Sagi et al., 1994), we posited the following hypothesis: H2.”
BackgroundInfluential
Pinpointing Neural Correlates of Attachment in Poly-Drug Use: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study
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Authors: Chris Fraley, R.
Affiliations: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago
Venue: Personality and Social Psychology Review
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2002-05
Volume: 6
Issue: 2
Pages: 123-151
ISSN: 1088-8683 (ISSN-L)
1532-7957
DOI: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0602_03
OpenAlex: W2002249643
Cited by: 1,066
References: 160
Citations by year: 2026: 40 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 58 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 65 · 2020: 79 · 2019: 68 · 2018: 60 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 59 · 2015: 58 · 2014: 55 · 2013: 60 · 2012: 45
FWCI: 19.92
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Personality and Social Psychology Review (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: attachment security, attachment stability, attachment theory, life course development, attachment history

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Attachment Stability From Infancy to Adulthood: Meta-Analysis and Dynamic Modeling of Developmental Mechanisms

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