Attachment in Adulthood

1. Attachment in Adulthood Simpson, J. S., & Rholes, W. S. (1998). Attachment in adulthood. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 3-21). New York: Guilford Press.

2. Two Traditions Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson

3. Two Traditions (cont.) • Attachment in Nuclear Families • Measurement relies primarily on attachment interviews to assess adults’ memories of childhood experiences with their parents. • Primary interview protocol: Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) developed by George, Kaplan, & Main. • Most often used to investigate influence of adult attachment style on attachment style of child, parenting style, or other aspects of the parent-child relationship. • Attachment to Contemporary Peers and/or Romantic Partners • Assumption: “romantic love is fundamentally an attachment process through which affectional bonds are formed” (Simpson & Rholes, 1998, p. 6). • Measurement relies primarily on self-report instruments to assess perception of current relationship experiences with peers or romantic partners. Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson

4. Two Traditions (cont.) • Research suggests that there is limited correspondence between AAI and measures of adult romantic attachment. • Simpson & Rholes suggest that lack of correspondence should not be surprising because they measure different dimensions of attachment: “the two traditions should provide unique information about an individual’s attachment history in different kinds of relationships experienced at different points in time” (1998, p. 6; emphasis added). • Important distinction to amplify: the AAI measures perception of relationship with parents to predict caregiving while measures or peer/romantic attachment assess contemporary relationships with other adults. • Methodological issue: different forms of measurement (e.g., self-report versus observational) do not often correspond because they seem to measure different perceptions (e.g., insider versus outsider views). Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson

5. Advances in Adults Attachment • The Nuclear Family Tradition • The Peer/Romantic Partner Tradition • Identification of two forms of avoidant attachment in adult romantic relationships was a divergence from the other tradition: • Secure: positive view of self and others. • Preoccupied: negative self views and positive (yet apprehensive) views of others. • Fearful-avoidant: negative views of self and others. • Dismissing-avoidant: positive self views but negative views of others. • Conceptualization of attachment as a continuous rather than a categorical variable. Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson