Adult attachment styles

Theory of attachment primarily described early relationships between a child and his caretakers. In the last twenty years there is a growing interest in adult attachment research. Theories and research findings of adult attachment stem from two different methodological approaches. The first approach...

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Main Authors: Maša Žvelc, Gregor Žvelc
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Slovenian Psychologists' Association 2007-01-01
Series:Psihološka Obzorja
Subjects:
Online Access:http://psiholoska-obzorja.si/arhiv_clanki/2006_3/zvelc.pdf
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author Maša Žvelc
Gregor Žvelc
author_facet Maša Žvelc
Gregor Žvelc
author_sort Maša Žvelc
collection DOAJ
description Theory of attachment primarily described early relationships between a child and his caretakers. In the last twenty years there is a growing interest in adult attachment research. Theories and research findings of adult attachment stem from two different methodological approaches. The first approach measures adult attachment through Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; Main, 1991) where the attachment is assessed through the narratives of adult people of their early child experiences with their primary caretakers. The second approach measures adult attachment with the help of self-evaluative questionnaires, developed by (a) Hazan and Shaver (1987) who started this approach in the field of personality and social psychology, and (b) Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991). Research shows that there is significant correlation between early and adult attachment style. Attachment styles are passed from generation to generation. Basic adult attachment styles are: securely attached, preoccupied, fearful-avoidant, dismissing-avoidant and disorganized. Previous research using Barholomew and Horowitz (1991) Relationship Questionnaire on 176 Slovenian students showed that 48% students are securely attached, 29% are fearful-avoidant, 10% are dismissing-avoidant, and 13% have preoccupied attachment style. Theory of attachment is very useful for understanding the behavior and subjective experiences of children and adults. It is applicable to different contexts (psychotherapy, counseling, education ...). The paper proposes further research focused on integration of adult attachment styles and types of object relations measured by Test of object relations (Žvelc, 1998) and Pictorial test of Separation and Individuation (Žvelc, 2003).
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spelling doaj.art-711187c4c3e54c7092ff2713aab3b87c2022-12-21T19:39:10ZengSlovenian Psychologists' AssociationPsihološka Obzorja2350-51412007-01-011535164208Adult attachment stylesMaša ŽvelcGregor ŽvelcTheory of attachment primarily described early relationships between a child and his caretakers. In the last twenty years there is a growing interest in adult attachment research. Theories and research findings of adult attachment stem from two different methodological approaches. The first approach measures adult attachment through Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; Main, 1991) where the attachment is assessed through the narratives of adult people of their early child experiences with their primary caretakers. The second approach measures adult attachment with the help of self-evaluative questionnaires, developed by (a) Hazan and Shaver (1987) who started this approach in the field of personality and social psychology, and (b) Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991). Research shows that there is significant correlation between early and adult attachment style. Attachment styles are passed from generation to generation. Basic adult attachment styles are: securely attached, preoccupied, fearful-avoidant, dismissing-avoidant and disorganized. Previous research using Barholomew and Horowitz (1991) Relationship Questionnaire on 176 Slovenian students showed that 48% students are securely attached, 29% are fearful-avoidant, 10% are dismissing-avoidant, and 13% have preoccupied attachment style. Theory of attachment is very useful for understanding the behavior and subjective experiences of children and adults. It is applicable to different contexts (psychotherapy, counseling, education ...). The paper proposes further research focused on integration of adult attachment styles and types of object relations measured by Test of object relations (Žvelc, 1998) and Pictorial test of Separation and Individuation (Žvelc, 2003).http://psiholoska-obzorja.si/arhiv_clanki/2006_3/zvelc.pdfattachment behavioradult attachment stylesinterpersonal relationsobject relationsparent child relations
spellingShingle Maša Žvelc
Gregor Žvelc
Adult attachment styles
Psihološka Obzorja
attachment behavior
adult attachment styles
interpersonal relations
object relations
parent child relations
title Adult attachment styles
title_full Adult attachment styles
title_fullStr Adult attachment styles
title_full_unstemmed Adult attachment styles
title_short Adult attachment styles
title_sort adult attachment styles
topic attachment behavior
adult attachment styles
interpersonal relations
object relations
parent child relations
url http://psiholoska-obzorja.si/arhiv_clanki/2006_3/zvelc.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT masazvelc adultattachmentstyles
AT gregorzvelc adultattachmentstyles