Motivations for providing a secure base: links with attachment orientation and secure base support behavior

This investigation examined the importance of underlying motivations in predicting secure base support behavior, as well as the extent to which support motivations are predicted by individual differences in attachment orientation. Participants were 189 married couples who participated in two laborat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Attachment & human development 2013-05, Vol.15 (3), p.261-280
Main Authors: Feeney, Brooke C., Collins, Nancy L., Van Vleet, Meredith, Tomlinson, Jennifer M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
attachment
Avoidance Learning
caregiving
Couples
exploration
Family Characteristics
Female
goals
Humans
Individuality
Interpersonal Relations
Love
Male
Middle Aged
Motivation
motivations
Object Attachment
Personal relationships
Questionnaires
Regression Analysis
secure base
Social Support
Spouses - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:This investigation examined the importance of underlying motivations in predicting secure base support behavior, as well as the extent to which support motivations are predicted by individual differences in attachment orientation. Participants were 189 married couples who participated in two laboratory sessions. During a questionnaire session, couples completed assessments of their underlying motivations for providing, and for not providing, support for their partner's exploration (i.e., goal-strivings), as well as assessments of their typical secure base support behavior. In an observational session, couples engaged in a discussion of one member's personal goals, during which the partner's secure base support was assessed. Results revealed a variety of distinct motivations for providing, and for not providing, secure base support to one's partner, as well as theoretically expected links between these motivations and both secure base behavior and attachment orientation. This work establishes motivations as important mechanisms that underlie the effective or ineffective provision of relational support.
ISSN:1461-6734
1469-2988
DOI:10.1080/14616734.2013.782654