Predicting Change in Self-Reported and Interviewer-Assessed Adult Attachment: Tests of the Individual Difference and Life Stress Models of Attachment Change

The study tested the key assumption of the individual difference model of adult attachment change: that people who have experienced certain vulnerability factors will be prone to change attachment styles because they have developed unclear models of self and others that render their attachment model...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality & social psychology bulletin 2003-07, Vol.29 (7), p.859-870
Main Authors: Davila, Joanne, Cobb, Rebecca J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adults
Changes
Family - psychology
Female
Humans
Individuality
Interpersonal Relations
Life Change Events
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Object Attachment
Personality Assessment - statistics & numerical data
Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data
Risk Assessment
Self-Assessment
Stress
Students - psychology
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Summary:The study tested the key assumption of the individual difference model of adult attachment change: that people who have experienced certain vulnerability factors will be prone to change attachment styles because they have developed unclear models of self and others that render their attachment models unstable. This model was compared to a life stress model, which states that change occurs as an adaptation to new, interpersonally relevant life circumstances. Changes in self-reported and interviewer-assessed attachment were examined among 94 young adults who were followed over 1 year. Analyses yielded support for the individual difference model for change in both self-reported and interviewer-assessed attachment. The life stress model was supported for change in interviewer-assessed attachment only. Implications for differential change processes for self-reported versus interviewer-assessed aspects of adult attachment are discussed.
ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/0146167203029007005