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Pathological attachment and attachment style in late adolescence
D K Lapsley1, N M Varshney, M C Aalsma
1Department of Educational Psychology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USA. dklapsley@bsuvc.bsu.edu
Journal of Adolescence
|June 1, 2000
Summary
This study validates a new measure of dysfunctional adult attachment, finding its dimensions predict psychiatric symptoms and insecure attachment styles in adolescents. The measure shows strong psychometric properties for relationship adaptation research.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Attachment theory explains relationship adaptation.
- West and Sheldon developed a measure of dysfunctional adult attachment.
- Four patterns identified: compulsive self-reliance, caregiving, care-seeking, and angry withdrawal.
Purpose of the Study:
- Assess psychometric properties of the dysfunctional adult attachment measure.
- Evaluate its ability to predict symptomatology compared to attachment style measures.
- Provide evidence for the measure's validity in late adolescents.
Main Methods:
- 209 late adolescents in committed relationships participated.
- Participants completed measures of attachment style (categorical and continuous).
- Symptomatology and college adjustment were also assessed.
Main Results:
- The four dimensions of pathological attachment demonstrated strong internal consistency.
- Compulsive care-seeking, angry withdrawal, and compulsive self-reliance predicted psychiatric symptomatology and insecure attachment.
- Attachment pathology and insecure attachment style predicted symptomatology similarly.
Conclusions:
- The study provides initial evidence of convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity for the dysfunctional adult attachment measure.
- The measure effectively predicts symptomatology in late adolescents.
- Findings support the measure's utility in understanding relationship adaptation and psychopathology.