Rethinking adult attachment: a study of expert consensus

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• Current self-report questionnaires for adult attachment may conflate relationship valence (liking/disliking) with attachment constructs.
• This limitation hinders accurate conceptualization and measurement of adult attachment styles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new measurement instrument for adult attachment that clearly separates attachment-related dimensions from non-attachment relationship aspects.
• To refine the understanding of adult attachment by distinguishing core attachment themes from general relationship qualities.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to an international panel of experts in adult attachment.
• The survey aimed to generate and achieve consensus on items for a new attachment measure.
• Content analysis was performed on items achieving consensus across five identified domains.

Main Results:

• Consensus was reached on a large set of items across five domains: secure attachment, dismissing attachment, preoccupied attachment, positive non-attachment, and negative non-attachment.
• Core themes within each of these five domains were identified through content analysis.

Conclusions:

• The developed items provide a foundation for a more precise measure of adult attachment.
• Distinguishing attachment from non-attachment aspects offers improved conceptual clarity for adult attachment research.
• This approach facilitates more accurate assessment and deeper understanding of adult attachment dynamics.