Attachment theory grows up: a developmental approach to pair bonds

The application of Bowlby's Attachment Theory (AT) to sexual pair bonds has sparked wide ranging investigations which largely support, and further elaborate, key tenets of AT. Most notably, adults, like children, derive security from, and function optimally, when they feel they have the commitment of a loving other. Recent neuroscience findings further support the premise that parent-child and sexual pair bonds share some of the same neural architecture and physiology. The application of AT to adult pair bonds has also provoked controversy and raised empirical questions that warrant greater attention. Some of these questions include whether platonic friendships or kin can serve at least some of the functions of sexual partnerships in adulthood, and when, in the course of their development, do sexual relationships become pair bonds. Attention to key differences between infant and adult attachment, and the application of a developmental approach to pair bonds, would lead to productive directions for future research.