Hitting the bull’s eye: Attachment representations and the organization of social networks (original) (raw)
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Attachment and social networks
Current opinion in psychology, 2018
The current review covers two lines of research linking attachment and social networks. One focuses on attachment networks (the people who fulfill one's attachment needs), examining composition and age-related differences pertaining to these networks. The other line integrates attachment with social network analysis to investigate how individual differences in adult attachment are associated with the management and characteristics (e.g., density, multiplexity, and centrality) of people's social networks. We show that most people's attachment networks are small and hierarchical, with one figure being the primary attachment figure (often a mother or romantic partner, depending on age). Furthermore, attachment style predicts network characteristics and management, such that insecurity is associated with less closeness, multiplexity, centrality, and poorer management (less maintenance, more dissolution).
2017
Using a bull’s-eye hierarchical mapping technique (HMT), the present study examined placement of parents in adults’ attachment networks over time. We hypothesized that attachment style would predict distance at which network members (mother, father, and romantic partner) would be placed from the core-self over time. Participants completed the HMT on two occasions, 12 months apart. Concurrently and over time, fathers were placed further from the core-self than mothers. Attachment style explained unique variance, beyond that accounted for by individual and relationship characteristics. Specifically, network members with whom participants reported greater attachment insecurity were placed further from the core-self concurrently. Mothers with whom participants reported greater attachment insecurity were placed further from the core-self over time. Unsatisfactory attachment relationships with father and partner and those marked by higher attachment insecurity were more likely to be exclu...
Testing the function of attachment hierarchies during emerging adulthood
Personal Relationships, 2010
J. Bowlby (1969/1997) suggested that one aspect of healthy development included the shift of attachment functions from parent to peer. This proposal was tested in a sample of undergraduates and results suggested that there was no advantage for individuals with a peer network compared to those with a family network. There was, however, a difference in attachment-distress associations between groups. Consistent with previous research, attachment anxiety was positively associated with distress for both groups. Although attachment avoidance was positively associated with distress for individuals with a predominantly family network, avoidance was not associated with distress for individuals with a predominantly peer network. Discussion highlights two interpretations for these findings, which focus on the importance that attachment may have on the experience of distress as well as current research findings exploring the attachment-distress relationship over time. The empirical study of social networks includes research in the areas of sociology, communication, and psychology. Recently, attachment theory has provided a unique way to explain individual differences in social networks. Bowlby (1969/1997) proposed that attachment representations are initially formed in infancy; infants typically have one primary attachment figure (i.e., mother or other primary caregiver). However, from childhood to adulthood, individuals develop multiple attachments and organize these relationships into a hierarchy (from most to least accessible). Bowlby (1969/1997) and Hazan and Zeifman (1994) proposed that adolescents and young adults shift attachment needs (e.g., comfort and closeness) from parents to
Composition and function of women ’ s attachment network in adulthood *
2013
The aim of this study was to explore the female att achment network’s composition and to investigate the types of relatio nships that fulfill women’s attachment needs and the relative strength of attac hment to different figures in different life situations. 251 adult women complete d a modified version of the Attachment Network Questionnaire –Revised (ANQ-R). Adult women without a partner assigned the role of principal attachment f igure to their best friend. About one third of the participants did not transfer atta chment from a figure inside to a figure outside the family of origin. This percentag e is higher for women without a partner (46.8%) than for those with a partner (19.1 %). Only a minority of the adult women did not show a clear identifiable principal a ttachment figure. Within the attachment network of women with a partner, we foun d that the partner is very often the principal attachment figure. Understandin g the attachment network of women and identifying the specif...
Composition and functions of women's attachment network in adulthood
2012
The aim of this study was to explore the female attachment network's composition and to investigate the types of relationships that fulfill women's attachment needs and the relative strength of attachment to different figures in different life situations. 251 adult women completed a modified version of the Attachment Network Questionnaire-Revised (ANQ-R). Adult women without a partner assigned the role of principal attachment figure to their best friend. About one third of the participants did not transfer attachment from a figure inside to a figure outside the family of origin. This percentage is higher for women without a partner (46.8%) than for those with a partner (19.1%). Only a minority of the adult women did not show a clear identifiable principal attachment figure. Within the attachment network of women with a partner, we found that the partner is very often the principal attachment figure. Understanding the attachment network of women and identifying the specific principal attachment figure, could be useful to plan psychological guidelines for the prevention and/or the treatment of intimate partner violence and trauma.
Preliminary support for the use of a hierarchical mapping technique to examine attachment networks
Personal Relationships, 2005
In 2 studies, we investigated the validity and usefulness of a bullÕs eye hierarchical mapping measure to examine the content and structure of attachment networks. The bullÕs eye identified network differences between people of different attachment styles and between different ages. Attachment networks varied in the number of members and their hierarchical organization as a function of attachment style. Secure individuals included a higher number of secure relationships in their networks and placed them closer to the core self than their insecure relationships, as well as closer than did dismissing-avoidant individuals. The bullÕs eye also allowed for the observation of meaningful interrelations between network members. Study 2 utilized a cross-sectional design by which we observed network fluidity from mid-to late-adolescence in addition to attachment style differences. One important finding was that late-adolescents placed their friends closer to the core self than did midadolescents, reflecting increased use of peers as close attachment figures.
Perceived Closeness to Multiple Social Connections and Attachment Style
Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2016
Throughout life people form multiple close connections. These connections play an important role, such as providing social and instrumental support. Despite this, relatively little is known about how and why closeness to multiple others changes over time. To fill this gap, we examined changes in perceived closeness to multiple social connections and used a well-studied relational individual difference—attachment style—to shed light on those changes. Multilevel analysis and different indexes revealed that attachment avoidance was associated with lower mean perceived closeness and greater fluctuations in perceived closeness over time. These associations were moderated by attachment anxiety, such that low levels of avoidance and anxiety (i.e., security) were associated with greater stability of perceived closeness. Our results demonstrate that perceived closeness in one’s social connections tend to change, even over relatively short periods of time, and individual differences such as a...
Facing danger: How do people behave in times of need? The case of adult attachment styles
Bowlby’s (1982) attachment theory has generated an enormous body of research and conceptual elaborations. Although attachment theory and research propose that attachment security provides a person with many adaptive advantages, during all phases of the life cycle, numerous studies indicate that almost half of the human species can be classified as insecurely attached or insecure with respect to attachment. It seems odd that evolution left humans in this vulnerable position, unless there are some advantages to individuals or groups, under at least some conditions, of anxious and avoidant attachment styles. I argue that a social group containing members with different attachment patterns may be more conducive to survival than a homogeneous group of securely attached individuals because each attachment disposition has specific adaptive advantages that promote the survival of the individual and people around him or her when facing threats and perils. In making this argument, I extend the scope of attachment theory and research by considering a broader range of adaptive functions of insecure attachment strategies, and present data to support my argument.
Attachment Networks in Committed Couples
Frontiers in Psychology, 2019
This study explored attachment networks in committed couples who differed in parenting choice and relationship status. Attachment networks were defined in terms of attachment functions, attachment strength, the presence of a primary figure, and full-blown attachments. Participants were 198 couples, married or cohabiting, either expecting their first child or childless-by-choice. Results indicated that participants relied most strongly on partners for all attachment functions except secure base, for which they relied on mothers to a similar extent. Furthermore, expectant women reported more proximity seeking and stronger attachments to mothers, while expectant men relied more on fathers for safe haven. Married participants indicated less proximity seeking to partners than cohabiting couples, and married women reported less reliance on partners for safe haven than married men and cohabiting women. This study supports previous findings underlining the particular importance of partners for members of committed couples. Further, it extends past research by showing the robustness of this finding across parenting choice, and by revealing gender differences in the attachment networks of committed couples.