Attachment formation and transfer in young adults’close friendships and romantic relationships

TLDR

Future studies of attachment formation and transfer are essential for a comprehensive understanding of adult relationship dynamics. The study surveyed 237 university students with a questionnaire testing normative implications of attachment theory. Most participants relied on parents for attachment but were shifting these functions to peers, with transfer increasing with relationship length and being supported by caregiving, trust, intimate contact, secure working models, and perceived peer security.

Abstract

Abstract Two hundred thirty‐seven young adults from an American university completed a questionnaire designed to test several normative implications of attachment theory. As predicted, the majority of participants (60%) used their parents as primary attachment figures but were in the process of transferring attachment‐related functions from parents to peers (best friends and romantic partners). The transfer of these functions the parents to peers was found to be a function of the duration of the peer relationship. Furthermore, factors that generally promote the development of attachment formation in infancy (such as caregiving, trust, and intimate contact) were found to be positively associated with the development of attachment in adult relationships. Additional variables were identified that may facilitate peer attachment formation: secure working models of attachment and the perceived security of the peer. It is argued that future investigations into the role of attachment formation and transfer are critical for a comprehensive description of attachment dynamics in adult relationships.