Attachment styles and patterns of self-disclosure.

Abstract

In 3 studies, 352 undergraduate Israeli students were classified into secure, avoidant, and ambivalent attachment groups, and their differences in traitlike measures of self-disclosure willingness and flexibility and in disclosure reciprocity and liking of hypothetical or real partners were assessed. Findings indicated that both secure and ambivalent people showed more self-disclosure than avoidant people. Findings also yielded that secure and ambivalent people disclosed more information to, felt better interacting with, and were more attracted to a high discloser partner than a low discloser partner. In contrast, avoidant people's self-disclosure and liking were not affected by the partner's disclosure. Secure people showed more disclosure flexibility and topical reciprocity than ambivalent and avoidant people. Findings are discussed in terms of the interaction goals of attachment groups. Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969,1973,1980) explains individual differences in the way infants regulate inner distress and relate to others. Recently, Hazan and Shaver (1987) extended attachment theory from research on parent-child interaction to the study of adult interpersonal relationships. In the current study, we continue Hazan and Shaver's line of research and examine the role that attachment styles play in the way adults disclose themselves to others. In adults, self-disclosure is critical in determining the outcome of interpersonal relationships (i£., Berg & Derlega, 1987) and may be associated with a person's attachment style.