The Stability of Attachment Security from Infancy to Adolescence and Early Adulthood: General Introduction

TLDR

Attachment theory proposes that infant attachment security shapes adult attachment representations, and mechanisms of stability and instability are explored. The authors conducted three long‑term longitudinal studies across distinct samples to examine this hypothesis. Each study measured infant attachment with the Ainsworth Strange Situation and adult attachment with the Berkeley Adult Attachment Interview. The first two studies showed significant stability of attachment security, while discontinuities across all three were linked to negative life events, and cross‑study comparison provided replication and alternative interpretations.

Abstract

Current attachment theory hypothesizes that attachment security during infancy influences individual differences in adult representations of attachment. We present three long-term longitudinal studies using three different samples relevant to this hypothesis. Each study assesses infant attachment by using the Ainsworth Strange Situation and adult attachment by using the Berkeley Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Attachment security was significantly stable in the first two studies. Discontinuity in all three studies was related to negative life events and circumstances. Comparison of the results across these complementary studies affords a degree of replication and sheds light on alternative interpretations. Various mechanisms underlying the stability and instability of attachment security are discussed.