Threats to Parental and Romantic Attachment Figures' Availability and Adult Attachment Insecurity

Abstract

This study tested hypotheses based on the theoretical idea that threats to parental availability would have a direct effect on later adult attachment insecurity and that this relationship would be partially, but not fully, mediated by threats to the availability of a romantic partner. Participants were 1,063 individuals in a married or unmarried romantic relationship. Individuals completed a questionnaire on threats to attachment figures' availability and completed another questionnaire about attachment insecurity (avoidance and anxiety) approximately 1 year later. In both models, the greater the threats to attachment figures' (parents' or current partners') availability, the greater the attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety. Consistent with theorizing in the literature, the impact of remembered threats to parental availability on adult attachment avoidance and anxiety, although not eliminated, was greatly reduced by the inclusion of current partner's availability in the model.