Pursuing Safety in Social Connection: A Flexibly Fluid Perspective on Risk Regulation in Relationships

People are fundamentally motivated to be included in social connections that feel safe, connections where they are consistently cared for and protected, not hurt or exploited. Romantic relationships have long played a crucial role in satisfying this fundamental need. This article reconceptualizes the risk-regulation model to argue that people draw on experiences from inside and outside their romantic relationships to satisfy their fundamental need to feel safe depending on others. We first review the direct relational cues (i.e., a partner's affectionate touch, responsive versus unresponsive behavior, and relative power) and indirect cues (i.e., bodily sensations, collective value in the eyes of others, and living conditions) that signal the current safety of social connection and motivate people to connect to others or protect themselves against them. We then review how people's chronic capacity to trust in others controls their sensitivity and reactivity to the safety cues. The article concludes with future research directions.

Effects of a preventive parenting intervention for bereaved families on the intergenerational transmission of parenting attitudes: Mediating processes

This study evaluated whether the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), a prevention program for parentally bereaved families, improved parenting attitudes toward parental warmth and physical punishment in young adult offspring 15 years after participation and identified mediational cascade pathways. One hundred fifty-six parents and their 244 offspring participated. Data were collected at pretest (ages 8-16), posttest, and six- and 15-year follow-ups. Ethnicity of offspring was: 67% non-Hispanic Caucasian, 16% Hispanic, 7% African American, 3% Native American, 1% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 6% other; 54% were males. There was a direct effect of the FBP on attitudes toward physical punishment; offspring in the FBP had less favorable attitudes toward physical punishment. There were also indirect effects of the FBP on parenting attitudes. The results supported a cascade effects model in which intervention-induced improvements in parental warmth led to fewer externalizing problems in adolescence/emerging adulthood, which in turn led to less favorable attitudes toward physical punishment. In addition, intervention-induced improvements in parental warmth led to improvements in anxious romantic attachment in mid-to-late adolescence/emerging adulthood, which led to more favorable attitudes toward parental warmth in emerging/young adulthood. These findings suggest that the effects of relatively brief prevention programs may persist into subsequent generations.

Friendships in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Parental and Friendship Attachment Representations and Intimacy

The current studies addressed the associations between attachment representations with parents and a single best friend, intimacy behaviors (self-disclosure and support-seeking), and friendship quality in emerging adulthood, using the actor-partner interdependence mediation model (APIMeM). Study 1 (N = 186 dyads) examined whether attachment to parents predicted friendship quality, and whether this was mediated by attachment to their best friend. More avoidance or anxiety with parents predicted lower friendship quality, which was mediated by avoidance or anxiety with their best friend. Study 2 (N = 118 dyads) examined whether self-disclosure and support-seeking mediated the link between attachment with best friend and friendship quality. Anxiety with their best friend predicted lower friendship quality, which was mediated by support-seeking. Anxiety predicted less self-disclosure and support-seeking. We found no effects of avoidance. No partner effects were found in both studies. The findings are discussed in terms of adult attachment theory.

The mediating role of attachment and mentalising in the relationship between childhood maltreatment, self-harm and suicidality

BACKGROUND

Although the relationship between childhood maltreatment, self-harm and suicidality is well-established, less is known about the mediating mechanisms explaining it. Based on a developmental mentalisation-based theoretical framework, childhood adversity compromises mentalising ability and attachment security, which in turn increase vulnerability to later stressors in adulthood.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the role of attachment and mentalising as potential mechanisms in the relationship between childhood maltreatment, self-harm and suicidality.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

We recruited 907 adults from clinical and community settings in Greater London.

METHODS

The study design was cross-sectional. Participants completed self-report questionnaires on retrospectively rated childhood trauma, and current attachment to the romantic partner, mentalising, self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempt. We used structural equation modelling to examine the data and conceptualized childhood maltreatment as a general factor in a confirmatory bifactor model.

RESULTS

The results showed that childhood maltreatment was both directly associated with self-harm and suicidality and indirectly via the pathways of attachment and mentalising.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that insecure attachment and impaired mentalising partially explain the association between childhood maltreatment, self-harm and suicidality. Clinically, they provide support for the potential of mentalisation-based therapy or other psychosocial interventions that aim to mitigate the risk of self-harm and suicidality among individuals who have experienced childhood maltreatment via increasing understanding of self and other mental states.

Romantic attachment, childhood stability, depression, and PTSD in couples with an incarcerated partner

Incarceration has a multitude of effects on prisoners' finances, health, education, employment, and family relationships. Incarceration complicates the maintenance of attachment bonds between romantic partners. Data from the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering were analyzed to examine the effects of childhood stability on adult romantic attachment while controlling for the effects of PTSD and depression within the carceral population. Findings indicate that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression have statistically significant effects on adult romantic attachment. PTSD on romantic attachment for men is statistically significant (p < 0.05) at -0.193 with an overall standardized effect of -0.086. For women, the effect is statistically significant (p < 0.01) at -0.235 with an overall standardized effect of -0.1. Effects of depression on romantic attachment for men is statistically significant (p < 0.001) -0.129 with an overall standardized effect of -0.229. For women, depression is also statistically significant (p < 0.001) at -0.153 with a standardized effect of -0.265. We examined the effects of childhood stability on adult romantic attachment while controlling for the effects of PTSD and depression within the carceral population. Findings supported our hypothesis that individuals with better childhood stability will experience better romantic attachments. Findings related to our hypothesis that having a partner with better childhood stability is positively associated with better romantic attachment produced mixed results. Clinical implications are discussed, and future directions call for research, practice, and training to improve outcomes for justice-involved romantic partners, their attachment, and consideration of covariates of depression and PTSD.

Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphisms and Maternal Overprotection Regulate Adult Social Expectations on Close Relationships

Humans are evolutionary-driven to adult mating and conceive social expectations on the quality of their affiliations. The genetic susceptibility to adverse environments in critical periods can alter close relationships. The current research investigates how the promoter region of the Serotonin Transporter Gene (5-HTTLPR) and perceived caregiving behavior in childhood could influence the social expectations on close adult relationships. For this purpose, 5-HTTLPR data was collected from the buccal mucosa of 65 Italian individuals (33 males). The participants filled (a) the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) to provide the levels of care and overprotection from mother and father, and (b) the Experience in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) to report the social expectations on the intimate relationship assessed in terms of anxiety and avoidance from the partner. An interaction effect between 5-HTTLPR and PBI dimensions on the ECR-R scores was hypothesized. Results confirmed that the interplay between the genetic groups and history of maternal overprotection predicted avoidance experienced in romantic relationships in adulthood. Moreover, both adult anxiety and avoidance felt in an intimate relationship were found to covary as a function of maternal overprotection. The present work proposes further evidence of the genetic and parental mechanisms regulating social expectations involved in close relationships.

Paternal Sensitivity and Children's Cognitive and Socioemotional Outcomes: A Meta-Analytic Review

In a series of meta-analyses, paternal sensitivity was associated with children's (age range: 7 months-9 years) overall cognitive functioning (N = 3,193; k = 23; r = .19), including language skills (k = 9; r = .21), cognitive ability (k = 9; r = .18), and executive function (k = 8; r = .19). Paternal sensitivity was not associated with children's overall socioemotional functioning (N = 2,924; k = 24; r = -.03) or internalizing problems, but it was associated with children's emotion regulation (k = 7; r = .22) and externalizing problems (k = 19; r = -.08). In the broad cognitive functioning, executive function, broad socioemotional functioning, and externalizing problems meta-analyses, child age was a significant moderator.

Security-Based Differences in Touch Behavior and Its Relational Benefits

Affectionate touch is crucial to the development of attachment security in infancy, yet little is known about how attachment and touch are related in adulthood. For adults high in anxiety, touch provision can maintain proximity, and received touch can signal reassurance of a partner’s affections that relatively anxious people desperately desire. Adults high in avoidance likely view touch as a threat to independence, should be less inclined to provide touch, and may perceive received touch as intrusive. In two studies, we demonstrated that attachment anxiety was associated with positive feelings about touch but unrelated to daily touch provision. However, the benefits associated with daily received touch were amplified among people higher in anxiety. Conversely, attachment avoidance was associated with negative feelings about touch, and reductions in daily touch provision, but did not moderate the benefits associated with received touch.

Social-Experience and Temperamental Predictors of Rejection Sensitivity: A Prospective Study

Rejection sensitivity (RS) is the tendency for individuals to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to interpersonal rejection. Existing theory presumes that early experiences of rejection cause RS, although few studies have assessed this prospectively. Also relatively unstudied are individual differences in temperament that may contribute to RS. In a longitudinal study, we examined whether early social experiences and individual differences in temperament predict RS assessed subsequently. Results showed that positive early social experiences (ages 6 and 9 parents’ relationship quality and age 9 peer support) negatively predicted RS at age 12 and that negative affect (ages 6 and 9) positively predicted age-12 RS. These findings may have important implications for RS-reduction efforts and for understanding the many domain-specific manifestations of RS.

Attachment in Adulthood: Recent Developments, Emerging Debates, and Future Directions

Some of the most emotionally powerful experiences result from the development, maintenance, and disruption of attachment relationships. In this article, I review several emerging themes and unresolved debates in the social-psychological study of adult attachment, including debates about the ways in which attachment-related functions shift over the course of development, what makes some people secure or insecure in their close relationships, consensual nonmonogamy, the evolutionary function of insecure attachment, and models of thriving through relationships.

Social Environment and Epigenetics

Our social environment, from the microscopic to the macro-social, affects us for the entirety of our lives. One integral line of research to examine how interpersonal and societal environments can get "under the skin" is through the lens of epigenetics. Epigenetic mechanisms are adaptations made to our genome in response to our environment which include tags placed on and removed from the DNA itself to how our DNA is packaged, affecting how our genes are read, transcribed, and interact. These tags are affected by social environments and can persist over time; this may aid us in responding to experiences and exposures, both the enriched and the disadvantageous. From memory formation to immune function, the experience-dependent plasticity of epigenetic modifications to micro- and macro-social environments may contribute to the process of learning from comfort, pain, and stress to better survive in whatever circumstances life has in store.

The Role of Attachment Insecurity and Big Five Traits on Sensory Processing Sensitivity

This study examined the interplay between behavioral inhibition/activation systems (BIS/BAS) sensitivity, attachment insecurity (i.e., anxiety and avoidance), and Big Five personality traits in predicting sensory processing sensitivity (SPS). We have specifically tested three alternative theoretical models to explain the process through which BIS/BAS sensitivity link to SPS; unique effects of attachment dimensions and personality traits, as well as moderating and mediating role of these variables. Participants (N = 494) completed the highly sensitive Person scale, BIS/BAS scales, experiences in close relationships-revised scale, and big five inventory. The findings revealed the complex role of attachment dimensions and personality traits on SPS. Attachment avoidance, but not attachment anxiety, moderated the effect of BIS activity on SPS indicating that, compared to those with high BIS sensitivity, those with low levels of both BIS and attachment avoidance reported lower level of SPS. Attachment anxiety, neuroticism, extraversion, and openness partially mediated the effects of BIS on SPS. Conceptual implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Young people with left-behind experiences in childhood have higher levels of psychological resilience

This study investigated the development of psychological capital and its relationship with adult attachment in Chinese college students with left-behind experiences in childhood. The results show that the psychological capital of left-behind experiences in childhood was moderate, and their self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and overall psychological capital were significantly lower than those without left-behind experiences. However, their psychological resilience was remarkably higher than the latter. As for adult attachment, their attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were also remarkably higher. The findings suggest that left-behind experiences impaired the development of the emotional-motivation system of left-behind experiences in childhood, but facilitated the development of their survival-protection system.

Measuring the Capacity to Love: Development of the CTL-Inventory

Objective: The individual capacity to love (CTL) has been linked to various mental health parameters and is considered to be an important outcome parameter of psychotherapeutic treatment. However, empirical examinations of the concept have not been conducted up to now. The aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of CTL [Capacity to Love Inventory (CTL-I)] as a trait of personality, which is shown to be related to clinically relevant symptoms and conditions.

Method: Four independent healthy samples in Austria (n = 547, n = 174, and n = 85) and Poland (n = 240) were assessed by a prototype of the CTL-I and its final shorter version in a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internal consistency of the total questionnaire and each subscale was assessed by Cronbach alpha. External validity was measured against Beck Depression Inventory, Quality of Relationship Inventory, Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, Pathological Narcissism Inventory, and Narcissistic Personality Inventory according to the theoretical framework of the CTL concept. Further test–retest reliability was assessed.

Results: The CFA confirmed 41 items in six dimensions: Interest in the life project of the other, Basic trust, Humility and gratitude, Common ego ideal, Permanence of sexual passion, and Acceptance of loss/jealousy/mourning. The Cronbach alphas of the total CTL-I and its subscales ranged between 0.67 and 0.90 in all samples, suggesting a valid construct. The CTL-I was moderately positively associated with quality of relationship (Support r = 0.63, Conflict r = -0.66, and Depth r = 0.66) and inversely associated with symptoms of depression (r = -0.37), pathological narcissism (r = -0.29) and promiscuity (r = -0.42). The test–retest reliability of the total CTL-I was high with r = 0.81, suggesting the stability of answers over time.

Conclusion: The proposed 41-item version of the CTL-I is a psychometrically sound and validated instrument measuring six dimensions of the concept of the CTL. The reported negative associations with clinically relevant parameters such as depression, pathological narcissism and promiscuity as well as associations with relationship qualities such as conflicts, support, and depth warrant its future use in burdened populations including couples in clinical settings.

The development of adult attachment styles: four lessons

Why are some adults secure or insecure in their relationships? The authors review four lessons they have learned from longitudinal research on the developmental antecedents of adult attachment styles. First, although adult attachment appears to have its origins in early caregiving experiences, those associations are weak and inconsistent across measurement domains. Second, attachment styles appear to be more malleable in childhood and adolescence than in adulthood, leading to asymmetries in socialization and selection processes. Third, early experiences do not determine adult outcomes. Fourth, there is still a lot to learn, and future research requires examining relationship-specific attachment patterns, the distinction between distal and proximal factors, and interactions between relational and genetic vulnerabilities.

Sensitive Periods, Vasotocin-Family Peptides, and the Evolution and Development of Social Behavior

Nonapeptides, by modulating the activity of neural circuits in specific social contexts, provide an important mechanism underlying the evolution of diverse behavioral phenotypes across vertebrate taxa. Vasotocin-family nonapeptides, in particular, have been found to be involved in behavioral plasticity and diversity in social behavior, including seasonal variation, sexual dimorphism, and species differences. Although nonapeptides have been the focus of a great deal of research over the last several decades, the vast majority of this work has focused on adults. However, behavioral diversity may also be explained by the ways in which these peptides shape neural circuits and influence social processes during development. In this review, I synthesize comparative work on vasotocin-family peptides during development and classic work on early forms of social learning in developmental psychobiology. I also summarize recent work demonstrating that early life manipulations of the nonapeptide system alter attachment, affiliation, and vocal learning in zebra finches. I thus hypothesize that vasotocin-family peptides are involved in the evolution of social behaviors through their influence on learning during sensitive periods in social development.

Attachment, Career-Choice Pessimism, and Intrinsic Motivation as Predictors of College Students’ Career Adaptability

The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-cultural validity of the effects of attachment, career-choice pessimism, and intrinsic motivation on career adaptability (CA) in American ( n = 198) and Korean ( n = 294) college students. We hypothesized that the association between attachment and CA is sequentially mediated by career-choice pessimism and intrinsic motivation in both samples, and the results supported the hypothesized multilevel model. These results have important implications for practice to promote CA for college students across cultures by providing evidence for cross-cultural validation of factors influencing on CA.

Early Life Manipulations of the Nonapeptide System Alter Pair Maintenance Behaviors and Neural Activity in Adult Male Zebra Finches

Adult zebra finches (T. guttata) form socially monogamous pair bonds characterized by proximity, vocal communication, and contact behaviors. In this experiment, we tested whether manipulations of the nonapeptide hormone arginine vasotocin (AVT, avian homolog of vasopressin) and the V1a receptor (V1aR) early in life altered species-typical pairing behavior in adult zebra finches of both sexes. Although there was no effect of treatment on the tendency to pair in either sex, males in different treatments exhibited profoundly different profiles of pair maintenance behavior. Following a brief separation, AVT-treated males were highly affiliative with their female partner but sang very little compared to Controls. In contrast, males treated with a V1aR antagonist sang significantly less than Controls, but did not differ in affiliation. These effects on behavior in males were also reflected in changes in the expression of V1aR and immediate early gene activity in three brain regions known to be involved in pairing behavior in birds: the medial amygdala, medial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and the lateral septum. AVT males had higher V1aR expression in the medial amygdala than both Control and antagonist-treated males and immediate early gene activity of V1aR neurons in the medial amygdala was positively correlated with affiliation. Antagonist treated males showed decreased activity in the medial amygdala. In addition, there was a negative correlation between the activity of V1aR cells in the medial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and singing. Treatment also affected the expression of V1aR and activity in the lateral septum, but this was not correlated with any behaviors measured. These results provide evidence that AVT and V1aR play developmental roles in specific pair maintenance behaviors and the neural substrate underlying these behaviors in a bird.

Episodic memories of relationship quality, procedural knowledge of attachment scripts, and the experience of daughters caring for a parent with dementia

A caregiver's attachment history with their parents may affect the thoughts, feelings, and behavior they now have as they care for a parent with dementia. Participants were 77 daughters of a parent with dementia. The nature of participant conscious episodic memories of their parental figures and unconscious procedural knowledge of caregiving processes (secure base script knowledge) were identified as two aspects of the caregiver's relationship history that may impact their involvement in care, relationship conflict, critical attitudes, and strain. Our findings indicated that the nature of episodic memories of the caregiver relationship history with parental figures were significantly associated with stress and criticism of their parent. Greater unconscious procedural knowledge of the secure base script was associated with caregiver report of less conflict and less involvement in the caregiving tasks. Potential clinical implications of this pattern are also discussed.

Adult attachment style and cortisol responses in women in late pregnancy

Background

Recent research has documented the association between attachment and cortisol rhythms. During pregnancy, when attachment patterns are likely to be activated, elevated levels of cortisol are associated with negative effects for the mother and the foetus. The aim of the present study was to examine the association of adult attachment style and cortisol rhythms in pregnant women.

Methods

Eighty women in the third trimester of pregnancy participated in the study. Adult attachment was assessed using the Adult Attachment Scale – Revised (AAS-R). Participants collected 4 samples of salivary cortisol at two different days; 3 samples were collected in the morning immediately after wakeup and one sample was collected by bedtime.

Results

Results found group significant differences in the cortisol diurnal oscillation (F_(1,71) = 26.46, p < .001,), with secure women reporting a steep decrease in cortisol from awakening to bedtime, while women with fearful avoidant attachment reported no changes. No group differences were found regarding the cortisol awakening response.

Conclusions

These results highlight the importance of considering attachment patterns during pregnancy, suggesting fearful avoidant attachment style as a possible risk factor for emotional difficulties and dysregulation of the neuroendocrine rhythms.

Parents' self-reported attachment styles: a review of links with parenting behaviors, emotions, and cognitions

For decades, attachment scholars have been investigating how parents' adult attachment orientations relate to the ways in which they parent. Traditionally, this research has been conducted by developmental and clinical psychologists who typically employ the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to measure adult attachment. However, dating back to the mid-1990s, social and personality psychologists have been investigating how self-reported adult attachment styles relate to various facets of parenting. The literature on self-reported attachment and parenting has received less attention than AAI research on the same topic and, to date, there is no comprehensive review of this literature. In this article, we review more than 60 studies of the links between self-reported attachment styles and parenting, integrate the findings to reach general conclusions, discuss unresolved questions, and suggest future directions. Finally, we discuss the potential benefits to the study of parenting of collaborations among researchers from the developmental and social attachment research traditions.

Changes in Adult Attachment Styles in American College Students Over Time

The current article examines changes over time in a commonly used measure of adult attachment style. A cross-temporal meta-analysis was conducted on 94 samples of American college students (total N = 25,243, between 1988 and 2011) who chose the most representative description of four possible attachment styles (Secure, Dismissing, Preoccupied, and Fearful) on the Relationship Questionnaire. The percentage of students with Secure attachment styles has decreased in recent years (1988: 48.98%; 2011: 41.62%), whereas the percentage of students with Insecure attachment styles (sum of Dismissing, Preoccupied, Fearful) has increased in recent years (1988: 51.02%; 2011: 58.38%). The percentage of students with Dismissing attachment styles has increased over time (1988: 11.93%; 2011: 18.62%), even after controlling for age, gender, race, and publication status. Positive views of others have declined across the same time period. We discuss possible implications and explanations for these changes.

The influence of women's attachment style on the chronobiology of labour pain, analgesic consumption and pharmacological effect

Circadian variation in biological rhythms has been identified as affecting both labour pain and the pharmacological properties of analgesics. In the context of pain, there is also a growing body of evidence suggesting the importance of adult attachment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether labour pain, analgesic consumption and pharmacological effect are significantly affected by the time of day and to analyse whether this circadian variation is influenced by women's attachment style. This prospective observational study included a sample of 81 pregnant women receiving patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA). Attachment was assessed with the Adult Attachment Scale - Revised. The perceived intensity of labour pain in the early stage of labour (3 cm of cervical dilatation and before the administration of PCEA) was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Pain was also indirectly assessed by measuring the consumption of anaesthetics. The latency period and the duration of effect were recorded for a chronopharmacology characterisation. Pain, as assessed with the VAS, was significantly higher in the night-time group than in the daytime group. An insecure attachment style was significantly associated with greater labour pain at 3 cm of cervical dilatation (p < 0.001) and before the beginning of analgesia (p < 0.001) as well as with higher analgesic consumption and lower pharmacological efficacy (p < 0.05). The time of day was significantly associated with the pharmacological effect: the latency period was longer at night, and the duration of the pharmacological effect was longer during the daytime. The interaction between time of day and attachment style was not significant for any of the study variables. Our results provide evidence of the importance of circadian variation in studying labour pain and the pharmacological effect of labour analgesia involving epidural blockage with a PCEA regimen. Moreover, although there was no evidence that attachment style influenced the circadian variation, these data emphasise that insecure attachment patterns are a risk factor for greater labour pain and analgesic consumption, which should be considered in pain management approaches.

Contributions of attachment theory and research: a framework for future research, translation, and policy

Attachment theory has been generating creative and impactful research for almost half a century. In this article we focus on the documented antecedents and consequences of individual differences in infant attachment patterns, suggesting topics for further theoretical clarification, research, clinical interventions, and policy applications. We pay particular attention to the concept of cognitive "working models" and to neural and physiological mechanisms through which early attachment experiences contribute to later functioning. We consider adult caregiving behavior that predicts infant attachment patterns, and the still-mysterious "transmission gap" between parental Adult Attachment Interview classifications and infant Strange Situation classifications. We also review connections between attachment and (a) child psychopathology; (b) neurobiology; (c) health and immune function; (d) empathy, compassion, and altruism; (e) school readiness; and (f) culture. We conclude with clinical-translational and public policy applications of attachment research that could reduce the occurrence and maintenance of insecure attachment during infancy and beyond. Our goal is to inspire researchers to continue advancing the field by finding new ways to tackle long-standing questions and by generating and testing novel hypotheses.

Attachment and Parental Divorce

One of the assumptions of attachment theory is that disruptions in parental relationships are prospectively related to insecure attachment patterns in adulthood. The majority of research that has evaluated this hypothesis, however, has been based on retrospective reports of the quality of relationships with parents—research that is subject to retrospective biases. In the present research, the authors examined the impact of parental divorce—an event that can be assessed relatively objectively—on attachment patterns in adulthood across two samples. The data indicate that parental divorce has selective rather than diffuse implications for insecure attachment. Namely, parental divorce was more strongly related to insecure relationships with parents in adulthood than insecure relationships with romantic partners or friends. In addition, parental insecurity was most pronounced when parental divorce took place in early childhood. This finding is consistent with hypotheses about sensitive periods in attachment development.

The Moral Compass of Insecurity

Three studies examined the associations between relational adult attachment and moral judgment. Study 1 shows that attachment-related anxiety and avoidance are uniquely and differentially related to moral concerns. Relative to low insecurity, higher avoidance was associated with weaker moral concerns about harm and unfairness, whereas higher anxiety was associated with stronger moral concerns about harm, unfairness, and impurity. Study 2 replicates these associations and shows that the effect for harm and fairness is mediated by attachment differences in empathic concern, whereas the effect for purity is mediated by disgust sensitivity. Furthermore, using an alternative measure of moral judgment we replicate the negative association between avoidance and harm concerns. Study 3 unpacks fairness judgments into three subcomponents and shows that even at this level avoidance and anxiety show divergent associations. Future directions for empirical examinations of morality and attachment are discussed.