Attachment Styles and Identity Status: An Exploratory Study

The present study explored relations between attachment models and identity statuses among young adults. In terms of Erikson’s and Bowlby’s psychosocial theories, internal working models suggestive of a secure infant-caregiver attachment history provide a foundation for successful identity formation; insecure working models may be more likely to relate to other identity statuses. A sample of 320 adults aged 20-35 years completed (on Amazon Mechanical Turk) self-report measures pertaining to internal working models and identity statuses. The result indicates that vast majority of participants, even those with insecure attachment, were identity achievers. However, they have different tendency toward Moratorium and Foreclosure (exploration and commitment) across different attachment styles. Specifically, secure attachment tend to evidence higher level of commitment but lower lever of exploration (more in Foreclosure, less in Moratorium), compared to insecure attachment. Preoccupied individuals, on the other hand, were more likely to be explorative, but found it harder to make commitment (more in Moratorium, less in Foreclosure), compared to individuals with other attachment styles. Limitation and future direction of this study was discussed.No embargoAcademic Major: Psycholog