Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders in Adults and Insecure Attachment

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and disorders in adults and lack of secure childhood attachment. An additional hypothesis was that obsessive-compulsive individuals would most closely fit an avoidant pattern of adult attachment. A group of obsessive-compulsive adults, a group of adults with other emotional symptoms, and a normal group of adults representing the general population were measured using the Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory, the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Attachment Style Questionnaire and Bartholomew’s Four-Group Model of Attachment. Results did not confirm a relationship between insecure childhood attachment and obsessive-compulsiveness. However, obsessive-compulsive subjects were found to be fearful avoidant, while normal subjects were found to be secure. Subjects in the middle group did not fit a specific attachment pattern. Possible explanations for the outcomes, limitations of the present study, and implications for further research were presented