Adult attachment and psychosocial functioning

In the trilogy Attachment, Separation and Loss (1969, 1973, 1980), Bowlby theorized that early experiences with caregivers affect the quality of individuals’ later (romantic) relationships and, consequently, their mental health. The current thesis set out to examine the relationships between adult attachment and psychosocial functioning, predominately in the realm of close relationships. In the first part of the thesis, the focus lay on the assessment of the adult attachment construct. In Chapters 2 and 3 the stability of adult attachment in time and across various relationships in the social network was investigated. The second part of the thesis dealt with the underlying mechanisms that render insecurely attached individuals vulnerable to the development of psychological distress. Chapter 4 investigates the links between adult attachment and couples’ verbal and nonverbal communication patterns during a stressful situation in a sample of dating couples and in a sample of married individuals with established relationships. In Chapter 5 the role of intimacy in the current romantic relationship as a possible mediator of the relationship between adult attachment and psychological distress will be examined in a clinical and community sample. Chapter 6 discusses two mediational models of the relationships between stressful events, attachment style and psychological distress. Finally, in Chapter 7 an overview of the main findings and conclusions of the current thesis will be summarized, and future directions for research will be proposed