HOW ATTACHMENT BEHAVIOUR IS RELEVANT
THROUGHOUT THE LIFESPAN
Barbaro, N., Pham, M. N., Shackelford, T. K., & Zeigler-Hill, V. (2016). Insecure romantic
attachment dimensions and frequency of mate retention behaviors. Personal Relationships, 23(3),
605–618. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12146
Barbaro, N., Sela, Y., Atari, M., Shackelford, T. K., & Zeigler-Hill, V. (2019). Romantic attachment
and mate retention behavior: The mediating role of perceived risk of partner infidelity. Journal of
Social and Personal Relationships, 36(3), 940–956. https:// doi.org/10.1177/0265407517749330
Campbell, L., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Commitment, love, and mate retention. In D. Buss (Ed.), The
handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 419–442). Wiley and Sons Ltd.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470939 376.ch14
1
Candel, O. S., & Turliuc, M. N. (2019). Insecure attachment and relationship satisfaction: A
metaanalysis of actor and partner associations. Personality and Individual Differences, 147, 190–
199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.04.037
Previous literature reports a strong relationship between insecure attachment
styles and relationship satisfaction (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2015). both anxiety
and avoidance are detrimental to relationship satisfaction, as individuals who
are more anxious or more avoidant report lower levels of relationship
satisfaction. The attachment theory represents an important framework for the
explanations of how adults form romantic relationships. Hazan and Shaver
(1987) proposed three attachment styles that describe the interactions between
romantic partners during adulthood. Those with high security are emotionally
close and intimate with their partner and reciprocate the interactions. Avoidance
is characterized by mistrust and disinterest in the partner. Finally, anxious
individuals are afraid of being betrayed and abandoned (Shaver & Mikulincer,
2005).
!!!!( if using this text i should add to refference list at the end the citasion incl in
the body of the text and that would be: C. Hazan, P. Shaver
Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52 (3) (1987), pp. 511-524
!!!!! P.R. Shaver, M. Mikulincer
Attachment theory and research: Resurrection of the psychodynamic approach to
personality
Journal of Research in Personality, 39 (2005), pp. 22-45
, Collins, N. L., & Read, S. J. (1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in
dating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(4), 644–663.
https://doi.org/10 .1037/0022-3514.58.4.644
Conroy-Beam, D., Goetz, C. D., & Buss, D. M. (2015). Why do humans form long-term mateships?
An evolutionary game-theoretic model. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 51, 1–39.
https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2014.11.001
Funk, J. L., & Rogge, R. D. (2007). Testing the ruler with item response theory: Increasing
precision of measurement for relationship satisfaction with the Couples Satisfaction Index. Journal
of Family Psychology, 21(4), 572–583. https://doi.org/10 .1037/0893-3200.21.4.572
2
An individual’s attachment extends from their relationship with their primary
caregiver, affecting subsequent meaningful relationships in their life (Ainsworth et
al., 2015; Bowlby, 1980). Based on this theory, anxious individuals tend to fear
rejection and abandonment, and to be vigilant for signs of disinterest or betrayal
(Ainsworth et al., 2015;Bowlby, 1980).As such, highly anxious individuals tend to
distrust their partners, anticipate partner infidelity, and be more jealous
(TopluDemirtas et al., 2020). In turn, avoidant individuals tend to express their need
for comfort by isolating themselves, have low expectations for their partners, are
unlikely to act with aggression (Fournier et al., 2011), are less committed to their
partners, invest less in their romantic relationships, and are less responsive to their
partner’s needs (Wardecker et al., 2016).
Retrieved from: CITATION Nascimento, B. S., Little, A. C., Monteiro, R. P., Hanel, P. H. P., &
Vione, K. C. (2021, September 2). Attachment Styles and Mate-Retention: Exploring the Mediating
Role of Relationship Satisfaction. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. Advance online publication.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000272
People form models of social relationships called attachment styles based on their
early experiences with their parents or primary caregivers and how responsive they
were to their needs. This results in 4 major attachment styles – Secure; Dismissive
Avoidant; Anxious Preoccupied; Disorganised. Usually, they can be described like
this:
Secure – one’s needs are fully satisfied at early age so you believe that people are
good, trustworthy,
Dismissive Avoidant – neglected parenting from childhood. You see the others
