This study investigates whether individual differences in attachment status can be detected by electrophysiological responses to loss-themed pictures. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was used to identify discourse/reasoning lapses during the discussion of loss experiences via death that place speakers in the Unresolved/disorganized AAI…

A longstanding question for attachment theory and research is whether genetically based characteristics of the child influence the development of attachment security and its stability over time. This study attempted to replicate and extend recent findings indicating that the developmental stability of attachment security is moderated by oxytocin…

The present study explored how romantic relationship qualities develop with age and relationship length. Eight waves of data on romantic relationships were collected over 10.5 years during adolescence and early adulthood from a community-based sample in a Western U.S. city (100 males, 100 females; M age Wave 1 = 15.83). Measures of support,…

This paper reports on the longitudinal links between first-time mothers (N = 48) Adult Attachment Interviews (AAIs), provided during pregnancy, and their first-born children's AAIs, provided at age 16 years. The AAIs from the adolescents were scored for reflective functioning (RF), and this was found to be significantly linked to whether their…

In this commentary, Spangler evaluates the Steele, Perez, Segal, and Steele report that arguede that reflective functioning in adolescence could not be predicted by quality of early infant attachment, but was associated with maternal (but not paternal) attachment representation, assessed before the adolescents' birth. Assuming that parental…

In this commentary, Soares and Baptista state that the Steele, Perez, Segal, and Steele (2016) article contributed with an informative study that adolescents' reflective functioning (RF) is predicted by maternal attachment representation, which was assessed even before the youth were born by using the Adult Attachment Interview. The authors assert…

The goals of this article were to examine (1) the relative and absolute stability of maternal autonomy support between infancy and preschool age, and (2) the moderating role of child gender, maternal attachment state of mind, and stressful life events. Sixty-nine mother-child dyads participated in five visits when the child was 8, 15, and 18…

Adjustment to the transition from high school to military service in Israel was examined in a longitudinal study with a sample of 120 late-adolescent girls. During their senior year in high school (Time 1) the young women were administered the Adult Attachment Interview. Their coping and adjustment to the new environment were assessed (at two…

Continuity and intergenerational transmission of representations of attachment were examined in a longitudinal sample of 88 Mexican immigrant mothers and their children who participated in the local intervention group of the Early Head Start Evaluation Study. The authors interviewed mothers with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and Parent…

In this article, it is hypothesized that disorganizing, disorienting, and unresolved states of mind about loss experiences, as classified by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) coding system, may offer insight into the bereaved mind and may guide clinical treatment approaches. This article discusses pre-loss attachment organizations and the…

Insecure mental representations of attachment, a nearly invariant feature of cluster B personality disorders, have never previously been studied in twins. We conducted the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) on 33 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) female twins reared together as an initial exploration of causal influences on mental representations of…

The relation of attachment security to multiple domains of psychosocial functioning was examined in a community sample of 167 early adolescents. Security of attachment organization, assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview, was linked to success in establishing autonomy while maintaining a sense of relatedness both with fathers and with…

The role of attachment style in relation to forgiveness was investigated in 2 betrayal interviews. Blood pressure and heart rate were assessed, along with attachment style, forgiveness, empathy, and emotional expressiveness. Securely attached individuals were more forgiving of the specific offense, had higher levels of trait forgiveness, and…

Background: Empirical studies have revealed a significant, but modest association between maternal depression and insecure mother-child attachment. Across studies, however, a substantial number of mothers with depression are able to provide a sensitive caretaking environment for their children. This paper aimed to explore whether a mother's own…

The study explores the role of working models of attachment in the process of coping with relationship stressors with a focus on long-term adaptation. In a 7-year longitudinal study of 112 participants, stress and coping were assessed during adolescence and emerging adulthood. In addition, working models of attachment were assessed by employing…