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This study aims to explore the role of emotionally unavailable fathers in attachment styles in romantic relationships among young adult women. The method used in this study is quantitative, with participants meeting the criteria of female, aged 18-25, and living with their fathers. The study employs a non-experimental quantitative method involving 180 participants aged 18-25. The measuring tools used are the Lum Emotional Availability of Parents (LEAP) Questionnaire to measure IV and the Experience in Close Relationship Scale - Revised (ECR-R) to measure DV. The simple linear regression analysis results show that an emotionally unavailable father has a significant influence on attachment style with a significance level of < .001 and regression coefficients of 55% for anxious and 64% for avoidant. From this study, it can be concluded that there is a role for emotionally unavailable fathers in attachment styles among young adult women who are in romantic relationships.

The proposed pre-registered analyses extend previous work on the links between attachment representations of early caregiving experiences coded via the AAI and romantic relationship quality in adulthood. Specifically, in this study we aim to (a) examine the predictive significance of two AAI-derived attachment representation coding methods at age 18 on romantic relationship adjustment around age 30 years in the subsample of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2005) who participated in the recent age 30 year assessments and were romantically partnered at that time, and (b) compare the magnitude of these associations.

The proposed pre-registered analyses extend previous work on the links between attachment representations of early caregiving experiences coded via the AAI and romantic relationship quality in adulthood. Specifically, in this study we aim to (a) examine the predictive significance of two AAI-derived attachment representation coding methods at age 18 on romantic relationship adjustment around age 30 years in the subsample of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2005) who participated in the recent age 30 year assessments and were romantically partnered at that time, and (b) compare the magnitude of these associations.

This study aims to examine the role of attachment style on romantic relationship satisfaction in emerging adulthood. Participants of 215 individuals aged between 18 to 25 years old who were currently in romantic relationship. This study used a quantitative approach with survey method, and data were collected through online questionnaire. The independent variable included two dimensions: anxious and avoidant attachment, while romantic relationship satisfaction served as the dependent variable. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that attachment style significantly predicted romantic relationship satisfaction (regression coefficient = -0.776, SE = 0.102, standardized = -0.461, t = -7.586, p < .001). This indicates that individuals with anxious and avoidant attachment styles tend to experience lower levels of relationship satisfaction. Conversely, individuals who do not display anxious or avoidant attachment styles tend to report higher satisfaction in their romantic relationships.

The reason I am creating this research project is to understand whether having a higher secure attachment rate in childhood means you will have a higher rate of resilience. I am tracking this by watching children at playgrounds and observing how they interact with their caregivers for five minutes. The expected outcomes are that younger children will want their caregivers more often than older children.

According to attachment theory, people develop internal working models (i.e., attachment representations) based on their parental relationships, which ultimately shape future relationships. This theory has inspired much research on friendships and romantic relationships across childhood and adulthood. However, little is known about the effects of parental attachment representations on friendships in emerging adulthood. Moreover, it is unclear how the attachment representations of emerging adults influence their friends' perceptions of their relationship. Therefore, the goal of this project is to examine parental attachment representations and friendships in a multi-study design using dyadic data analysis. In this first study, I will examine whether parental attachment representations are related to friendship quality through friendship representations using the existing dataset 'That's What Friends Are For'.

This study aims to examine the role of attachment style and masculine gender role stress in predicting doubt or hesitation in forming romantic relationships among men in emerging adulthood. The research is grounded in the growing phenomenon of fear of intimacy among men aged 23–29, a critical transitional period toward adulthood. In the context of patriarchal culture and increasing social-economic pressures, traditional masculine expectations play a significant role in shaping men’s interpersonal relationship patterns. Using a quantitative correlational design, the study involved 181 male participants aged 23–29 years. The instruments used include the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) scale, the Masculine Gender Role Stress Scale (MGRS), and the Fear of Intimacy Scale (FIS). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that attachment style is the strongest predictor of fear of intimacy, while masculine gender role stress also contributes significantly. Further analysis showed that men with insecure attachment experienced higher levels of gender role stress compared to those with secure attachment. This study provides a deeper understanding of how early emotional attachment patterns and masculine role expectations contribute to men’s hesitation in building intimate romantic relationships. The findings are expected to support the development of psychological interventions sensitive to gender and relational dynamics, and serve as a relevant reference for future research in developmental and interpersonal psychology.

This preregistration is for secondary data analysis on the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation. We will first examine whether and the degree to which early life Strange Situation attachment security vs. insecurity (assessed when MLSRA target participants were 12 and 18 months old) and early-life quality of maternal caregiving (assessed at 4 timepoints when target participants were between 3 months and 42 months old) prospectively predict target participants’ positive parenting orientation at age 32 and their parental supportive presence (behaviorally coded) in adulthood, which was assessed at various ages. We will then conduct mediation analyses to determine whether and the degree to which AAI secure base script knowledge scores (assessed when targets were 19 and 26 years old) mediate the hypothesized link between Strange Situation attachment security and both adult parenting measures and/or the potential link between the quality of maternal caregiving and both adult parenting measures.

We want to examine the relationship (if any) between childhood attachment styles and anxiety/depression levels in adulthood. Knowing the impact that attachment styles have, we want to research if anxiety and depression levels are higher or lower depending on the attachment style. Out of the four attachment styles, we are most interested in anxious attachments and avoidant attachments due to their prevalence in Western populations. We intend on using this study's results for informing the research community about future potential interventions for anxiety/depression symptoms based on childhood attachment style. H1: Anxious attachment styles are linked to higher anxiety levels than people with avoidant attachment styles. H2: Avoidant attachment styles are linked to higher depression levels in people with anxious attachment styles.

The present study aims to examine the long-term effects of adolescent attachment to the mother on emotion regulation strategies in adulthood. Specifically, it investigates how insecure-avoidant and insecure-ambivalent attachment styles during early to mid-adolescence (ages 11–16) relate to the use of avoidance and rumination strategies later in life. Furthermore, the study explores the moderating roles of social support and self-regulation in adulthood. It is hypothesized that insecure-avoidant attachment is associated with greater use of avoidance strategies, particularly among individuals with low social support. Similarly, insecure-ambivalent attachment is expected to be linked to higher levels of rumination, especially in those with low self-regulation ability. By identifying these pathways, the study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of how early attachment patterns influence emotional coping mechanisms in adulthood and how contextual and personal resources can buffer these effects.

A core premise of attachment theory is that the quality of early care shapes the development and consolidation of later constructed mental representations, which in turn influence mental health (Bowlby, 1973, 1980; Sroufe et al., 2005). Following this premise, this set of pre-registered analyses aims to build on a programmatic line of research (Dagan et al., 2018; Dagan et al., 2020) to investigate the predictive significance of attachment representations in general, and scripted attachment representations (i.e., secure base script knowledge) more specifically, on depressive symptoms in adulthood.

This study used archival data from a long-term longitudinal project to investigate how mothers' depression in early childhood predicts their children's mental health and relationships with peers and partners in early adulthood, exploring maternal mind-mindedness as a mediating variable, and socioeconomic status (SES) as a moderating variable. This study coded mother–child interactions when children were 51 months of age to obtain a new measure of mind-mindedness. The study also investigated whether mother–child attachment security related to children's outcomes in early adulthood. Maternal mind-mindedness was assessed at 51 months using an observation-based procedure that involved mother-child dyads participating in a play interaction. Mothers also completed the Beck Depression Inventory at ages 8, 15, 26, and 44 months. In early adulthood, self-report questionnaires were used to assess: (a) anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), (b) callous-unemotional traits (Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits), and (c) ability to identify and describe own emotions (Toronto Alexithymia Scale). Attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation at 15 months and adapted versions of the strange situation at three timepoints in the preschool years. In early adulthood, a self-report questionnaire was used to assess for attachment styles in relationships with peers and partners (The Relationship Questionnaire).

This study aims to look at the longitudinal relations between mothers' mind-mindedness (measured at 3 different time points in early childhood) and their children’s (a) mind-mindedness in relation to a close friend and (b) peer attachment as assessed in early adulthood. This study also aims to investigate whether father absence during childhood moderates any observed relations between mind-mindedness and attachment.

This study aims to look at the longitudinal relations between mothers' mind-mindedness (measured at 3 different time points in early childhood) and their children’s (a) mind-mindedness in relation to a close friend and (b) peer attachment as assessed in early adulthood. This study also aims to investigate whether father absence during childhood moderates any observed relations between mind-mindedness and attachment.

A sample of college students (N=170) was used to replicate and extend recent investigations that had conceptualized adults' close relationships within an early attachment framework. Analyses were conducted to support the validity of Hazan and Shaver's (1987) attachment measures, which were designed to assess the three major styles of attachment: secure, anxious/ambivalent, and anxious/avoidant. The Single-Item, Multi-Item, and Mental Model attachment measures were also used to test the association between young adult attachment and psychosocial adjustment. Results showed that using a self-classification measure appears to be a valid method of assessing young adult attachment. Furthermore, findings revealed a strong relation between mental models and attachment style, demonstrating construct validity for this assessment of internal working models. Finally, attachment characteristics were found to be strongly related to psychosocial adjustment. The secure group had more positive mental models and were better adjusted overall. Few differences emerged between the anxious/ambivalent and anxious/avoidant groups. This result is consistent with findings from infant attachment studies. (Four data tables and references are included.) (Author/ABL)

A sample of college students (N=170) was used to replicate and extend recent investigations that had conceptualized adults' close relationships within an early attachment framework. Analyses were conducted to support the validity of Hazan and Shaver's (1987) attachment measures, which were designed to assess the three major styles of attachment: secure, anxious/ambivalent, and anxious/avoidant. The Single-Item, Multi-Item, and Mental Model attachment measures were also used to test the association between young adult attachment and psychosocial adjustment. Results showed that using a self-classification measure appears to be a valid method of assessing young adult attachment. Furthermore, findings revealed a strong relation between mental models and attachment style, demonstrating construct validity for this assessment of internal working models. Finally, attachment characteristics were found to be strongly related to psychosocial adjustment. The secure group had more positive mental models and were better adjusted overall. Few differences emerged between the anxious/ambivalent and anxious/avoidant groups. This result is consistent with findings from infant attachment studies. (Four data tables and references are included.) (Author/ABL)

Parentification is a type of role reversal between the mother or father and the child. Numerous factors give rise to the likeliness of children having to take on the role of young parents in families (Jurkovic, Thirkield, & Morrell, 2001). Some common causes identified by scholars are having parents with chronic or mental illnesses (e.g., cancer or depression) (Tompkins, 2007); growing up in single-parented families (Woolgar & Murray, 2010); having parents who experienced abuse when they were small (Sfoggia, Pacheco, & Grassi-Oliveira, 2008); parents who are immigrants; or parents who struggle with substance abuse issues (Jurkovic, 1997). These factors explain a parent’s dependency on a child in taking up the caregiving role in families, which leads to the increased likelihood of parentification experience for children (Hooper, Marotta & Lanthier, 2007).

According to attachment theory, people develop internal working models (i.e., attachment representations) based on their parental relationships, which ultimately shape future relationships. This theory has inspired much research on friendships and romantic relationships across childhood and adulthood. However, little is known about the effects of parental attachment representations on friendships in emerging adulthood. Moreover, it is unclear how the attachment representations of emerging adults influence their friend’s perception of the friendship. Therefore, the goal of this project is to examine attachment representations and friendships in a multi-study design using dyadic data analysis. In this second study, we will zoom in on the mechanism underlying the link between attachment representations with best friends and friendship quality. In an ESM-design, we will examine whether attachment representations are related to friendship quality through intimate behaviors (self-disclosure and emotional support) in a sample of emerging adults.

A core premise of attachment theory is that the quality of early care shapes the development and consolidation of later constructed mental representations, which in turn influence mental health (Bowlby, 1973, 1980; Sroufe et al., 2005). Following this premise, this set of pre-registered analyses aims to build on a programmatic line of research (Dagan et al., 2018; Dagan et al., 2021) to investigate the predictive significance of attachment representations in general, and scripted attachment representations (i.e., secure base script knowledge) more specifically, on depressive symptoms in adulthood.

The present study focuses on follow-up data from of a longitudinal adoption study conducted in Greece, spanning approximately two decades. The initial phase of the study (T1; Vorria et al., 2003), focused on the development of infants living in an institution and compared them to infants living with their biological families and attending full-time nursery. Following the adoption of the children in institutions (mean age of 1.8 years, SD = 0.7) subsequent follow-ups of both groups were conducted when the participants were around four years old (T2; Vorria et al,. 2006) and in adolescence at the age of 13 (T3; Vorria et al., 2014, 2015). In the current study, both adoptees and non-adoptees who participated in T3 were invited to take part in assessment focusing on young adulthood. Data were collected from 68 of the 88 participants (33 men and 35 women) with an average age of 24 years and 2 month (SD = 0.95). The young adulthood follow-up of the Metera adoption study (T4) achieved a retention rate of 77.27% from T3 and 53.54% since the initial study in infancy. We will explore selective attrition by comparing participants who agreed to the adulthood follow-up with those who did not. This comparison will consider several factors: age, psychological and behavioral measures in adolescence (SDQ), cognitive performance in infancy and adolescence, and attachment (secure versus insecure) in both infancy and adolescence. Additionally, we will examine parental social class and education levels in adolescence. The aim of the present study is threefold: a) to explore potential catch-up in terms of attachment security of adopted children from T1 to T3. b) to examine the stability of attachment across different developmental stages, from infancy to adulthood, and c) to examine potential developmental pathways implicated in the development of attachment from infancy to adulthood.