attachment styles

In chapter 15 of your text the authors discuss the impact of childhood attachment styles and later interpersonal relationships in adulthood. Attachment theory has received much attention from interpersonal communication researchers in part because it's fairly to easy to measure by having participants complete a survey. Then the results of the survey--each participant's attachment style--is correlated to a whole host of variables, such as current conflict style and friendship types. Although the research is interesting, it can also lead to a deterministic view of interpersonal communication if attachment styles are viewed as static. Children who develop anxious/ambivalent or avoidant styles due to interactions with their caregivers are not destined to repeat those same patterns in adulthood. Experiences in later interpersonal relationships and with other family members and social networks impact an individual's attachment style. As I note in the web lecture, "Although the bonds you form with your caregivers when you were young do influence your later relationships, attachment styles may evolve and change over time as you form new bonds with other people."

Still, attachment styles underscore the importance of those early interactions in a child's development. You learn from your caregivers how to go about communicating interpersonal relationships. Alexb commented about the link between attachment styles and cheating or infidelity. jdmINT referred to an article in Psychology Today that discussed parental favoritism. The researchers interview mothers, the majority of whom admitted to having a favorite child. I'd be interesting in knowing if the child and other siblings recognized these feelings. Goofy blogged about the secure attachments that form a central part of her family interactions. In blogging about her relationship with her niece, Sarina noted that attachment bonds go beyond the immediate family to include others who are a key part of a child's life, such as an aunt. Similarly, Jamie reported on the bonding that occurs between children and nannies. Foodie observed that attachment styles can impact friendships as well as romantic relationships, and discussed the difficulty of maintaining a friendship with someone who primarily exhibits the fearful/avoidant style. Caligirl522 observed that babies react to their parents, so can learn to adopt a particular style. Gian reported that attachment styles within a family can vary. And boyd013 said that those styles can even favor between twins. Danishgris observed that attachment styles can vary based on the relationship--so we might be secure in one relationship and avoidant in another. MJ suggested that the attachment within a relationship can change over time, as with going from secure to avoidant.

Attachment styles provide one glimpse into why individuals interact as they do in their interpersonal relationships. With so many of you blogging about it this week, it's clearly an approach that resonates with a lot of people.

--Professor Cyborg