Childhood adversity, attachment security, and adult relationships: A preliminary study

Several evolutionary theorists have linked early rearing context to later reproductive strategy, hypothesizing that strategies differentiate during development as functional responses to ecological characteristics, by individuals or through parental manipulation. Attachment security has been proposed as a mediator. In this study, 40 young adults were given a multidimensional assessment, including the Hazen and Shaver Adult Attachment Questionnaire. Twenty-four subjects were classified as having secure attachment styles, 16 as nonsecure. The magnitude and predictability of parental investment during childhood was classified as lower if there was a brief intersibling interval, parental divorce, fewer economic resources, or less nurturing parents (i.e., more childhood adversity). Several such indicators were present for 17 people, 12 of whom were nonsecure, compared to only 4 of the 23 others. The nonsecurely attached subjects were less likely to have attained enduring marriages. The 6/16 nonsecure who had a marriage or cohabitation began them at a younger age and after a shorter courtship period than did the 15/24 secure with such relationships. Separations or divorces had already occurred in the relationships of 4/6 nonsecure versus 5/15 secure. Attachment security was associated with childhood adversity and adult relationships for both men and women, when analyzed separately. A retrospective study cannot address cause and effect, because poor adult relationship outcomes might bias recall of parental behavior. However, results are consistent with theories that unpredictable early environments foster short-term rather than long-term mating strategies, possibly through affecting attachment styles.