Adult attachment styles and psychological disease: examining the mediating role of personality traits.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine differences in anxiety and depression related to differences in attachment models of the self and of others and whether personality traits mediate this relationship. The authors assessed attachment styles, anxiety, depression, and personality traits among 274 adult volunteers. Participants were classified into 4 attachment groups (secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing-avoidant) according to K. Bartholomew's (1990) model. The present authors found significant differences among attachment groups on anxiety and depressive symptoms with attachment styles involving a negative self-model showing higher scores than attachment styles characterized by a positive self-model. The authors also found that differences between attachment styles in anxiety and depression remained significant when personality factors related to attachment prototypes were entered as covariates. Results indicate that secure attachment in adults was associated with better mental health, while insecure attachment styles characterized by negative thinking about the self were associated with higher depression and anxiety scores. Our findings seem to evidence that attachment and personality are only partly overlapping and that attachment cannot be considered as redundant with personality in the explanation of psychological disease.

Full text

Page 1

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
This article was downloaded by: [University Di Bologna]
On: 6 October 2010
Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 927038244]
Publisher Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-
41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
The Journal of PsychologyThe Journal of Psychology
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t914957657
Adult Attachment Styles and Psychological Disease: Examining theAdult Attachment Styles and Psychological Disease: Examining the
Mediating Role of Personality TraitsMediating Role of Personality Traits
Paola Surcinellia; Nicolino Rossia; Ornella Montebaroccia; Bruno Baldaroa
a University of Bologna,
Online publication date: 28 September 2010
To cite this ArticleTo cite this Article Surcinelli, Paola , Rossi, Nicolino , Montebarocci, Ornella and Baldaro, Bruno(2010) 'Adult Attachment
Styles and Psychological Disease: Examining the Mediating Role of Personality Traits', The Journal of Psychology, 144: 6,
523 — 534
To link to this Article: DOI: To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/00223980.2010.508082
URL: URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2010.508082
Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf
This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or
systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or
distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.
The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents
will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses
should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss,
actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly
or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Page 2

The Journal of Psychology, 2010, 144(6), 523–534
Copyright C ?2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Adult Attachment Styles
and Psychological Disease: Examining
the Mediating Role of Personality Traits
PAOLA SURCINELLI
NICOLINO ROSSI
ORNELLA MONTEBAROCCI
BRUNO BALDARO
University of Bologna
ABSTRACT. The aim of the present study was to examine differences in anxiety and
depression related to differences in attachment models of the self and of others and whether
personality traits mediate this relationship. The authors assessed attachment styles, anxiety,
depression, and personality traits among 274 adult volunteers. Participants were classified
into4attachmentgroups(secure,preoccupied,fearful,anddismissing–avoidant)according
toK.Bartholomew’s(1990)model.Thepresentauthorsfoundsignificantdifferencesamong
attachment groups on anxiety and depressive symptoms with attachment styles involving
a negative self-model showing higher scores than attachment styles characterized by a
positive self-model. The authors also found that differences between attachment styles in
anxiety and depression remained significant when personality factors related to attachment
prototypes were entered as covariates. Results indicate that secure attachment in adults
was associated with better mental health, while insecure attachment styles characterized by
negative thinking about the self were associated with higher depression and anxiety scores.
Our findings seem to evidence that attachment and personality are only partly overlapping
and that attachment cannot be considered as redundant with personality in the explanation
of psychological disease.
Keywords: adult attachment, depression, anxiety, personality traits
ATTACHMENT THEORY WAS DEVELOPED by Bowlby (1969, 1973, 1980)
to describe and explain how infants become emotionally attached to their primary
caregivers. According to Bowlby (1969), the human infant is born with a bio-
logically programmed system allowing one to form close emotional bonds with
significant others. Ainsworth and coworkers showed in numerous studies (e.g.,
Address correspondence to Paola Surcinelli, Department of Psychology, Viale Berti Pichat
5, 40127 Bologna, Italy; paola.surcinelli3@unibo.it (e-mail).
523
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 3

524
The Journal of Psychology
Ainsworth,Blehar,Waters,&Wall,1978)thatchildreneitherformasecureattach-
ment to their parents or develop either of two alternative strategies to face the lack
ofsecurity:avoidantattachmentoranxiousambivalentattachment.Consistentand
sensitive parenting leads to the development of a secure attachment style, charac-
terized by interpersonal trust and comfort with intimacy. In contrast, children with
insecure attachment styles, whose bids for security have been either ignored or re-
buffed(leadingtoavoidantattachments)orrespondedtoinconsistently(leadingto
ambivalent attachments), will acquire models of others as rejecting or inconsistent
(Ainsworth et al.). Infant attachment categories have been shown to be applicable
to adults as well (e.g., Hazan & Shaver, 1987). Indeed, according to Bowlby’s the-
ory,earlyexperienceswithprimarycaregiversareinternalizedbychildrentoshape
internalworkingmodels,thatis,cognitivestructuresthatactasaprototypeforlater
relationshipsoutsidethefamily.Adultworkingmodelsinfluenceadultinteractions
with significant others, and adult romantic love has been conceptualized as an at-
tachment process experienced somewhat differently by different adults because of
variations in their attachment histories. Bartholomew has systematized Bowlby’s
(1973)conceptionofinternalworkingmodelsinafour-categoryattachmentmodel
(Bartholomew, 1990; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). Four prototypical attach-
ment patterns are defined in terms of two kinds of internal working models: an
internal model of the self and an internal model of others. The positivity of the
self-model involves the degree to which the self is loveable and worthy, while the
positivity of the others model involves a person’s expectations about significant
others’ availability and support. The negative model of the self is characterized by
anxiety about closeness and dependence on others for self-esteem, and the nega-
tive model of others is characterized by the avoidance of intimacy. Secure people
have a positive view of self and of others, while preoccupied individuals have
a negative view of themselves, but a positive view of others. The avoidant cate-
gory is classified into two qualitatively different attachment styles: dismissing and
fearful–avoidant styles. Dismissing people have a positive view of the self, view-
ing themselves as resilient and not needing others, but a negative view of others,
whereas fearful individuals have a negative view of both themselves and others.
Bowlby (1973, 1980) has suggested that when children develop negative
models of the self or of others, they become more vulnerable to psychopathol-
ogy. Inconsistent and insensitive parenting was identified as a risk factor for latter
attachment difficulties (Bifulco, Moran, Ball, & Lillie, 2002) and has also been
frequently associated with depressive and anxiety disorders in adulthood (Bifulco,
Brown, Moran, Ball, & Campbell, 1998; Harkness & Wildes, 2002). Indeed, in-
secure attachment styles have been found to be associated with higher levels of
psychopathology including depression and anxiety in adult clinical and nonclini-
cal samples (Bifulco, Moran, Ball, & Bernazzani, 2002; Carnelley, Pietromonaco,
& Jaffe, 1994; Dozier, Stovall, & Albus, 1999; Eng, Heimberg, Hart, Schneier, &
Liebowitz, 2001; Gerlsma & Luteijn, 2000; McCarthy, 1999; Marazziti et al.,
2007; Mickelson, Kessler, & Shaver, 1997; Murphy & Bates, 1997; Myhr,
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 4

Surcinelli, Rossi, Montebarocci, & Baldaro 525
Sookman, &Pinard, 2004; Reis &Grenyer, 2004; West,Rose, Verhoef, Spreng, &
Bobey, 1998). Whereas secure attachment style consistently relates to better men-
tal health, the findings regarding the association among insecure attachment styles
and depression are somewhat inconsistent: Although some studies have found
depression to be associated with the preoccupied and fearful attachment styles
(Conradi & de Jonge, 2009; Gerlsma & Luteijn, 2000; Marazziti et al., 2007;
Murphy & Bates, 1997; West et al., 1998), some others have found depression to
be more closely associated with the dismissing style (McCarthy, 1999). Still other
studies,instead,haveshownnodifferentiationamonginsecurestyles,inrelationto
depression (Mickelson et al., 1997). Fewer studies have examined the association
between attachment styles and anxiety, but the preoccupied classification has been
found to be among the associated styles (Dozier et al., 1999; Eng et al., 2001;
Fonagy, Leigh, & Steele, 1996).
The inconsistent findings may be partly related to the use of different instru-
ments for the evaluation of adult attachment.
In the present study, the association between adult attachment and levels of
anxiety and depression in a community sample was investigated by using the four-
categorymodeldevelopedbyBartholomewandHorowitz(1991).Inparticular,the
first aim of the present study consisted in investigating the presence of differences
among insecure attachment styles in anxiety and depression scores related to
differences in the models of self and of others.
Moreover, since studies into the correlates of adult attachment styles have
also suggested possible relations with the neuroticism and extraversion dimen-
sions of personality (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Collins & Read, 1990;
Feeney & Noller, 1990; Shaver & Hazan, 1993), a second aim of the present study
was to examine the correlation between attachment in adult romantic relation-
ships and personality traits. A previous study (Shaver & Brennan, 1992) found
significant correlations between categorical measures of secure, avoidant, and
anxious–ambivalent attachments and the Big Five dimensions of personality. In
particular, the attachment groups were differentiated according to their scores on
neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness with both insecure groups showing
higher neuroticism scores and lower extraversion scores than secure participants.
Similarly, other studies (Backstrom & Holmes, 2001; Griffin & Bartholomew,
1994) have found that positive models of self as well as positive models of others
were associated with higher extraversion scores and lower neuroticism scores, so
that negative models of self or of others were associated with lower extraversion,
lower agreeableness, and higher neuroticism scores.
The presence of reliable associations between measures of attachment style
and personality is not surprising, given that the attachment theory can be seen as
a general theory of personality development (Bowlby, 1980). An extreme overlap
between the two sets of measures would be problematic, however, as it would
suggest that attachment style is redundant with basic dimensions of personality.
However, some findings (Feeney, Noller, & Hanrahan, 1994) point to very strong
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 5

526
The Journal of Psychology
links between measures of attachment and personality, while others (Shaver &
Brennan, 1992) only show modest correlations.
In the present study, the strength of the correlation between attachment in
adult romantic relationships and personality traits was also investigated. More-
over, the possibility that personality traits related to attachment styles could me-
diate the relationship between adult attachment and depression and anxiety was
examined.
Method
Participants and Procedure
Participants were 274 healthy volunteers (141 female participants; M age =
32.8 years, age range = 18–55 years) from the general community who agreed to
participate in a study on “close relationships.” Participants were required to have
dated for at least 3 months prior to participation: 117 (42.7%) were married or
cohabiting, 98 (35.8%) were living apart together, and 59 (21.5%) were single.
Theeducationallevelofthecommunitysamplewasasfollows:19%hadaprimary
school level, 37% had a higher grade elementary or secondary school level, and
44% had a higher education level.
Participants were excluded if they reported any history of severe medical or
psychiatric illness. Participants were contacted by a researcher who explained
the study to them and invited them to complete the research questionnaires and
return them to the researcher within a few days. The research questionnaires
included the following self-completed instruments: Relationship Questionnaire
(RQ; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991); Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ; Caprara,
Barbaranelli, Borgogni, & Perugini, 1993); Beck Depression Inventory (BDI;
Beck, 1967); and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y; Spielberger, 1983). The
research questionnaires required around 2 hours to be completed by participants.
We offered no reward or inducement for participating.
Materials
The RQ (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) is a brief self-report measure that
consists of prototypical descriptions of the four attachment styles. In the present
study, participants had first to read the following four attachment descriptions and
chose the one that best described their feelings in romantic relationships:
Secure. It is relatively easy for me to become emotionally close to others. I am
comfortable depending on others and having others depend on me. I don’t worry
about being alone or having others not accept me.
Preoccupied.Iwanttobecompletelyemotionallyintimatewithothers,butIoften
find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I am uncomfortable
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 6

Surcinelli, Rossi, Montebarocci, & Baldaro 527
being without close relationships, but I sometimes worry that others don’t value
me as much as I value them.
Fearful.Iamsomewhatuncomfortablegettingclosetoothers.Iwantemotionally
close relationships, but I find it difficult to trust others completely, or to depend
on them. I sometimes worry that I will be hurt if I allow myself to become too
close to others.
Dismissing. I am comfortable without close emotional relationships. It is very
important to me to feel independent and self-sufficient, and I prefer not to depend
on others or have others depend on me.
Second, participants had to rate their degree of correspondence to each proto-
type on a 7-point scale.
In the present study, alpha value (Cronbach) of internal consistency was .50.
The BFQ (Caprara et al., 1993) is a self-completed questionnaire to assess
the five-factor model of personality. It consists of 132 items, each scored on a
5-point scale. The BFQ contains five domain scales: energy, friendliness, consci-
entiousness, emotional stability (neuroticism inverted), and openness. The energy
domain scale refers to the factor usually labeled “extraversion,” the friendliness
scalereferstothefactorusuallylabeled“agreeableness,”Conscientiousnessrefers
to self-regulation, emotional stability refers to personality characteristics often
subsumed under the label of neuroticism, and last openness refers to the factor
often referred to as intellect or culture or openness to experience. In the present
study, alpha values (Cronbach) of internal consistency were as follows: energy
α = .91, friendliness α = .90, conscientiousness α = .89, emotional stability α =
.91, openness α = .85.
The BDI (Beck, 1967) is a 21-question self-report inventory for measuring
depression. Each question refers to a symptom related to depression and has a
set of four possible answer choices, ranging in intensity. Alpha value of internal
consistency was .82.
TheSTAI(Spielberger,1983)isaself-completedquestionnairethatconsistsof
twodifferent20-itemforms,onemeasuringtraitanxiety,andthesecondmeasuring
state anxiety. In this study, only the form assessing trait anxiety was used. Alpha
value of internal consistency for the trait scale was .88.
Statistical Analysis
AllanalyseswerecarriedoutusingSPSS17.0forWindows.Participantswere
classified into the four attachment styles according to their choices in the RQ.
In order to investigate differences in depression and anxiety between the four
attachmentgroups,amultivariateanalysisofvariance(MANOVA)wasconducted
using BDI and STAI scores as dependent measures and attachment style (se-
cure,preoccupied,fearful–avoidant,dismissing–avoidant)asbetween-participants
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 7

528
The Journal of Psychology
factor. Pearson correlations were also computed between scores on the four at-
tachment prototypes and BDI and STAI scores. To test the relationship between
attachment styles and personality, Pearson correlations between scores on each
attachment prototype and BFQ factors were conducted. Last, to investigate if dif-
ferences in depression and anxiety among attachment styles may be related to
differences in personality, a Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA)
withattachmentstyleasbetweenfactorwasconducted,takingBFQfactorsrelated
to attachment styles into account as covariate variables.
Results
Attachment Classification
Participants were classified into the four attachment styles according to their
choice in the RQ. Participants distribution across the four attachment groups was
as follows: Participants in the secure group were 161 (58.8%), participants in the
fearful group were 49 (17.9%), participants in the preoccupied group were 39
(14.2%), and participants in the dismissing group were 25 (9.1%).
As illustrated in Table 1, participants in the four attachment groups differed
in their degree of fit with each of the four prototypes.
No significant differences in attachment styles related to gender or to age
were found.
TABLE 1. Mean Degrees of Correspondence to Each Prototype for Attachment
Styles
RQ prototypical
descriptions
Fearful–
avoidant
Dismissing–
avoidant Secure Preoccupied
Secure
Fearful–avoidant
Preoccupied
Dismissing–avoidant
5.32
2.06
2.18
2.42
2.67
5.24
2.67
2.28
2.59
2.74
5.18
1.95
2.92
2.80
2.04
5.28
Note. RQ = Relationship Questionnaire.
Attachment Style, Trait Anxiety, and Depression
As Table 2 illustrates, a main effect of attachment style was found for BDI
scores,F(3,270)=16.2,p<.001,η2=.15;andforSTAIscores,F(3,270)=21.9,
p < .001, η2= .19. Secure participants reported lower BDI scores compared to all
theotherparticipants(ps<.05).Significantdifferenceswerealsofoundamongthe
insecure groups: Participants in the preoccupied group showed higher depression
scores than dismissing participants (p < .05). With regards to STAI scores, no
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 8

Surcinelli, Rossi, Montebarocci, & Baldaro529
significant differences were found between secure and dismissing participants,
while both groups showed significantly lower scores than preoccupied and fearful
participants (ps < .05).
TABLE 2. Results of Separate Pairwise Analysis between Relationship Ques-
tionnaire (RQ) Attachment Styles for Depression and Trait Anxiety Scores
RQ styleBDI STAI
Secure
Fearful–avoidant
Preoccupied
Dismissing–avoidant
6.38 (5.52)a
11.75 (7.61)bc
13.02 (8.45)b
9.64 (6.79)c
39.41 (8.26)a
48.45 (11.25)b
50.13 (9.19)b
42.96 (10.14)a
Note. Within each of the separate dependent measures, letter sets are used to indicate the
results of pairwise comparisons. Contents that share at least one letter do not significantly
differ. BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; STAI = States Trait Anxiety Inventory.
Correlations between RQ scores in each of the four prototypical descriptions
and BDI and STAI scores are presented in Table 3.
The secure score was negatively correlated with both depression and anxiety,
while fearful–avoidant and preoccupied scores were positively correlated with
both anxiety and depression scores. Scores on the dismissing–avoidant prototype
were not related to either anxiety or depression.
TABLE 3. Correlation Matrix of Attachment Prototype Scores, Beck Depres-
sion Inventory (BDI) Scores and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) Scores
RQ prototypes BDISTAI
Secure
Fearful–avoidant
Preoccupied
Dismissing–avoidant
−.33∗∗
.27∗∗
.29∗∗
.04
−.34∗∗
.35∗∗
.37∗∗
−.02
Note. RQ = Relationship Questionnaire.
∗p < .05.∗∗p < .01.
Attachment Scores and Personality Factors
Pearson correlations between the subscales of the BFQ and RQ scores for
each attachment style are presented in Table 4.
The BFQ energy factor was positively correlated with the secure score
(p < .001) and negatively correlated with the fearful and preoccupied scores
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 9

530
The Journal of Psychology
(ps < .05). Emotional stability (neuroticism inverted) was positively correlated
with the secure score (p < .001) and negatively with fearful and preoccupied
scores (ps < .001). Friendliness was positively correlated with the secure score
(p < .005) and negatively correlated with fearful and dismissing scores (ps < .01).
Although these correlations were modest, each was statistically significant while
conscientiousness and openness were not correlated with RQ scores.
TABLE 4. Correlation Matrix of Attachment Prototype Scores and Big Five
Questionnaire (BFQ) Factors
BFQ subscales
Emotional
stabilityVariableEnergy Friendliness ConscientiousnessOpenness
RQ secure
RQ fearful-
avoidant
RQ preoccupied
RQ dismissing-
avoidant
.23∗∗
−.31∗∗
−.12∗
.05
.17∗∗
−.29∗∗
.04
−.15∗∗
.08
.24∗∗
−.25∗∗
−.25∗∗
−.02
.05
−.04
−.05
−.06
−.10
−.15∗
.01
Note. RQ = Relationship Questionnaire.
∗p < .05.∗∗p < .01.
Attachment Style, Personality, and Psychological Disease
The MANCOVA that we conducted using attachment style as between factor
and taking energy, friendliness, and emotional stability as covariate variables
revealed a significant effect of attachment style for BDI, F(3, 267) = 7.11, p <
.001, η2= .07; and for STAI, F(3, 267) = 7.31, p < .001, η2= .08.
Discussion
In the present study, we found differences in trait anxiety and depression
scores among attachment styles using the four-factor model.
Asexpected,participantsclassifiedassecurereportedlowerdepressionscores
compared with all the other participants, and the secure attachment prototype was
negatively correlated with both BDI and STAI scores.
Significant differences were also found among insecure attachment styles. In
particular,participants classifiedaspreoccupied reportedhigher depressionscores
thandismissing–avoidantparticipants.Overall,allinsecurelyattachedparticipants
reported higher depression scores, but participants with a negative self-model re-
portedthehighestscores.Moreover,thefearful–avoidantandthepreoccupiedpro-
totypes werepositively correlated withBDIscores,whilethedismissing–avoidant
prototype was not related to depression.
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 10

Surcinelli, Rossi, Montebarocci, & Baldaro 531
Similarly, anxiety scores differed significantly between attachment groups
with a positive view of themselves (secure and dismissing–avoidant) and attach-
ment groups with a negative model of the self (preoccupied and fearful–avoidant),
withthelatterreportinghigheranxietyscores.Boththefearful–avoidantprototype
and the preoccupied prototype were positively related to anxiety.
Participants with a negative self-model (preoccupied and fearful–avoidant)
reported the highest depression and anxiety scores, independently of the posi-
tivity or negativity of others model. Coherent with previous findings (Carnelley
et al., 1994; Conradi & de Jonge, 2009; Gerlsma & Luteijn, 2000; Marazziti et al.,
2007; Murphy & Bates, 1997; Reis & Grenyer, 2004; West et al., 1998), secure
attachment in adults was associated with better mental health and with decreased
vulnerability to psychopathology, while insecure attachment styles appeared to
operate through negative thinking about the self. Our data suggest that insecure
attachments contribute to psychological disease through their influence on in-
dividuals’ processes for achieving and maintaining a sense of self-worth and on
individuals’successatachievingself-esteem.Peoplewhofeelinsecurelyattached,
perhaps due to current relationship difficulties, but who maintain a healthy sense
of self-esteem appear less likely to become anxious and depressed.
Concerning the relationship between attachment styles and personality, at-
tachment prototypes were related to the personality factors of emotional stabil-
ity, friendliness, and energy. More specifically, as expected, secure attachment
scores were positively correlated with energy, emotional stability, and friendli-
ness, while fearful–avoidant and preoccupied scores were negatively correlated
with energy and emotional stability. Last, friendliness was negatively correlated
with both avoidant attachment scores. Consistent with previous findings (Back-
strom&Holmes,2001;Griffinetal.,1994)attachmentstylesconcerninganegative
self-model (preoccupied and fearful–avoidant) were associated with higher neu-
roticism and lower extraversion, while attachment styles with negative model of
others (fearful and dismissing–avoidant) were associated with less agreeableness.
It should be underlined that although significant, correlations between attachment
styles and personality factors were only modest in size. Moreover, the main effect
of attachment style on depression and anxiety scores remained significant, when
energy, emotional stability, and friendliness were entered as covariates. Our find-
ings seem to evidence that attachment and personality are only partly overlapping
and that attachment cannot be considered as redundant with personality in the
explanation of psychological disease.
In the present study, negative representations of the self seem to mediate
between attachment insecurity and depression and anxiety. Both anxiety and
depression were associated with insecure attachment styles involving a negative
model of the self, independently of models of others and of personality traits.
However, several limitations of the present study must be kept in mind. First
of all, the present analyses are based on self-reports of attachment, and there is
controversy over whether implicit interview-based measures of attachment are
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 11

532
The Journal of Psychology
more appropriate for assessing working models. A promising future direction
might be to use the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985)
to examine genetic and environmental influences on implicit measures of adult
attachment and observational measures that are more sensitive to shared envi-
ronmental effects when compared with questionnaire studies. Our point is that
future research should use multiple measures and multiple methods to assess adult
internal working models.
Second, the present research was conducted on a community sample, and it
is an open question whether such findings would generalize to more severe forms
of anxiety and depression. Carnelley and coworkers (1994) for example found
somewhat different relationships between working models and depression in stu-
dent and patient samples. Consistent with present findings, nonclinical depression
was associated with adult attachment styles involving a negative model of the self
independently of others model, whereas clinical depression was associated only
with negative models of the self but positive models of others (fearful–avoidant).
Future research should explore this issue in other communities and in clinical
samples drawn from a variety of cultures.
Last,althoughthefour-factormodelofadultattachmentpredicteddifferences
in psychological disease related to self-models, in the present study no differences
were found between depression- and anxiety-associated attachment styles. How-
ever, it is likely that the specific natures of attachment relationships and negative
working models would differ in depressed and anxious individuals. Themes of
loss and self-deficiency might be prominent in depressed people (Guidano, 1987),
whereas elements of danger and fear might predominate in anxious individuals
(Ingram, Kendall, Smith, Donnell, & Ronan, 1987). Future studies designed to
identify more refined measures of attachment security and working models are
needed to link specific variants of insecure adult attachment to specific psycho-
logical disorders.
AUTHOR NOTES
PaolaSurcinelliisresearchassistantprofessorofclinicalpsychologyattheFacultyof
Medicine, University of Bologna. Nicolino Rossi is full professor of clinical psychology at
theFacultyofMedicine,UniversityofBologna.OrnellaMontebarocciisresearchassistant
professorofclinicalpsychologyattheFacultyofPsychology,UniversityofBologna.Bruno
Baldaro is full professor of clinical psychology at the Faculty of Psychology, University
of Bologna.
REFERENCES
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment:
A study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Backstrom, M., & Holmes, B. M. (2001). Measuring adult attachment: A construct valida-
tion of two self–report instruments. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 42, 79–86.
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 12

Surcinelli, Rossi, Montebarocci, & Baldaro533
Bartholomew, K. (1990). Avoidance of intimacy: An attachment perspective. Journal of
Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 147–178.
Bartholomew,K.,&Horowitz,L.M.(1991).Attachmentstylesamongyoungadults:Atest
of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244.
Beck,A.T.(1967).Depression:Clinical,experimental,andtheoreticalaspects.NewYork:
Harper & Row.
Bifulco,A.,Brown,G.W.,Moran,P.,Ball,C.,&Campbell,C.(1998).Predictingdepression
inwomen:Theroleofpastandpresentvulnerability.PsychologicalMedicine,28,39–50.
Bifulco, A., Moran, P. M., Ball, C., & Bernazzani, O. (2002). Adult attachment style: I. Its
relationship to clinical depression. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 37,
50–59.
Bifulco, A., Moran, P. M., Ball, C., & Lillie, A. (2002). Adult attachment style: II. Its
relationship to psychosocial depressive-vulnerability. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric
Epidemiology, 37, 60–67.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss (Vol. 1). New York: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss (Vol. 2). New York: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss (Vol. 3). New York: Basic Books.
Caprara,G.V.,Barbaranelli,C.,Borgogni,L.,&Perugini,M.(1993).Thebigfivequestion-
naire: A new questionnaire for the measurement of the Five Factor Model. Personality
and Individual Differences, 15, 281–288.
Carnelley, K. B., Pietromonaco, P. R., & Jaffe, K. (1994). Depression, working models of
others, and relationship functioning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66,
127–140.
Collins, N. L., & Read, S. J. (1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship
quality in dating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 644–663.
Conradi,H.J.,&deJonge,P.(2009).Recurrentdepressionandtheroleofadultattachment:
A prospective and a retrospective study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 116, 93–99.
Dozier, M., Stovall, K. C., & Albus, K. E. (1999). Attachment and psychopathology
in adulthood. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory,
research, and clinical applications (pp. 497–519). New York: Guilford.
Eng, W., Heimberg, R., Hart, T., Schneier, F., & Liebowitz, M. (2001). Attachment in
individuals with social anxiety disorder: The relationship among adult attachment styles,
social anxiety and depression. Emotion, 4, 365–380.
Feeney, J. A., & Noller, P. (1990). Attachment style as a predictor of adult romantic
relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 281–291.
Feeney,J.A.,Noller,P.,&Hanrahan,M.(1994).Assessingadultattachment:Development
in the conceptualization of security and insecurity. In M. B. Sperling & W. H. Berman
(Eds.), Attachment in adults: Theory, assessment, and treatment (pp. 128–152). New
York: Guilford.
Fonagy, P., Leigh, T., & Steele, M. (1996). The relation of attachment status, psychi-
atric classification and response to psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 64, 22–31.
George, C., Kaplan, N., & Main, M. (1985). Adult attachment interview. Unpublished
manuscript, University of California, Berkeley.
Gerlsma, C., & Luteijn, F. (2000). Attachment style in the context of clinical and health
psychology: A proposal for the assessment of valence, incongruence, and accessibility
of attachment representations in various working models. British Journal of Medical
Psychology, 73, 1092–1106.
Griffin, D., & Bartholomew, K. (1994). Models of the self and other: Fundamental di-
mensions underlying measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 67, 430–445.
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010

Page 13

534
The Journal of Psychology
Guidano, V. F. (1987). Complexity of the self. New York: Guilford.
Harkness, K. L., & Wildes, J. E. (2002). Childhood adversity and anxiety versus dysthymia
co-morbidity in major depression. Psychological Medicine, 32, 1–11.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524.
Ingram, R. E., Kendall, P. C., Smith, T. W., Donnell, C., & Ronan, K. (1987). Cognitive
specificity in emotional distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53,
734–742.
Marazziti, D., Dell’Osso, B., Catena Dell’Osso, M., Consoli, G., Del Debbio, A., Mungai,
F., et al. (2007). Romantic attachment in patients with mood and anxiety disorders. CNS
Spectrum, 12, 751–756.
McCarthy,G.(1999).Attachmentstyleandadultloverelationshipsandfriendships:Astudy
of a group of women at risk of experiencing relationship difficulties. British Journal of
Medical Psychology, 72, 305–321.
Mickelson, K. D., Kessler, R. C., & Shaver, P. R. (1997). Adult attachment in a nationally
representative sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1092–1106.
Murphy, B., & Bates, G. W. (1997). Adult attachment style and vulnerability to depression.
Personality and Individual Differences, 22, 835–844.
Myhr, G., Sookman, D., & Pinard, G. (2004). Attachment security and parental bonding
in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder: A comparison with depressed out-patients
and healthy controls. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 109, 447–456.
Reis, S., & Grenyer, B. (2004). Fear of intimacy in women: Relationship between attach-
ment styles and depressive symptoms. Psychopathology, 37, 299–303.
Shaver, P. R., & Brennan, K. A. (1992). Attachment style and the “Big Five” personal-
ity traits: Their connections with each other and with romantic relationship outcomes.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 536–545.
Shaver, P. R., & Hazan, C. (1993). Adult romantic attachment: Theory and evidence. In D.
Perlman & W. Jones (Eds.), Advances in personal relationships (pp. 29–70). London:
Kingsley.
Spielberger,C.D.(1983).Manualforthestate-traitanxietyinventory.PaloAlto:Consultant
Psychologist Press.
West, M., Rose, M. S., Verhoef, M. J., Spreng, S., & Bobey, M. (1998). Anxious at-
tachment and self-reported depressive symptomatology in women. Canadian Journal of
Psychiatry, 43, 294–297.
Original manuscript received March 2, 2010
Final version accepted July 7, 2010
Downloaded By: [University Di Bologna] At: 08:46 6 October 2010