Changes in Attachment Orientation Over a 59-Year Period: Determinants of Change and Implications for Health
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CHANGES IN ATTACHMENT ORIENTATION OVER A 59-YEAR PERIOD: DETERMINANTS OF CHANGE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH by William J. Chopik A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology) in the University of Michigan 2015 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Robin S. Edelstein, Chair Professor Richard Gonzalez Assistant Professor Sara I. McClelland Professor Abigail J. Stewart “Romeo wants Juliet as the filings want the magnet; and if no obstacles intervene he moves towards her by as straight a line as they. But Romeo and Juliet, if a wall be built between them, do not remain idiotically pressing their faces against its opposite sides like the magnet and the filings with the card. Romeo soon finds a circuitous way, by scaling the wall or otherwise, of touching Juliet's lips directly. With the filings the path is fixed; whether it reaches the end depends on accidents. With the lover it is the end which is fixed, the path may be modified indefinitely.” -William James “Change is inevitable—except from a vending machine.” -Robert C. Gallagher © William J. Chopik 2015 DEDICATION To my parents, Stephen and Donna, who taught me the value of working hard and the prototypes on which all of my relationships are modeled. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At its heart, this dissertation is about how relationships and the people in them change over time. When I think back to how I have arrived at this point in my intellectual life, I realize that I have been the recipient of many great relationships, which have changed me. Before a project that attempts to take such a broad perspective on relationships across the lifespan, I thought it was appropriate to acknowledge my own life and relationship history. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Robin Edelstein, for her generosity, patience, wisdom, and encouragement during my time at Michigan. She taught me how to be a researcher, a good colleague, and a good friend. I owe many of my successes to her and will likely be indebted to her forever. I look forward to many more years of collaboration. I would also like to thank several other individuals who have served as advisors and mentors to me, both in the past and present. At Michigan, Chris Peterson, Sara Konrath, Jacqui Smith, Rich Gonzalez, David Winter, Abby Stewart, Phoebe Ellsworth, Sara McClelland, Fiona Lee, Colleen Seifert, and Dan Kruger were particularly encouraging, made my time at Michigan intellectually richer, and I’m happier for having them in my life. At Illinois, Chris Fraley, Claudia Brumbaugh, Grant Edmonds, Jennifer Fayard, Josh Jackson, Michael Marks, Brent Roberts, Glenn Roisman, and Mandy Vicary were the people who contributed to my earliest experiences in the field, and I’ve realized more and more that these experiences leave an iii indelible mark on individuals. Members of the Personality, Relationships, and Hormones Lab, the Interdisciplinary Program on Empathy and Altruism Research, the LIFE Program, the Psychosocial Aging Group, the SISPP alums, the EHAP interest group, Psychology SAA, and the ADVANCE Program should also be acknowledged for their welcoming atmospheres and intellectual contributions in my life. I would also like to thank my many collaborators for their input and strengthening each research project. My work was also done in collaboration with undergraduate research assistants. I’m always struck by the excitement that research sparks in people—research assistants sacrificed many hours, many times on projects that did not confirm our hypotheses, but the thrill of answering interesting questions kept them (and me) motivated. The greatest moments of my time at Michigan were shared with the friends I made during the process, and the interactions with these people defined my time here. My memories of grad school and the people I have met are too numerous to list here. However, I would like to briefly thank Ed O’Brien, Amy Moors, Eric Kim, Britney Wardecker, (Cool) Ali Zeigler, Rob Kononowech, Eric Smith, Linda Hagen, Ryan Bremner, Dan Gosnell, Jes Matsick, Rita Seabrook, Shawn Beard, Kate Kuhlman, Mike Erwin, Lanice Avery, Teresa Nguyen, Emily Shipman, Natalie Lin, Jennifer Sun, Michael Shain, and Nicky Newton. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION.................................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................iii LIST OF FIGURES.......................................................................................................................vii LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................................viii ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1 What is Attachment?............................................................................................................2 Attachment and Aging: Insights from Theory and Cross-Sectional Evidence....................3 Possible Moderators of Changes in Attachment Orientation across the Lifespan....................................................................................................................8 Social Relationships and Health........................................................................................10 Predicting Health from Changes in Attachment Orientation.................................11 The Current Study..............................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 2: MEASURING CHANGES IN ATTACHMENT USING THE CALIFORNIA Q-SORT.........................................................................................................................................15 Current Limitations in Measuring Changes in Attachment Orientation across the v Lifespan..............................................................................................................................15 The California Adult Q-Sort..............................................................................................16 Observer-Based Measures of Attachment Orientation......................................................17 Validating a Measure of Attachment Orientation from the California Q-Sort..................21 Method...............................................................................................................................22 Results................................................................................................................................28 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................32 CHAPTER 3: METHOD...............................................................................................................34 Participants.........................................................................................................................34 Measures............................................................................................................................35 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS...............................................................................................................38 How Do Attachment Orientations Change over Time?.....................................................38 Do Relationship Status and Relationship Satisfaction Moderate Changes in Attachment Orientation in Adulthood?.................................................................................................45 Are Changes in Attachment Orientation Associated with Health throughout Adulthood?.........................................................................................................................51 The Moderating Role of Sample Source............................................................................53 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION.........................................................................................................58 Future Directions in the Study of Attachment and Health across the Lifespan.................59 Considerations for Measuring Changes in Attachment Orientation Using the CAQ........62 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................65 REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................66 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figures 1a-c. Longitudinal changes for anxiety (a), avoidance (b), and avoidance for men v. women (c)......................................................................................................................................44 Figures 2a-b. Longitudinal changes in anxiety (a) and avoidance (b) among single v. partnered individuals......................................................................................................................................48 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Expert Ratings of top CAQ-Anxiety and CAQ-Avoidance items...................................26 Table 2. Associations between Observer-Reports of Attachment Orientation..............................29 Table 3. Correlations between Observer-Reported Attachment and Self-Reports of Attachment and