JYVÄSKYLÄ STUDIES IN EDUCATION, PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL RESEARCH 185 Kaisa Männikkö Adult Attachment Styles A Person-Oriented Approach Esitetään Jyväskylän yliopiston yhteiskuntatieteellisen tiedekunnan suostumuksella julkisesti tarkastettavaksi yliopiston Agora rakennuksessa (Ag Aud. 1) lokakuun 13. päivänä 2001 kello 12. Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by permission of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Jyväskylä, in Agora (Ag Aud. 1), on October 13, 2001 at 12 o'clock noon. UNIVERSITY OF � JYVÄSKYLÄ JYVÄSKYLÄ 2001 Adult Attachment Styles A Person-Oriented Approach JYV .ASKYL.A STUDIES IN EDUCATION, PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL RESEARCH 185 Kaisa Mannikk6 Adult Attachment Styles A Person-Oriented Approach '=7~ UNIVERSITY OF ~ JYV.ASKYL.A JYV.ASKYL.A 2001 Editors Tapani Korhonen Department of Psychology, University of Jyviiskylii Pekka Olsbo and Marja-Leena Tynkkynen Publishing Unit, University Library of Jyviiskylii Cover design: Minna Laukkanen Cover picture: Kaisa Miinnikk6 ISBN 951-39-1999-9 (nid.), 978-951-39-5201-3 (PDF) ISSN 0075-4625 Copyright © 2001, by University of Jyviiskylii Jyviiskylii University Printing House, Jyviiskylii and ER-Paino Ky, Lievestuore 2001 ABSTRACT Mannikk6, Kaisa Adult attachment styles: A person-oriented approach. Jyvaskyla: University of Jyvaskyla, 2001, 142 p. Gyvaskyla Studies in Education, Psychology and Social Research, ISS~:0075-4625;185) ISB~: 951-39-0999-9 ((nid.), 978-951-39-5201-3 (PDF) Yhteenveto: Aikuisten kiintymystyylit Diss. The methods for defining adult attachment styles, gender differences in attachment styles and the relation of attachment styles to personality characteristics and psychosocial functioning were examined. The study was based on data gathered by means of personality inventories and self-report questionnaires at ages 27, 33, and 36 in the ongoing Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development. At age 36, attachment styles of 130 women and 141 men were measured with descriptions of the secure, dismissing, fearful, and preoccupied attachment styles in relation to the same and the opposite sex, using a 4-point scale. Attachment styles were defined by using both a classification method and a cluster analysis method. First, the participants were classified according to the single highest or tied-high (about 30%) attachment ratings. Second, the participants were assigned into clusters using a two-stage cluster analysis (hierarchical + K-means) for double-standardized (within participants and variables) clustering variables. By this procedure, an identical four- cluster solution was achieved for all participants and also for four subsamples consisting of women or men who assessed attachment in relation to female or male attachment figures. Furthermore, the tied-high classification and the four-cluster solution were associated through explicit rules. The analysis of gender differences showed that women were more preoccupied and men were more dismissing but only in relation to male attachment figures. In contrast, the secure attachment style was typical of both women and men in relation to female attachment figures. A tendency to describe attachment in more negative terms in relation to one's opposite sex than in relation to one's same sex was also discovered. The results also showed that a tendency to describe one's attachment style by using tied-high scores was related to problems in psychosocial functioning (e.g.,low self-esteem, depression, health and alcohol problems), and to a more vulnerable and less adaptive personality, characterized with neurotic and psychotic features, anxiety, and feelings of detachment. In the attachment style clusters, these features characterized the Fearful, whereas the Secure had good psychosocial functioning, an extraverted and sociable personality, and low vulnerability. The attachment dimensions were related to some aspects of neuroticism and extraversion. Self-consciousness was related to the self-dimension, whereas either warmth or positive emotions were related to the other-dimension, depending on the level of self-consciousness. The relation between attachment and personality manifested considerable stability from age 27 to age 36. The results of this study suggest that measurement issues and gender differences should be paid more attention when measuring and defining attachment styles. Keywords: adult attachment, tied-high classification, cluster analysis, gender differences, attachment target, personality characteristics, psychosocial functioning Author's address Kaisa Mannikkb Department of Psychology University of Jyvaskyla P.O.BOX35 FIN-40351 Jyvaskyla Finland e-mail: [email protected] Supervisor group Professor Lea Pulkkinen Department of Psychology University of Jyvaskyla Finland Professor Paula Lyytinen Department of Psychology University of Jyvaskyla Finland Professor Jari-Erik Nurmi Department of Psychology University of Jyvaskyla Finland Reviewers Dr. Karin Grossmann Institute of Psychology University of Regensburg Germany Professor Airi Hautamaki Department of Psychology University of Joensuu Finland Opponent Dr. Karin Grossmann Institute of Psychology University of Regensburg Germany ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my deepest appreciation for my supervisor, Academy Professor Lea Pulkkinen. I am extremely grateful to her for the opportunity to develop my research ideas and test them with the remarkable data gathered during the ongoing Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development. More often than not, I have felt like the little tramp in Modern TImes during this dissertation process. In any event, I am relieved to finish this study and concentrate on future challenges. I address my most sincere gratitude to Professor Paula Lyytinen who gave me sage advice and understanding support in times when I needed it most. I also want to thank Professor Jari-Erik Nurmi who has considerably improved my scientific thinking and given, in particular, methodological advice during various phases of the research process. I am also indebted to Professor, Dr. Karin Grossmann (University of Regensburg, Germany) and Professor, Dr. Airi Hautamaki (University of Joensuu, Finland) for their valuable comments on my thesis. I wish to offer my warmest thanks to my friends and colleagues in the Department of Psychology and Psykocenter and in other departments of the University of Jyvaskyla for day-to-day support and companionship. I also want to thank my fellow post-graduate students and also other personnel in the LAKU, EMO and TWIN projects, particularly my roommate Riitta-Leena Metsapelto who has shared the ups and downs of my dissertation with great empathy and understanding. I am also most thankful to Risto Hietala for intense discussions, daily jokes, and other encouraging and refreshing moments during numerous lunch hours and tea breaks. I am also very happy for the support of my colleagues and friends in the Finnish Graduate School of Psychology. I am very grateful to Asko Tolvanen for statistical advice and to Markku Tuomi for proofreading my English text, as well as to Satu Barman for patiently making up this dissertation. All my other friends in the fields of hard rock geology, automatic data processing (particularly Harja-Kaisa), and Mensa Finland (most of all, Pirkko) deserve thanks for their support and help. Many thanks also for Marja for improving my physical health, and for Olli for being a secure base and a safe haven for me during this dissertation process. My warmest thanks also to Jorma. I am also grateful to my parents for their support and encouragement. Last but not least, I address my most affectionate thanks and deepest gratitude to my securely attached cat Hossantassun Eveliina (Honey) for giving me all the love and affection that a cat can give to her primary caregiver. This study was supported financially by the Academy of Finland and by the Ministry of Education through its support of the Finnish Graduate School of Psychology. Jyvaskyla, July 2001 Kaisa Mannikk6 CONTENTS 1 ATTACHMENT AND ITS ASSESSMENT IN ADULTHOOD ..................... 9 1.1 Attachment theory and the person-oriented approach ................... 9 1.2 Attachment as a theoretical construct .............................................. 10 1.3 Attachment behavior in attachment relationships ......................... 11 1.4 Primary, secondary and substitute attachment figures ................. 12 1.5 Internal working models of attachment .......................................... 13 1.6 Development and stability of the attachment patterns ................. 15 1.7 Models and classifications of attachment ........................................ 17 1.8 Principal approaches in measuring adult's attachment ................ 18 2 A FOUR-CATEGORY MODEL OF ADULT ATTACHMENT .................... 20 2.1 Properties of the four-category model ............................................. 20 2.2 Measuring attachment and defining attachment styles and dimensions ........................................................................................... 22 2.3 Validity of the four-category model ................................................. 24 3 SELF-REPORTS IN THE ASSESSMENT OF ADULT ATTACHMENT .... 27 3.1 Development of attachment self-reports ......................................... 27 3.2 Prototypic attachment self-reports ................................................... 28 3.3 Multi-item attachment self-reports ................................................... 30 3.4 Attachment