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URI [dataset] UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF MEDICINE, HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES School of Psychology Young Adults' Attachment and Caregiving Working Models: Features and Functions By Fay Julal Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2005 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF MEDICINE, HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY Doctor of Philosophy YOUNG ADULTS' ATTACHMENT AND CAREGIVING WORKING MODELS: FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS By Fay Julal Using attachment theory as the theoretical framework and social-cognitive, observational and self-report methods of data collection, this thesis addressed important questions peliaining to attachment and care giving in young adulthood. This research is part of the growing field of adult attachment research from a social and personality psychology perspective. It has addressed a relatively new theme in adult attachment research: individual differences in caregiving toward romantic partners and peers. This thesis addressed three main research questions. The first addressed the affect of romantic care giving on emotional well-being and evaluations of the self and romantic relationship. Romantic caregiving lead to temporary changes in the self­ esteem and relationship dissatisfaction of young adult support-seekers. These changes were moderated by support-seekers' attachment orientation and perceived distress. The second focus addressed the way in which experiences of receiving care from attachment figures in childhood (i.e., mother and father) and young adulthood (romantic partner and peer) shaped young adults' caregiving ability. Results revealed that the way in which care is received from attachment figures shapes the way in which care is provided. Specific patterns of influence were found: same-sex parent and identification, opposite-sex parent and matching of features between the attachments (e.g., nature of dyad). The third focus addressed Collins and Read's (1994) propositions regarding the structural features of working models of attachment and caregiving. Model strength and model elaboration as an indicator of model strength were operationalised and hierarchical regressions were used to examine the way in which structural features moderate relationship-specific influences on adult caregiving. Findings are discussed in terms of their support for social-cognitive perspectives on attachment theory, their relevance for informing clinical and therapeutic interventions, the intergenerational continuity of care giving patterns and the importance of romantic care giving from an evolutionary perspective. Correction Sheet List of Contents Page Number Declaration of Authorship ................................................................. VI Acknowledgements ........................................................................ vii Chapter 1 General Introduction 1.0 Introduction .......................................................................... 1 1.1 Attachment in Infancy and Childhood .. , ............................. , ......... .. 3 1.2 Attachment in Adulthood ......................................................... .. 12 1.3 Caregiving................................................ .......................... 22 1.4 The Caregiving Behavioural System ... '" ................... , . .. ... ..... .. ... 26 1.5 Caregiving from Childhood to Adulthood..... .. .. .... .. .. .... ... ... ... .. 28 1.6 Internal Working Models........................................................... 37 1.7 Aims of Thesis. ....................................................................... 47 Chapter 2 Romantic Caregiving: Its Effects on Emotional Well-being, Self-esteem and Relationship Satisfaction 2.0 Chapter Overview. .. 48 2.1 Attachment Differences in Support-seeking...................................... 49 2.2 Attachment Differences in Response to Caregiving and Other Partner Behaviours............................................................................ 53 2.3 Overview of Study. .. 60 2.4 Behavioural Coding of Couple Interaction ...... " . .. ... .. ... .. ... ..... 65 2.5 Preliminary Analyses................................................................ 67 2.6 Moderating Effect of Attachment Orientation (Excluding Perceived Distress) .............................................................................. 71 2.7 Moderating Effect of Attachment Orientation and Perceived Distress ...... 75 2.8 Emotional Well-being ............................................................. .. 88 2.9 Self-esteem .................................. , ............................. , ......... 90 2.10 Relationship Dissatisfaction .............. , . ... .. ... .... ... ... .. ... .. ... 93 2.11 Strengths and Limitations.............................. .......................... 96 2.12 Conclusions. ... 97 Chapter 3 Features and Functions I: Model Strength and The Influence of Received Care from Parents and Peers on Romantic Caregiving 3.0 Chapter Overview .................................................................. 99 3.1 Attachment and Caregiving Models ............................................. 100 3.2 How Might Models of Received Care Shape Romantic Caregiving? ....... 102 3.3 How Might Parents and Peers Influence Romantic Caregiving? ........... .. 103 3.4 Overview of Study .................................................................. 107 3.5 Preliminary Analyses .............................................................. .. 112 3.6 Relationship-specific Influences on Relationship-specific Romantic Caregiving............................................................................ 114 3.7 Strength of Model Analyses........................................................ 118 3.8 Overview of Results.. ............................................................... 122 3.9 Strength of Model and Matching of Features. ................................... 126 3.10 Strengths and Limitations........................................................... 127 3.11 Conclusions........................................................................... 128 Continued overleaf i List of Contents, cont'd Page Number Chapter 4 Features and Functions II: Model Strength and Priming a Relationship-specific Model of Received Care 4.0 Chapter Overview ................................................................... 129 4.1 Priming a Relationship-specific Model of Received Care .................... 130 4.2 The Processing of Care giving-Relevant Information .......................... 132 4.3 Preliminary Analyses ............................................................... 139 4.4 Post-prime (T2) General Caregiving ............................................ .. 139 4.5 Word Recall .......................................................................... 142 4.6 Post-prime General Peer Caregiving ................... , ......................... 145 4.7 Memory for Caregiving-Relevant Information ................................. 146 4.8 Model Strength and Model Specificity ............................................ 147 4.9 Clinical and Theoretical Implications ............................................. 148 4.10 Strengths and Limitations .......................................................... 150 4.11 Conclusions .......................................................................... 151 Chapter 5 Features and Functions III: Model Elaboration and Priming a General Model of Caregiving 5.0 Chapter Overview .................................................................. 152 5.1 The Elaboration of Parental and Peer Attachment Models .................... 153 5.2 Assessing Model Elaboration: Pilot Study ...................................... 157 5.3 Elaboration of Content as an Indicator of Model Strength .................... 162 5.4 Priming a General Model of Parental or Peer Caregiving ..................... 163 5.5 Preliminary Analyses ............................................................... 172 5.6 Model Elaboration Analyses ...................................................... 177 5.7 Attention to Schema-Consistent Stimuli ......................................... 182 5.8 Post-prime (T2) General Romantic Responsiveness ........................... 184 5.9 Model Elaboration .................................................................. 187 5.10 Model Priming and Spreading Activation ............................ , .......... 191 5.11 Strengths and Limitations .......................................................... 192 5.12 Conclusions .........................................................................