Young Adult Attachment Styles' Association with Mental Health and Relationship Problems: Gender Comparisons

Introduction: Bowlby’s (1973) attachment theory explains the emotional bond that forms between parents and children; his theory has been refined and extended to address adult romantic relationships. For example, attachment models based on work by Bartholomew (1990) and Fraley & Shaver (2000) have been developed and tested. These models articulate 4 types of attachment styles: secure, dismissive/avoidant, preoccupied/anxious, and fearful/avoidant. This typology is defined by combinations of levels of anxiety and avoidance. Studies have found that both mental health and relationship problems are related to these attachment styles. For example, Davila & colleagues (2001, 2004) found that the preoccupied/anxious and fearful/avoidant styles were associated with higher levels of depression. Both anxiety and avoidance have been found to be detrimental to the cognitive, emotional, and behavior aspects of relationship quality (Li & Chan, 2012); however, few studies have evaluated gender differences in these associations.

Methods: Participants were from a subsample of cohabitating or married young adults (age 25, N=648) in a longitudinal preventive intervention study. Measures included an adaptation of Bartholomew & Horowitz’s (1991) Relationship Questionnaire, with attachment style questions continuously scored from 1, “Very much like me” to 4, “Not at all like me.” Mental Health Problems was measured as a latent variable with 3 indicators (overall mental health, depression, use of services); Relationship Problems also was measured as a latent variable with 4 indicators (partner’s happiness, partner’s relationship satisfaction, separation/divorce thoughts, willingness to work hard on the relationship). The SEM analysis included baseline control variables; gender-related moderation was examined.

Results: Dismissive/avoidant attachment was not associated with either mental health or relationship problems, consistent with some earlier research. Also consistent with earlier research, both preoccupied/anxious and fearful/avoidant attachment styles were associated strongly with mental health and relationship problems. Secure attachment was associated with lower levels of relationship problems; however, gender moderated that relationship. Secure attachment was strongly negatively associated with relationship problems for males only. Significant R² values for both outcomes (R²=.23) and a significant correlation between the outcomes were found.

Conclusions: Preventive interventions targeting mental health and relationship problems could benefit by addressing attachment behaviors and the anxiety and avoidant tendencies that underlay them, as these factors are clearly related to these two problems. Secure attachment is particularly protective for young adult men.