Abstract
Over the past decade, psychobiological research on adult attachment has increased dramatically. We review recent findings regarding associations between attachment style and patterns of reactivity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and the autonomic nervous system. The overall pattern of results suggests that both anxiety and avoidance are associated with heightened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical and autonomic nervous system reactivity to stress, consistent with the notion that attachment insecurity is associated with deficits in emotion regulation. The finding of heightened physiological reactivity among avoidant individuals is particularly notable, given that avoidant individuals typically report dampened levels of subjective distress. Key directions for future study include greater investigation into profiles of physiological functioning across multiple systems and contexts and greater consideration of the relative importance of childhood versus adult patterns of attachment insecurity for adult physiological functioning.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 218-225 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Social and Personal Relationships |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2010 |
Keywords
- Attachment style
- Autonomic nervous system
- Emotion regulation
- HPA axis
- Psychophysiology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Communication
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science