Behavioral and Experiential Patterns of Avoidantly and Securely Attached Women Across Adulthood: A 31-Year Longitudinal Perspective

Attachment patterns of women avoidantly or securely attached at age 52 were studied using a 31-year longitudinal design and multiple perspectives, including life outcomes, observer descriptions of behavioral and personality characteristics, and self-reports of working models collected at ages 21, 27, 43, and 52. Findings from these diverse data sources provide evidence for the continuity of the behavioral and experiential patterns associated with attachment styles across adulthood. Avoidant compared with secure participants (a) experienced diverging relationship trajectories that were less happy and less steady, (b) showed a consistent pattern of behavioral and personality characteristics, including interpersonal distance, defensiveness, and vulnerability, as assessed by observers, (c) reported distinct and longitudinal consistent internal working models characterized by distrustful self-reliance and interpersonal and emotional distance, and (d) had childhood environments that afforded fewer opportunities for developing close interpersonal ties.