Attachment orientations and emotion regulation
Section snippets
Attachment insecurities and emotion regulation: theoretical background
According to Bowlby [1, 4], the sense of attachment security (confidence that one is competent and lovable and that others will be responsive and supportive when needed) is a resilience resource in times of need and a building block of mental health and social adjustment. Mikulincer and Shaver [6••] reviewed extensive evidence showing that people who are more secure with respect to attachment are more optimistic about life and make less catastrophic appraisals of threats and dangers. They are
Empirical evidence linking attachment insecurities to emotion regulation
Attachment-related differences in emotion regulation have been extensively documented in studies of reactions to stressful events. In these studies, avoidant people are more likely to cope with threatening events by relying on cognitive distancing and emotional disengagement (e.g. [15, 16, 17, 18]). In contrast, attachment anxiety has been associated with heightened engagement in distress-exacerbating mental rumination — moody pondering, or thinking anxiously or gloomily about threatening events
Conclusions
Attachment-related individual differences in emotion regulation have been documented in a remarkable variety of behavioral and neuroscientific studies. These studies provide strong empirical support for Bowlby's [3] attachment theory and its extension into the realm of adult dispositions and relationships [6••]. However, more research is needed if we are to better understand the specific strategies and defenses anxious and avoidant people use in particular situations and the ways in which
Conflict of interest statement
Nothing declared.
References and recommended reading
Papers of particular interest, published within the period of review, have been highlighted as:
• of special interest
•• of outstanding interest
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