Attachment Styles

New research provides evidence that insecure attachment is associated with cognitive functioning in older couples. The findings have been published in the Journal of Research in Personality.

People high in anxious or avoidant attachment tend to be less concerned about causing harm in moral dilemmas regardless of the outcomes, according to new research published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

It is common knowledge that parents’ relationships can have a huge effect on the romantic development of their children. A study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships suggests that interparental conflict can be linked to insecure attachment...

Religion can be a significant, comforting part of many peoples’ lives and has been linked to positive mental health outcomes. A study published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion suggests a more complicated relationship between religion and...

Does pornography usage make women more self-conscious about their bodies? A study published in the Computers in Human Behavior journal suggests that this relationship may be related to attachment style to romantic partners.

New research provides evidence that destructive communication patterns mediate the relationship between attachment insecurities and sexually coercive behavior. The findings, published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, suggest that dysfunctional communication plays a key role in sexual coercion...

A study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior revealed that women with insecure attachment and women with higher pornography use are more likely to experience body image self-consciousness during sex. The findings also suggest that women who are anxiously attached...

People who fear abandonment and have an excessive need for approval become more likely over time to use manipulative tactics to keep their romantic partner in a relationship. But men and women who engage in such tactics end up becoming...

Scientists have begun to examine whether the psychedelic drug psilocybin, the active component of "magic" mushrooms, can help people who feel insecure in their attachments to others. Their preliminary research, published in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, suggests that psilocybin-assisted...

Individuals high in anxious attachment are more likely to engage in emotional manipulation and other harmful behaviors intended to prevent a partner from leaving the relationship, which in turn is linked to reduced relationship satisfaction, according to new research published...

A prospective study published in the journal Child Development found that adolescents’ attachment security at age 12 predicted their engagement in prosocial and health protective behaviors three years later, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study further found that this relationship...

Results from an ongoing longitudinal study provide strong evidence that childhood maltreatment predisposes victims to relationship difficulties in adulthood. The findings, published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect, further suggest that this link between maltreatment and poor quality relationships...

According to findings from the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, the way we engage with fictional characters is in part a reflection of our attachment styles. The study revealed that people who are high in anxious or avoidant attachment...

A new study published in BMC Psychiatry pinpoints the role of shame in contributing to the negative outcomes associated with narcissism in young adults. The researchers found that youth who were higher in vulnerable narcissism demonstrated greater shame, and in...

A new study provides evidence that relationship attachment styles and destiny beliefs both play a role in the dating phenomenon known as "ghosting" — or ending a romantic relationship by unexpectedly cutting off all contact. The findings appear in the...