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Attachment Style Convergence and Divergence Across College Students’ Friendships and Romantic Relationships
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by Victoria J. VanUitert - University of Virginia and Renee V. Galliher - Utah State University
Attachment representations in friendship and romantic
relationship contexts were examined in a sample of 398 college students.
Analyses examined patterns of attachment style in both relationship
contexts, divergence and convergence in attachment style, and links
between attachment representations and negative peer and romantic
relationship experiences (i.e., relational and physical victimization and
betrayal). The majority of participants reported more secure attachment
representations, relative to preoccupied or dismissing attachment. However,
analysis of biological sex indicated that men reported more dismissing
attachment styles with both friends and romantic partners, relative to
women. Additionally, significant links were observed between negative peer
and romantic relationship experiences and attachment representations,
in theoretically consistent directions.
Spring 2012 | Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research (Vol. 14, No. 1, p. 35), published by Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (Chattanooga, TN). Copyright, 2012, Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. All rights reserved.