title: The relationship of attachment insecurity to subjective stress and autonomic function during standardized acute stress in healthy adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to test predicted relationships between adult attachment and stress using subjective and physiological measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-seven healthy adults completed measures of adult attachment and perceived chronic stress. Subjective stress and the high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) spectral bandwidths of heart rate variability (HRV) were measured during a standardized stress protocol.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Attachment anxiety is associated with between-subject differences in chronic perceived stress (P=.001) and subjective acute stress (P=.01). There is a main effect of attachment avoidance on between-subject differences in HF HRV (P=.004). Attachment avoidance is inversely associated with HF HRV, independent of age and variability in respiration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Attachment anxiety is associated with self-reported distress. Attachment avoidance is inversely associated with HF HRV, a marker of vagal influence on cardiac activity, but is not associated with subjective stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. rmaunder@mtsinai.on.ca
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Maunder
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Lancee
authors.forename: Robert P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.forename: Jonathan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Tannenbaum
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires