Adult attachment and social support interact to reduce psychological but not cortisol responses to stress.
OBJECTIVE
Adult attachment has been suggested to mediate the effect of social support on stress protection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of adult attachment and social support on psychological and endocrine responses to psychosocial stress.


METHODS
Sixty-three healthy men who were married or cohabiting were randomly assigned to receive either instructed social support from their partner or no social support before being exposed to a standardized psychosocial stressor (Trier Social Stress Test). Attachment was determined using the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire. State anxiety, mood, and salivary cortisol levels were repeatedly assessed before and after stress.


RESULTS
Secure attachment was associated with stronger decreases in state anxiety levels following stress exposure. More importantly, the combination of social support and secure attachment exhibited the lowest anxiety levels after stress (interaction effect). Social support alone reduced cortisol responses to stress, whereas secure attachment did not influence cortisol concentrations.


CONCLUSIONS
This first study on the interaction of adult attachment and social support in terms of psychological and endocrine stress responses concurs with previous studies suggesting an important protective role of attachment for psychological stress responsiveness. However, attachment did not directly moderate cortisol responses to acute stress.
Ditzen
Beate
B
Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Schmidt
Silke
S
Strauss
Bernhard
B
Nater
Urs Markus
UM
Ehlert
Ulrike
U
Heinrichs
Markus
M
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D011584:Psychology; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D006854:Hydrocortisone