title: Patterns of stability in adult attachment: an empirical test of two models of continuity and change.
abstract: One of the core assumptions of attachment theory is that attachment representations are stable over time. Unfortunately, the data on attachment stability have been ambiguous, and as a result, alternative theoretical perspectives have evolved to explain them. The objective of the present research was to evaluate alternative models of stability by studying adults in 2 intensive longitudinal investigations. Specifically, we assessed attachment representations in 1 sample (N = 203) daily over a 30-day period and in the other sample (N = 388) weekly over a year. Analyses show that the patterns of stability that exist in adult attachment are most consistent with a prototype model--a model assuming that there is a stable factor underlying temporary variations in attachment. Moreover, although the Big Five personality traits exhibited a pattern of stability that was similar to that of attachment, they did not account for the stability observed in attachment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL 61820, USA. rcfraley@illinois.edu
authors.forename: R Chris
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Fraley
authors.forename: Amanda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Vicary
authors.forename: Claudia Chloe
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Brumbaugh
authors.forename: Glenn I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Roisman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult