title: Changes in adult attachment styles in American college students over time: a meta-analysis.
abstract: The current article examines changes over time in a commonly used measure of adult attachment style. A cross-temporal meta-analysis was conducted on 94 samples of American college students (total N = 25,243, between 1988 and 2011) who chose the most representative description of four possible attachment styles (Secure, Dismissing, Preoccupied, and Fearful) on the Relationship Questionnaire. The percentage of students with Secure attachment styles has decreased in recent years (1988: 48.98%; 2011: 41.62%), whereas the percentage of students with Insecure attachment styles (sum of Dismissing, Preoccupied, Fearful) has increased in recent years (1988: 51.02%; 2011: 58.38%). The percentage of students with Dismissing attachment styles has increased over time (1988: 11.93%; 2011: 18.62%), even after controlling for age, gender, race, and publication status. Positive views of others have declined across the same time period. We discuss possible implications and explanations for these changes.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA University of Rochester Medical Center, NY, USA skonrath@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Sara H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Konrath
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Chopik
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Courtney K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Hsing
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009769:Object Attachment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: attachment style; insecure attachment temporal change; meta-analysis; secular trends; secure attachment