Adults' attachment patterns: Coping with separations

The present study was designed to examine the correlation between attachment patterns of adults and reactions to separations from their significant others on both a phenomenological and a representational level. Cluster analysis technique was used to classify 137 college students into four attachment pattern categories: secure, avoidant, ambivalent, and controlling (compulsive care giver). On the phenomenological level, the current relationships of the subjects with their parents and romantic partner were assessed, in order to explore how they manage the developmental task of separation from one's parents. On the representational level we assessed, using a projective test (the SAT) subjects' responses to mild and severe separations. As expected, subjects with different attachment patterns coped with separations according to their attachment style. For example, secure subjects coped well with this developmental task. They tended to live outside the parental home and to attribute the highest significance to their romantic partner while sustaining close communication with their mother. Ambivalent subjects also tended to live outside their parental home but were all single and reported less committed and close relationships with romantic partners. On a representational level they reacted with strong anxiety, rejection, and self-blame to separations and even mild separations elicited strong attachment reactions. Avoidant subjects tended to refrain from dealing with the developmental task of separation, while controlling subjects were characterized by their use of mechanisms of reaction formation. Overall the results underscore the importance of considering attachment patterns of adults in our attempts to understand coping with the developmental task of separation.Received Ph.D from Tel-Aviv University, Israel. Research interests include attachment and close relationships.Received M.A. degree from the University of Haifa. Research interests include transition to adulthood.Received Ph.D. from Cornell University. Research interests include intimacy, ecological influences on the development of close relationships, and children's friendships.