Sixty white middle-class infants were seen in the Ainsworth Strange Situation at 12 months of age; 50 of these participants (21 males, 29 females) were recontacted 20 years later and interviewed using the Berkeley Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). The interviewers were blind to the participants' Strange Situation classifications. Overall, 72% (36/50) of the infants received the same secure versus insecure attachment classification in early adulthood (kappa = .44, p < .001). As predicted by attachment theory, negative life events, defined as (1) loss of a parent, (2) parental divorce, (3) life threatening illness of parent or child (e.g. diabetes, cancer, heart attack), (4) parental psychiatric disorder, and (5) physical or sexual abuse by a family member were an important factor in change. Fifty-six percent (10/18) of the infants whose mothers reported negative life events changed attachment classifications from infancy to early adulthood. Only 28% (9/32) participants who reported no such events changed classification (p < .05). These results support Bowlby's hypothesis that individual differences in attachment security can be stable across significant portions of the lifespan and yet remain open to revision in light of experience. The task now is to use a variety of research designs, measurement strategies, and study intervals to clarify the mechanisms underlying stability and change.One of Bowlby's primary goals in developing modern attachment theory was to preserve what he considered Freud's genuine insights about close relationships and development. These included insights about (1) the complexity of social, cognitive, and emotional life in infancy, (2) underlying similarities in the nature of close relationships in infancy and adulthood, and (3) the importance of early experience.In order to preserve these insights, Bowlby recast Freud's insights in terms of control systems and ethological theories. He also placed his own imprint on them, replacing cathectic bonding with evolved secure base patterns as the common thread in infant and adult relationships. He also placed greater emphasis on the openness of early relationships to change, especially in light of real-life experiences.

A focus on the secure base phenomenon creates a framework for exploring the function of the attachment system in adulthood. Engaged couples (N = 157) were videotaped in a problem-solving interaction and assessed using the Secure Base Scoring System (SBSS), a system based on Ainsworth's analyses of infant-parent secure base use and support. Study 1 showed behavior was significantly related to representations assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview (M. Main & R. Goldwyn, 1994). In Study 2, the interactions were independently scored with the Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System (RMICS; R. E. Heyman & D. Vivian, 1993), a communication-based system. The SBSS predicted relationship variables beyond the RMICS, especially for women. Results indicate that the secure base phenomenon provides a cogent perspective on adult attachment behavior.

Two studies addressed the implications of concordance versus discrepancy of attachment representations in individuals at 2 stages in their marital relationships. Engaged (n ϭ 157) and dating (n ϭ 101) couples participated in a multimethod 6-year longitudinal study of adult attachment. Individuals completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), the Current Relationship Interview (CRI), and various questionnaires and were observed in interactions with partners. On the basis of AAI and CRI classifications, participants were placed in one of four groups: Secure AAI /Secure CRI , Secure AAI /Insecure CRI , Insecure AAI /Secure CRI , or Insecure AAI /Insecure CRI . Each of the configurations showed a particular pattern of behavior, feelings about relationships and the self, and likelihood of relationship breakup. The findings of the studies address important points about the protective effects of attachment security and have interesting implications for the extension of attachment theory into adulthood.The value of attachment theory in understanding marriage rests in large part on the theory's emphasis on links between childhood relationships and later marital success, "links . . . that are underemphasized in or absent from exchange or behavioral theories" (Karney & Bradbury, 1995, p. 6). However, attachment theory has been criticized for its failure to describe how personal history and individual differences "affect the development of a marriage once two people with different relationship needs come together" (Karney & Bradbury, 1995, p. 6).The goal of the attachment behavioral system is to promote safety (and felt security) through a secure base relationship with an attachment figure. The theory focuses on how relationships with attachment figures have an impact on development, adaptive functioning, stress management, safety, and well-being. The attachment system provides an organizational framework for requesting help when needed and for recognizing requests for help and providing support (Crowell, Treboux, Gao, et al., 2002). Given this function, individual differences in attachment organization can be expected to play a role in the development of marriage and the challenges faced by couples (Paley, Cox, Harter, & Margand, 2002).In adult relationships, individual differences in the cognitive organization of the attachment system have at least two components. The first organizing element is the generalized representation of attachment that has its origins or foundation in childhood attachment experiences with caregivers and that generalizes to other attachment experiences and relationships (Bowlby, 1969(Bowlby, / 1982. The second is the specific representation of attachment that emerges out of attachment experiences within the adult partnership. In the two studies presented here, we investigated the implications of individual differences in configurations (consistency vs. discrepancy) of adults' generalized and specific attachment representations for their relationships with partners and experiences of stressful li...

This study examined the stability of adult attachment representations across the transition to marriage. One hundred fifty-seven couples were assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1985), the Current Relationship Interview (J. A. Crowell & G. Owens, 1996), and measures describing relationship functioning and life events 3 months prior to their weddings and 18 months into their marriages. The authors tested the hypotheses that attachment classifications are stable and that change is related to experiences in the relationship and/or life events; 78% of the sample received the same primary AAI classification (secure, preoccupied, and dismissing) at both times. Change was toward increased security and was associated with feelings and cognitions about the relationship. Only 46% of participants initially classified as unresolved retained the classification. Stability of the unresolved classification was associated with stressful life events and relationship aggression.