Kehn,
Michelle Marie (9/09)
The discontinuity of attachment over a
10-year period in an older adult sample: Functional ability as a moderator of
change in attachment style Carol Magai, Ph.D.; Nicholas Papouchis, Ph.D.; Paul
Ramirez, Ph.D.)
According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
adults over the age of 65 are considered a part of the "older
population" or elderly. In the U.S. the number of individuals in the older
population is growing. In 2003 35.9 million Americans (12% of the total
population) were 65 years of age or older, and this number is expected to grow
to about 18.5% of the total population by 2025. As the number of adults
developing into late adulthood increases, the need to understand this stage of
adulthood also increases. Given the number of losses experienced by older
adults, understanding the impact of attachment during this stage of development
could provide valuable information on coping, resilience, and treatment.
Bowlby's theory of attachment suggested
that through the formation of internal working models attachment style would
remain relatively stable over time. However, Bowlby believed that there was the
possibility that attachment styles could be altered if there were changes in
environmental conditions. For many older adults not only are environmental
conditions likely to change, but so are their bodies, minds, and relationships
with others. The aim of the present study was to determine whether attachment
style remained stable over a period of 10 years in older adults. Further, this
study attempted to determine if functional ability predicted changes in
dismissing ratings over time. Lastly, this study explored the relationship
between self-reported attachment style, measured by the Relationship Scales
Questionnaire (RSQ) and attachment style based on a coded narrative of early
experiences, measured by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI).
The findings of the current study provide
support for the first hypothesis, which predicted that both fearful avoidant
and secure attachment would increase over time. However, while both fearful
avoidant and secure attachment both increased from Time 1 to Time 4, neither
attachment dimension exhibited a linear increase across the four waves of data
collection. The second hypothesis of the study, which predicted that change in
dependence would moderate change in attachment, was not supported. Lastly,
while there were some significant correlations between the attachment
dimensions of the RSQ and the states of mind scales of the AAI, they were not
the correlations predicted by the exploratory hypotheses.
