Research Article
Open access
Published on 7 January 2025
Download pdf
Ouyang,X. (2025). Research on the Role of Attachment Style on the Dynamics of Romantic Relationship. Communications in Humanities Research,65,6-9.
Export citation

Research on the Role of Attachment Style on the Dynamics of Romantic Relationship

Xinyue Ouyang *,1,
  • 1 Boston University

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/2024.19689

Abstract

This paper explores the practical implications of attachment style in romantic relationships, grounded in attachment theory, which examines the emotional bonds formed between infants and their caregivers during early childhood. The study examines how attachment styles developed in infancy influence romantic relationships in adulthood, including their impact on mental models, attachment histories, and relationship stability. A literature review is conducted on a recent study that conceptualizes romantic love as an attachment process, analyzing the role of attachment styles in relationship dissolution and how individuals with varying attachment styles respond to breakups. The result shows that different attachment styles formed in early childhood persist and can predict the emotional bond in adult romantic relationships. Securely attached individuals experience more happiness and security in romantic relationships, while those with anxious attachments are associated with more insecurity and high distress when facing relational termination. Avoidant attachment style is a predictor of relational termination, as they experience minimal stress and relaxation after relationship dissolution. The convergence of these two research is instrumental in understanding the lasting impact of early childhood attachment on the dynamics of romantic love in adult life, and its practical implications for relationship counseling and therapy

Keywords

attachment style, romantic relationship, early childhood experiences, relationship dissolution

[1]. Bowlby J. The Bowlby-Ainsworth attachment theory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 1979;2(4):637-638. doi:10.1017/S0140525X00064955

[2]. Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511

[3]. Judith A. Feeney & Patricia Noller (1992) Attachment style and romantic love: Relationship dissolution, Australian Journal of Psychology, 44:2, 69-74, DOI:10.1080/00049539208260145

[4]. Sagone, E., Commodari, E., Indiana, M. L., & La Rosa, V. L. (2023, February 24). Exploring the association between attachment style, psychological well-being, and relationship status in young adults and adults-a cross-sectional study. European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10047625

[5]. Mickelson, K. D., Kessler, R. C., & Shaver, P. R. (1997). Adult attachment in a nationally representative sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(5), 1092-1106. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.73.5.1092

[6]. Simpson, J. A. (1990). Influence of attachment styles on romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(5), 971-980. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.59.5.97

Cite this article

Ouyang,X. (2025). Research on the Role of Attachment Style on the Dynamics of Romantic Relationship. Communications in Humanities Research,65,6-9.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies

Conference website: https://2024.icihcs.org/
ISBN:978-1-83558-885-7(Print) / 978-1-83558-886-4(Online)
Conference date: 29 November 2024
Editor:Heidi Gregory-Mina
Series: Communications in Humanities Research
Volume number: Vol.65
ISSN:2753-7064(Print) / 2753-7072(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).