Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T18:58:02.216Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Attachment Style and Well-being in Elderly Adults: A Preliminary Investigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Jeffrey Dean Webster
Jeffrey Dean Webster
Affiliation:
Langara College
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between attachment styles and subjective well-being in late adulthood. Seventy-six elderly adults (mean age = 67.9 years) completed the Relationship Questionnaire (a measure of attachment styles), the MUNSH (a measure of subjective well-being) and ratings of perceived health and marital status. Results indicated that both health and attachment style produced significant main effects, but no interaction, on well-being. Specifically, healthy individuals were happier than unhealthy ones; participants with secure and dismissive attachment styles were significantly happier than those classified as fearful. The distribution of attachment style classification across secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissive styles showed differences compared to previous research with younger adults.

Résumé

L'étude examine la relation entre les styles d'attachement et le bien-être subjectif dans la fin de la vie d'adulte. Soixante-seize aînés âgés en moyenne de 67,9 ans ont rempli un questionnaire servant à mesurer les styles d'attachement (Relationship Questionnaire) et le MUNSH, un questionnaire servant à mesurer le bien-être subjectif, le tout ayant été évalué en fonction de L'état de santé perçu et de l'état civil. Les résultats indiquent que la santé et le style d'attachement ont des effets importants, sans réciprocité cependant, sur le bien-être. Plus précisément, les personnes en santé sont plus heureuses que celles qui sont en mauvaise santé; les personnes interrogées dont les styles d'attachement étaient solides et dégagés étaient remarquablement plus heureuses que celles qui vivaient des attachements empreints de peur. La répartition des styles d'attachement entre les catégories <solide, tendu, centré sur la peur et dégagé> présentait des différences par rapport aux recherches précédentes effectuées chez les jeunes adultes.

Keywords

Attachementvie d'adultebonheurmodèles de travail internessoiAttachmentAdulthoodHappinessInternal Working ModelsSelf
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , Printemps/Spring 1997 , pp. 101 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ainsworth, M.D.S., (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44(4), 709–716.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ainsworth, M.D.S.,, Blehar, M.C., Waters, E., & Wall, S., (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Andersson, L., & Stevens, N., (1993). Associations between early experiences with parents and well-being in old age. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 48(3), P109–P116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Antonucci, T. C. (1994). Attachment in adulthood and aging. In Sperling, M.B. & Berman, W.H. (Eds.), Attachment in adults: Clinical and developmental perspectives. NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L.M., (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bartholomew, K., & Perlman, D., (1994). Attachment processes in adulthood. Advances in personal relationships, Vol. 5. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Google Scholar
Berman, W.H., & Sperling, M.B., (1994). The structure and function of adult attachment. In Sperling, M.B. & Berman, W.H. (Eds.), Attachment in adults: Clinical and developmental perspectives. NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J., (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed). NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J., (1979). The making and breaking of affectional bonds. London: Tavistock Publications.Google Scholar
Bretherton, I., (1985). Attachment theory: Retrospect and prospect, In Bretherton, I. & Waters, E. (Eds.), Growing points of attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50(1–2, Serial No. 209).Google Scholar
Cicirelli, V.G. (1989). Feelings of attachment to siblings and well-being in later life. Psychology and Aging, 4(2), 211–216.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collins, NL., & Read, S.J., (1994). Cognitive representations of attachment: The structure and function of working models. In Bartholomew, K. & Perlman, D. (Eds.), Attachment processes in adulthood. Advances in Personal relationships, Vol 5. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Google Scholar
Diener, E., (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. Social Indicators Research, 31, 103–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feeney, J.A., & Noller, P., (1990). Attachment style as a predictor of adult romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(2), 281–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, D.W., & Bartholomew, K., (1994). The metaphysics of measurement: The case of adult attachment. In Bartholomew, K. & Perlman, D. (Eds.), Attachment processes in adulthood. Advances in Personal relationships, Vol 5. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Google Scholar
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P., (1987). Conceptualizing romantic love as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Idler, E.L. & Kasl, S.V., (1995). Self-ratings of health: Do they also predict change in functional ability? Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 50B(6), s344–s353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kozma, A., & Stones, M.J., (1988). Social desirability in measures of subjective well-being: Age comparisons. Social Indicators Research, 20, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kozma, A., Stones, M.J., & McNeil, J.K., (1990). Psychological well-being in later life. Toronto: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Levitt, M., Clark, C., Rotton, J., & Finley, G., (1987). Social support, perceived control, and well-being: A study of an environmentally stressed population. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 25, 247–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Main, M., Kaplan, N., & Cassidy, J., (1985). Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation. In Bretherton, I. & Waters, E. (Eds.), Growing points of attachment theory and research. Monographs of the society for research in child development, serial no. 209, Vol. 50, nos. 1–2.Google Scholar
Mikulincer, M., & Orbach, I., (1995). Attachment styles and repressive defensiveness: The accessibility and architecture of affective memories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(5), 917–925.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, D., & Vandenberg, B., (1994). The influence of separation orientation on life satisfaction in the elderly. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 39(2), 177–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothbard, J.C., & Shaver, P.R., (1994). Continuity of attachment across the life span. In Sperling, M.B. & Berman, W.H. (Eds.), Attachment in adults: Clincal and developmental perspectives. New York: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Sperling, M.B., & Berman, W.H., (1994). Attachment in adults: Clinical and developmental perspectives. New York: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Webster, J.D., (1993). Construction and validation of the Reminiscence Functions Scale. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 48(5), P256–P262.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weiss, R.S., (1982). Attachment in adult life. In Parkers, CM. & Hinde, J. S. (Eds.), The place of attachment in human behavior (pp. 171–184). New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
West, M.L., & Sheldon-Keller, A.E., (1994). Patterns of relating: An adult attachment perspective. New York: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar