Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Love Thy Attachment Figures As Thyself: Self-Esteem Predicts Deviations In Adult Attachment Security, Molly Rosenthal Graether

Honors Theses

As we expand our close relationship (attachment) bonds from parents and caregivers to friends and romantic partners, some of us become more secure, while others become more insecure. What determines the direction in which our security deviates? The present study looks at whether self-esteem and worldview systems can account for deviations in security across partners, in both a college sample and a (more generalizable) online sample. Participants who were more secure in their friendships and romantic relationships than in their relationship with their parents/caregivers had higher self-esteem. The impact of worldviews, measured by the extent to which participants used several …