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An Experimental Manipulation of Retrospectively Defined Earned and Continuous Attachment Security
Author(s) -
Roisman Glenn I.,
Fortuna Keren,
Holland Ashley
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00856.x
Subject(s) - psychology , sadness , developmental psychology , mood , recall , strange situation , valence (chemistry) , clinical psychology , anger , attachment theory , cognitive psychology , physics , quantum mechanics
Recent longitudinal data suggest that retrospectively defined earned‐secures are not more likely than continuous‐secures to have been anxiously attached to their mothers in infancy and indeed experience high‐quality maternal parenting in childhood. Such findings leave unanswered the question of why earned‐secures report negative childhood experiences. On the basis of speculation that earned‐security may result from depression‐related biases in the recall of early experiences, this report describes the effects of an experimental mood induction on the valence of young adults' (18–25 years) life narratives as assessed in the Adult Attachment Interview. Among secure adults, individuals in a sadness condition were more likely to be classified as earned‐secure; happy participants were more likely to be classified as continuous‐secure. Induced mood was unrelated to security versus insecurity.