Adult Attachment and Relationship Formation

描述(由申请人提供)：对约会和已婚夫妇的横向和纵向研究发现，(A)成人依恋，(B)抑郁和痛苦，以及(C)关系质量和稳定性之间存在强烈的联系，这表明成人依恋可能在个人和关系运作中发挥重要作用。然而，研究已经存在的、已经确立的关系并不容易让我们做出因果推论，也不能让我们识别可能的影响机制。如果没有这样的知识，就很难开发出成功的临床干预措施，以防止首先出现适应不良的相互作用模式。因此，需要的是纵向研究，旨在研究成人依恋在最初的关系形成阶段的作用，这一阶段是个人第一次发展他们的“暗恋”和建立关系的时间。然而，这些类型的研究几乎是不存在的，而且到目前为止还没有调查过成人依恋在这一关系发展阶段中的作用。鉴于成人依恋的个体差异已被证明在持续的关系中所起的核心作用，我们建议在一项短期纵向研究中研究它们的作用，该研究侧重于目前迷恋某人的个人之间的关系形成。我们的主要目标是测试成人依恋差异是否真的在关系形成过程中发挥重要的因果作用，并确定最可能的影响机制。特别是，这项研究的目的是：(A)测试成人依恋与最初产生迷恋时认知-情感过程中的系统性差异之间的具体联系；(B)考察随着关系的发展，依恋差异对后续关系功能和行为结果的纵向影响；以及(C)测试有助于识别特定影响机制的特定中介过程，包括对粉碎感和相似性判断的系统性偏见。这项拟议中的研究是一个更大的研究项目的一部分，该项目旨在了解成人依恋的差异在恋爱关系发展的各个阶段影响认知、情感和行为模式的途径，包括最初的吸引、形成、巩固，以及通常情况下的解体。希望这项研究的发现将有助于揭示恋爱关系发展的最早阶段，从而让我们了解不安全的依恋可能会使一些人倾向于发展不太可能成功的亲密关系的具体方式。反过来，在形成适应不良互动模式和关系质量下降之前，这些知识是发展有效的、有针对性的早期临床干预所必需的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cross-sectional and longitudinal research of dating and married couples has found robust links among (a) adult attachment, (b) depression and distress, and (c) relationship quality and stability, suggesting that adult attachment may play an important role in both individual and relationship functioning. However, studying already existing, well established relationships does not readily allow us to make causal inferences, nor does it enable us to identify the likely mechanisms of influence. Without such knowledge, it is difficult to develop successful clinical interventions designed to prevent maladaptive interaction patterns to develop in the first place. Thus, what is needed is longitudinal research designed to study the role of adult attachment in the initial relationship formation stage, the time when individuals first develop their "crushes" and relationships are forged. However, these types of studies are virtually non-existent, and no investigation to date has examined the role of adult attachment during this stage of relationship development. In light of the central role individual differences in adult attachment have been shown to play in ongoing relationships, we propose to study their role in a short-term longitudinal study focused on relationship formation among individuals who currently have a crush on someone. Our main goal is to test whether adult attachment differences do indeed play an important causal role in the relationship formation process, and to identify the most likely mechanisms of influence. In particular, the proposed study is designed to (a) test the specific links between adult attachment and systematic differences in cognitive-affective processes when crushes are first developed, (b) examine the longitudinal effects of attachment differences on subsequent relationship functioning and behavioral outcomes as relationships develop, and (c) test specific, mediational processes that help to identify the particular mechanisms of influence, including systematic biases in crush perceptions and judgments of similarity. The proposed study is part of a larger program of research aimed at understanding the pathways through which differences in adult attachment influence cognitive, affective, and behavioral patterns within romantic relationships at all stages of development, including initial attraction, formation, consolidation, and, all too often, dissolution. It is hoped that findings from this research will shed light on the earliest stages of romantic relationship development, thus allowing us to understand the specific ways in which insecure attachment may predispose some individuals to develop intimate relationships that are less likely to succeed. Such knowledge, in turn, is needed to develop effective, targeted, early clinical interventions before maladaptive interaction patterns have formed and relationship quality declined.