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Meaning of Life Events and Person Characteristics Interactions Predicting Changes in Attachment
Zhang, Qi
Zhang, Qi
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Abstract
One of the core themes in Bowlby (1973)’s attachment theory is the extent to which people’s attachment (in) security exhibits stability and change over time. Previous research has identified life events that may predict such changes but focused on the objective occurrence of events, often overlooking individual subjective experiences. To address this gap, the study explored how people’s subjective interpretations of 7 life events and the interaction between 10 personal characteristics and these experiences (P x sE) relate to changes in their attachment (in)security over time. We analyzed data from 6566 adults who completed between 1 and 24 monthly survey assessments. Our results suggested that the frequency and nature of person-by-subjective experience (P x sE) interactions differed in meaningful ways across specific life events and person characteristics. Additionally, it highlighted that individuals’ subjective interpretations of life events may be a stronger predictor of change in state attachment (in) security than the objective occurrence of events, and offered new insights into why individuals’ sense of security may change in different ways over time.
Description
These are the slides from a presentation given at Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Convention on 02/22/2025.
Date
2025-02-22
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Publisher
University of Kansas
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Keywords
Attachment, Close Relationship, Stability and Change, Longitudinal analysis