Links between adults' attachment styles and their reactions to an induced stressor

Together, stress and social relationships are thought to play key roles in health and development (Keller et al., 2012; Umberson Montez, 2010). With a greater understanding for how one's relationship qualities interact with their stress response systems, we may begin to take a more clearly focused approach to mental health treatment. This study examined the differences in stress management using and fourcategory model of attachment. To date there is limited research examining the links between stress response and the attachment system. The current study assessed both perceived psychological stress and physiological measures of stress exposure in response to a social stressor, utilizing the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) as a means to induce acute social stress within a laboratory setting. The current study furthered past research by exploring the relationship between adult attachment styles (secure, avoidant, anxious and fearful) and stress. Past research has failed to evaluate the fearful attachment style. The results indicated that attachment styles act as either a risk or a protective factor for the stress response, such that participants who were classified as fearfully attached were more likely to have elevated levels of perceived stress (measured as trait anxiety and acute stress response). The secure and anxiously attached participants had similar levels of perceived stress, raising some questions about the view of an anxious attachment as being a negative quality, or the utility of a secure attachment style for adequate stress management. The avoidantly attached participants had similarly elevated levels of trait anxiety found within the fearful group, suggesting that the avoidant tendency to reject social support may partially explain this poor stress management.