February 22, 2024: Ximena Arriaga

Revising Attachment Insecurity in Relationship Contexts

Salient experiences with relationship partners can affect a person’s self-worth and confidence, trust in others, and general well-being. By adulthood, relationship histories differentiate individuals who are comfortable with closeness and dependence, versus those who become insecure – either feeling chronically concerned about being loved or mistrusting others and maintaining emotional distance. These tendencies reflect variations in adult attachment security, anxiety, and avoidance. People who experience chronic insecurities struggle to sustain long-term close relationships. Are they doomed to a lifetime of struggling relationships, or can they change? The talk will elaborate on a theoretical model of specific processes through which relationships can revise insecurities. The model suggests ways in which partners regulate moments of insecurity, as well as situations that are likely to reduce chronically anxious versus avoidant tendencies.