Abstract
In a longitudinal study of 105 subjects, coping behavior was assessed at five points in time during adolescence (commencing at the age of 14 years) and early adulthood. At the age of 21 years, attachment representation was assessed via the Adult Attachment Interview. In both adolescence and early adulthood, differences in coping styles were found to be related to differences in attachment representations. Individuals classified as being securely attached in early adulthood had dealt with their problems more actively and thereby had also integrated their social network in adolescence and at the age of 21 years. In contrast, individuals showing insecure-preoccupied attachment representations had vacillated between seeking help or withdrawing from their social network. These differences in coping behavior were stable for a period of seven years. In addition, logistical regression analyses showed that a functional coping style in adolescence significantly predicted both secure and insecure-dismissed attachment representations in adulthood. A dysfunctional coping style in adolescence predicted insecure-preoccupied attachment in adulthood. The results represent first evidence for the existence of long-term relationships between certain coping styles and subsequent attachment representations. However, they also indicate the difficulties in precisely differentiating between secure and insecure-dismissed attachment representations.
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