Do insecure attachment styles predict prolonged grief symptoms? Significant null findings

Antje Janshen*, Paul A. Boelen, Henk A.W. Schut, Maarten C. Eisma

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Insecure attachment is proposed to be a risk factor in the development and persistence of severe grief. Although prior research demonstrates positive cross-sectional and longitudinal correlations between attachment styles and prolonged grief symptoms, controlled longitudinal analyses yield fewer convincing results. Therefore, we sought to further clarify the concurrent and longitudinal associations between these constructs. A sample of 225 bereaved Dutch adults (87% women; Mean age: 48.86 years) participated in a three-wave longitudinal survey including measures of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance at baseline and prolonged grief symptoms at baseline and 6- and 12-month follow-up. Attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were significantly positively correlated with prolonged grief symptoms at all time-points. However, multiple regressions, controlling for baseline symptoms, showed that attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and their interaction did not predict residual change in prolonged grief symptoms. These findings cast doubt on the proposed role of insecure attachment styles in prolonged grief.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1076-1084
Number of pages9
JournalDeath Studies
Volume48
Issue number10
Early online date5 Jan 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Funding

Maarten C. Eisma was supported by a ZonMw TOP grant of the Dutch Association for Scientific Research (NWO), grant number: 91208009. The funder did not play a role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, in the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the article for publication.

FundersFunder number
ZonMw TOP
Dutch Association for Scientific Research
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek91208009

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