Attachment styles, shame, guilt, and collaborative problem‐solving orientations

In: Personal relationships, Volume 4, Issue 2, p. 187-199

Abstract

AbstractThe present study explored relations among adult attachment styles, shame‐ and guilt‐proneness, and several measures of relationship problem‐solving attitudes and behaviors. Participants were 142 undergraduates (32 males, 110 females) who completed both categorical and continuous measures of adult attachment, as well as self‐report measures of the other constructs under investigation. Most participants (93%) were currently involved in either exclusive or casual dating relationships at the time of the study. Controlling for respondents'dating status, results indicated that participants'attachment styles were significantly related to both shame‐proneness and collaborative problem‐solving, Preoccupied and fearful students were more shame‐prone than were their secure and dismissive peers, and secure participants reported significantly higher collaboration scores relative to their fearful counterparts. As expected, shame and guilt scores were differentially related to collaborative problem‐solving, and participants'attachment security significantly moderated observed shame‐guilt correlations. Finally, respondents'guilt and shame scores partly mediated observed relations between adult attachment styles and collaborative problem‐solving orientations.