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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–10Cite as

Attachment in Adulthood

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Synonyms

Adult attachment

Definition

Attachment in adulthood addresses the role of the attachment system in adult relationship functioning and dynamics. In the normative course of development, individuals transfer attachment functions from the child-caregiver relationship to peer relationships, principally to romantic relationships. Within these, individual differences regarding romantic attachment have been found to exert significant influence over important aspects of relationship functioning, including the stance toward intimacy, communicative strategies, and emotion regulation.

Introduction

Originating in British psychoanalyst and child psychiatrist John Bowlby’s formulations about the nature of human bonds (see “John Bowlby: Pioneer of Attachment Theory”; “Evolutionary Foundations of the Attachment System and Its Functions”), attachment theory has stimulated an enormous corpus of research, particularly on attachment during infancy and childhood. Bowlby himself was however...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mårten Hammarlund

  2. Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Pehr Granqvist

  3. Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Tommie Forslund

Authors
  1. Mårten Hammarlund
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  2. Tommie Forslund
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  3. Pehr Granqvist
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pehr Granqvist .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Gary L Brase

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Hammarlund, M., Forslund, T., Granqvist, P. (2019). Attachment in Adulthood. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1967-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1967-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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