Attachment Theory and Research New Directions and Emerging Themes

This volume showcases the latest theoretical and empirical work from some of the top scholars in attachment. Extending classic themes and describing important new applications, the book examines several ways in which attachment processes help explain how people think, feel, and behave in different situations and at different stages in the life cycle. Topics include the effects of early experiences on adult relationships; new developments in neuroscience and genetics; attachment orientations and parenting; connections between attachment and psychopathology, as well as health outcomes; and the relationship of attachment theory and processes to clinical interventions.

Jeffry A. Simpson, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Doctoral Minor in Interpersonal Relationships at the University of Minnesota. His research interests include adult attachment processes, human mating, idealization in relationships, empathic accuracy in relationships, social influence in relationships, and how interpersonal experiences earlier in life affect adult health and relationship outcomes. He is a recipient of the Berscheid-Hatfield Award for Distinguished Mid-Career Achievement from the International Association for Relationships Research and the Carol and Ed Diener Award in Social Psychology from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. Dr. Simpson is the incoming president of the International Association for Relationship Research.
 
W. Steven Rholes, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Texas A&M University, where he has served as both department head and associate dean. His research interests include social cognition, children’s social development, and adult attachment. In 1992, along with his colleague Jeffry Simpson, Dr. Rholes published one of the first studies to confirm predictions about avoidant attachment style, using behavioral observations as evidence. For the past 20 years, the impact of attachment styles on emotional support sought and provided by members of romantic couples has been the central focus of his research program, with more recent research focusing on couples during the transition to parenthood.

Introduction: New Directions and Emerging Themes in Attachment Theory and Research, W. Steven Rholes & Jeffry A. Simpson
1. Early Attachment Experiences and Romantic Functioning: Developmental Pathways, Emerging Issues, and Future Directions, R. Chris Fraley & Glenn I. Roisman
2. The Neuroscience of Attachment: Using New Methods to Answer Old (and New) Questions, Omri Gillath
3. Fooled Around and Fell in Love: The Role of Sex in Adult Romantic Attachment Formation, Vivian Zayas, Sarah Merrill, & Cindy Hazan
4. Stress and Attachment, Lisa M. Diamond
5. Boosting Attachment Security in Adulthood: The "Broaden-and-Build" Effects of Security Enhancing Mental Representations and Interpersonal Contexts, Mario Mikulincer & Phillip R. Shaver
6. Attachment and Dyadic Regulation Processes, Nickola C. Overall & Edward P. Lemay, Jr.
7. On the Convergence of Sexual Urges and Emotional Bonds: The Interplay of the Sexual and Attachment Systems during Relationship Development, Gurit E. Birnbaum
8. An Attachment Theoretical Perspective on Optimal Dependence in Close Relationships, Brooke C. Feeney, Meredith Van Vleet, & Brittany K. Jakubiak
9. Adult Attachment Style and Parenting, Jason D. Jones, Jude Cassidy, & Phillip R. Shaver
10. Attachment Theory in Organizational Settings, Ramona L. Paetzold
11. Health and Attachment Processes, Paula R. Pietromonaco, Cassandra C. DeVito, Fiona Ge, & Jana Lembke
12. Attachment and Aged Care, Gery C. Karantzas & Jeffry A. Simpson
13. Psychopathology and Attachment, Tsachi Ein Dor & Guy Doron
14. Attachment Related Preventive Interventions, Mary Dozier & Caroline Roben
15. Attachment: A Guide to a New Era of Couple Interventions, Susan M. Johnson, Marie France Lafontaine, & Tracy L. Dalgleish
Index