Change of Attachment Styles and a Partner's Responsiveness in Adolescence

Abstract

This research examined, twice a month, the relationship between the change in attachment styles and reaction of romantic partners in their youth. Of the 287 couples that are presently in a romantic relationship, 65 couples responded to our questionnaires once whereas 28 couples responded twice. The questionnaires were composed of a scale measuring attachment styles, and items related to love, cognition of the romantic partner's response, self response, an attribute of the participants, and the status of relationship. The results were as follows. 1) Approximately 70% of the respondents' attachment styles were stable, same as that of a European-American research. 2) Change in attachment styles was related to change in the cognition regarding the reaction of the romantic partner. However change in attachment styles was not related to the reaction that the romantic partner self does. 3) The participants who recognized the romantic partner as "most important" were more likely to change their attachment styles than the participants who did not.