A Lifespan Development Theory of Insecure Attachment and Internalizing Symptoms: Integrating Meta-Analytic Evidence via a Testable Evolutionary Mis/Match Hypothesis

Abstract

Attachment scholars have long argued that insecure attachment patterns are associated with vulnerability to internalizing symptoms, such as depression and anxiety symptoms. However, accumulating evidence from the past four decades, summarized in four large meta-analyses evaluating the link between insecure attachment subtypes and internalizing symptoms, provide divergent evidence for this claim. This divergent evidence may be accounted for, at least in part, by the developmental period under examination. Specifically, children with histories of deactivating (i.e., insecure/avoidant) but not hyperactivating (i.e., insecure/resistant) attachment patterns in infancy and early childhood showed elevated internalizing symptoms. In contrast, adolescents and adults with hyperactivating (i.e., insecure/preoccupied) but not deactivating (i.e., insecure/dismissing) attachment classifications showed elevated internalizing symptoms. In this paper, we summarize findings from four large meta-analyses and highlight the divergent meta-analytic findings that emerge across different developmental periods. We first present several potential methodological issues that may have contributed to these divergent findings. Then, we leverage clinical, developmental, and evolutionary perspectives to propose a testable lifespan development theory of attachment and internalizing symptoms that integrates findings across meta-analyses. According to this theory, subtypes of insecure attachment patterns may be differentially linked to internalizing symptoms depending on their mis/match with the developmentally appropriate orientation tendency toward caregivers (in childhood) or away from them (i.e., toward greater independence in post-childhood). Lastly, we offer future research directions to test this theory.

Configurations of mother‐child and father‐child attachment as predictors of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems: An individual participant data (IPD) meta‐analysis

“…We also did not assess the potential distinct quality of disorganization attachment's secondary classifications (i.e., disorganized‐secure and disorganized‐insecure). Whereas such fine‐tuned endeavors require a significantly larger sample size, it may be crucial in fine‐tuning potential etiological models given the divergent meta‐analytic and longitudinal links the two organized insecure attachment subcategories have shown in predicting internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems (Dagan et al., 2021; Dagan & Bernard, 2021).…”

Perceptions of the effect of parental deportation on adult intimate relationships

“…This ambiguous loss continues to disrupt the child's life by making their ability to grieve the loss complicated and confusing. This feeling of loss can often result in shaping a child to believe they are unlovable, with poor self‐worth and difficulty establishing closeness with others (Dagan et al, 2021). Thus, the relationship between the adult child and their partners is also impacted by the phenomenon.…”

Attachment, Mentalizing and Trauma: Then (1992) and Now (2022)

“…A full understanding of the association may require consideration of the distinction between the disorganized-secure and disorganized-insecure types of categorization. As Dagan et al [ 22 ] point out, this would require a large sample size, but it may be essential for fine-tuning potential etiological models, as the links between the two organized insecure attachment subcategories identified in meta-analytic and longitudinal studies have suggested different models for internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems [ 28 , 29 ].…”