Resumen de Maternal nurturance predicts decreases in attachment avoidance in emerging adulthood

William J. Chopik, Amy C. Moors, Robin S. Edelstein

• One of the central tenets of attachment theory is that experiences in early childhood influence people�s approach to social relationships throughout the lifespan. We examined the influence of caregiver nurturance on the development of attachment orientation from adolescence to emerging adulthood in a sample of 103 individuals (50% female). Attachment anxiety decreased from age 14 to 18 and then increased from age 18 to 23; avoidance decreased from age 14 to 23. Higher caregiver nurturance at age 3 was associated with larger declines in avoidance from age 14 to 23. Our findings illustrate how early caregiving experiences continue to shape and influence children�s personality development, nearly twenty years after these experiences occur.