Resumen de Stability of Attachment Style in Adolescence: An Empirical Test of Alternative Developmental Processes.

Jason D. Jones, R. Chris Fraley, Katherine B. Ehrlich, Jessica A. Stern, C. W. Lejuez, Phillip R. Shaver, Jude Cassidy

• Few studies have examined stability and change in attachment during adolescence. This 5-year longitudinal study (a) examined whether prototype or revisionist developmental dynamics better characterized patterns of stability and change in adolescent attachment (at T1, N = 176; Mage  = 14.0 years, SD = 0.9), (b) tested potential moderators of prototype-like attachment stability, and (c) compared attachment stability in adolescence to stability in adulthood. The results supported the prototype model, which assumes that there is a stable, enduring factor underlying stability and change in attachment. Exploratory moderation analyses revealed that family conflict, parental separation or divorce, minority status, and male sex might undermine the prototype-like stability of adolescent attachment. Stability of attachment was lower in adolescence relative to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]