A COMPARISON OF 2 MEASURES TO ASSESS ADULT ATTACHMENT

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between tw o different approaches to the assessment of adult attachment. The appr oaches were C. Hazan and P. R. Shaver's (1987) categorization of three attachment styles and the dimensional system of the Reciprocal Attach ment Questionnaire (RAQ; M. West & A. Sheldon Keller, 1992). Participa nts were 196 (72 men and 124 women) respondents to a community survey. Multiple regression results showed that the three attachment groups d iffered significantly on three dimensions of the RAQ: feared loss of t he attachment figure, perceived availability of the attachment figure, and use of the attachment figure. In addition, men and women differed significantly on use of the attachment figure, independent of their a ttachment style. The results indicate that the two approaches to the a ssessment of adult attachment are interrelated in meaningful ways.