ATTACHMENT STYLES, SHAME, GUILT, AND COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING ORIENTATIONS

The present study explored relations among adult attachment styles, sh ame- and guilt-proneness, and several measures of relationship problem -solving attitudes and behaviors. Participants were 142 undergraduates (32 males, 110 females) who completed both categorical and continuous measures of adult attachment, as well as self-report measures of the other constructs under investigation. Most participants (93%) were cur rently involved in either exclusive or casual dating relationships at the time of the study. Controlling for respondents' dating status, res ults indicated that participants' attachment styles were significantly related to both shame-proneness and collaborative problem-solving. Pr eoccupied and fearful students were more shame-prone than were their s ecure and dismissive peers, and secure participants reported significa ntly higher collaboration scores relative to their fearful counterpart s. As expected, shame and guilt scores were differentially related to collaborative problem-solving, and participants' attachment security s ignificantly moderated observed shame-guilt correlations. Finally resp ondents' guilt and shame scores partly mediated observed relations bet ween adult attachment styles and collaborative problem-solving orienta tions.