Experiences of parental rearing and patterns of attachment in adulthood

Three hundred and sixty-one non-clinical subjects were investigated for ass ociations between experiences of parental rearing, and various measures of attachment in adulthood. Experiences of parental rearing were assessed by t he EMBU (a Swedish acronym for 'Own memories of parental rearing'). The AAS (Adult Attachment Scale), the ASQ (Attachment Styles Questionnaire), and t he RAQ (Reciprocal Attachment Questionnaire) were used to assess patterns o f attachment in adulthood. The rationale for choosing different attachment instruments was to have measures which take into account different kinds of relationships. Three main predictions were: (1) there will be a significan t positive relationship between the experience of emotional warmth and indi cators of secure attachment; (2) there will be a significant negative relat ionship between experiences of dysfunctional, parenting and measures of ins ecure attachment, and (3) findings will be consistent across all three atta chment measures, independently of the kind of relationship taken into accou nt. All three predictions were supported. The results are congruent with wh at would be expected within the framework of attachment theory. Copyright ( C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.