The relation between adverse childhood experiences and attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in adult romantic relationships: A study of pregnant Norwegian women

Abstract

Background: Previous studies over the last five decades have reported an association between adverse childhood experiences and non-optimal mental health outcomes. Although recent research has explored the impacts of adverse childhood experiences on interpersonal relationships later in life, there seems to be a lack of studies investigating the consequences of adverse childhood experiences on attachment behaviours in romantic relationships in adulthood. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether adverse childhood experiences, as reported retrospectively by Norwegian pregnant women, were related to attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in their romantic relationships in adulthood after controlling for important socio-demographic characteristics. The proposed hypothetical model is that such experiences are associated with insecure attachment patterns in childhood, and that these patterns are transmitted into romantic relationships in adulthood due to the internal working models of attachment and the persistence of attachment patterns throughout life. Method: The data reported in the present study were obtained from 1 036 pregnant women taking part in the Norwegian study Little in Norway ( Liten i Norge ) – a longitudinal population study of infant vulnerability and plasticity from pregnancy to age 18 months. The participants completed a questionnaire packet containing questions related to socio-demographic information in addition to several specific self-report questionnaires. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale was used to measure the women´s adverse childhood exposures, and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale was used in the measurement of attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in the women´s adult romantic relationships. Correlation- and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were carried out in the investigation of the relation between the childhood adversities and the adult attachment-related anxiety and avoidance. Results: The results showed that there was a moderate, positive association between the women´s adverse childhood experiences and attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in their romantic relationships in adulthood. Furthermore, the adverse experiences made a unique, statistically significant contribution to the amount of attachment-related anxiety and avoidance after controlling for the women´s age, education, ethnic minority group status, presence of former and current mental health problems and the number of days into pregnancy at the time when they answered the questionnaires. Conclusions: The present results yield support to the proposed hypothetical model of adverse childhood experiences and the transmission of insecure attachment patterns from childhood to adulthood.