Relations Between Attachment Security and Life Story Development

ABSTRACT

Narrative identity researchers have proposed that the formation of a life story involves both the recollection of specific events and an interpretive/meaning‐making process. We argue that the meaning‐making process is not an arbitrary one, but rather one that has its roots in prior developmental contexts, including one's attachment history. To test this hypothesis, we examined associations between attachment security and four life story themes: redemption, contamination, agency, and communion. Study 1 was conducted with 60 emerging adults, and Study 2 further investigated the hypothesis in 41 midlife adults whose attachment security was examined at three periods across their lives (infancy, emerging adulthood, and midlife). Results provided support for the hypothesis that attachment history contributes to individual differences in life story themes but also indicated that these associations may differ depending on developmental period.