Maternal nurturance predicts decreases in attachment avoidance in emerging adulthood

One of the central tenets of attachment theory is that experiences in early childhood influence people's approach to social relationships throughout the lifespan. We examined the influence of caregiver nurturance on the development of attachment orientation from adolescence to emerging adulthood in a sample of 103 individuals (50% female). Attachment anxiety decreased from age 14 to 18 and then increased from age 18 to 23; avoidance decreased from age 14 to 23. Higher caregiver nurturance at age 3 was associated with larger declines in avoidance from age 14 to 23. Our findings illustrate how early caregiving experiences continue to shape and influence children's personality development, nearly twenty years after these experiences occur. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.