Adult attachment style and core beliefs: Are they linked?

Abstract

Bowlby's attachment theory has had considerable impact on research in developmental psychology. Despite this, its relation to other literature and application to clinical practice have been poorly exploited. This paper seeks to outline the current conceptualization of adult attachment styles, and explore the evidence for a link between attachment style and psychopathology in adulthood. The paper also provides a review of the cognitive research on the beliefs people hold in relation to their attachment style. Furthermore, the importance of building on this theoretical and empirical base to examine the connections between adult attachment style and schemas is highlighted. The last part of the review explores how attending to both the concepts of attachment style and schema may contribute to developing clinical practice. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.