Synthesizing a vast body of empirical research and organizing it around a comprehensive conceptual model, this book is recognized as the definitive reference on adult attachment. The authors explain how what began as a theory of child development is now used to conceptualize and study nearly all aspects of social functioning across the lifespan, including mental representations of self and others, emotion regulation, personal goals and strivings, couple relationships, caregiving, sexuality, psychopathology, psychotherapy, and organizational behavior. The origins and measurement of individual differences in adult attachment are examined, as is the question of whether and how attachment patterns can change.

New to This Edition:

• Reflects major advances, including hundreds of new studies.
• Clarifies and extends the authors' influential model of attachment-system functioning.
• Cutting-edge content on genetics and on the neural and hormonal substrates of attachment.
• Increased attention to the interplay among attachment and other behavioral systems, such as caregiving and sexuality.
• Expanded discussion of attachment processes in counseling and psychotherapy.
• Additional coverage of leadership, group dynamics, and religion.