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The diminished capacity to form bonds is an attribute that has been widely ascribed to psychopathy, particularly the affective domain of the construct. The purpose of the current study was to inves...

We examined variables that might identify at-risk individuals following the death of a significant other. Previous research indicates attachment anxiety is associated with more intense grief, while avoidant individuals seem to cope with loss as well as secure individuals. Participants in this study (368 adults aged 17–49) completed an online survey measuring general and relationship-specific attachment insecurities, relationship characteristics, loss circumstances, and typical and prolonged grief symptoms. General attachment anxiety and avoidance were related to prolonged grief symptoms but not to typical symptoms. Relationship-specific anxiety was positively related to grief symptoms, while specific avoidance was negatively related. The results support the distinction between general and specific attachment insecurities and between normative and prolonged grief reactions.

Few psychometric studies have confirmed the factor structure of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) (Feeney, Noller, & Hanrahan, 1994), a widely used self-report attachment measure. Moreover, no study has formally investigated the factor structure of the ASQ’s short form (ASQ-SF) proposed by Alexander, Feeney, Hohaus, and Noller (2001). The aim of the present study was to validate the factor structures of the ASQ and ASQ-SF, and to identify the more parsimonious measure. In two studies, a nested factor model provided the best fit, the ASQ-SF was the more parsimonious measure, and results were consistent across age and gender groups. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.