Background and aims. The present study aimed at examining the extent to which attachment style (purportedly acquired early in life and thought to be stable throughout the stages of development) remains constant across the adult lifespan. Anxious Attachment (AA) style was assessed by the degree of emotional distress experienced in the context of close romantic relationships. Psychological traits with potential effects on individual differences in AA including general emotional distress/anxiety (Neuroticism) and empathic style were examined.

Methods. Twenty-seven community dwelling older adults (ages 60-81), 56 young adults (ages 25-45), and 45 students (ages 17-25) were assessed using the Fantasy subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Inventory (Davis,1980) which is a measure of engagement with fictional characters in books and movies, the NEO neuroticism domain which assesses general anxiety/distress (Costa & McCrae, 1992), and the AA factor from the Measure of Adult Romantic Attachment which measures anxious attachment style (Simpson, 1998).

Results. Older age was associated with lower scores on IRI Fantasy scale (r= -.24, p<.01), Neuroticism (r= -.22, p<.01), and AA (r= -.32, p<.01). AA, Fantasy, and Neuroticism were all directly associated (r ranged from .33 to .47, p<.01). The IRI Fantasy scale uniquely predicted AA [R=.03, F(1, 124)=14.4, p<.05] in a regression model after accounting for age [R=.32, F(1, 126)=14.4, p<.001] and Neuroticism [R change=.20, F(1, 125)=29.1, p<.001]. Age, neuroticism, and IRI Fantasy scale predicted 55% of the variance in AA. Among mature adults (age >24 years), younger and older participants scoring low on Neuroticism reported low AA, but while younger adults with high Neuroticism scored high on AA, older adults with high Neuroticism reported low AA (F(1, 75)= 4,46, p<.05).

Conclusions. Older age was associated with lower Neuroticism, less engagement with fictional characters and less Anxious Attachment style. High Neuroticism in mature younger but not older participants was a significant predictor of high Anxious Attachment style. Although engagement with fictional characters directly correlated with Neuroticism, it was also an independent predictor of Anxious Attachment. These results suggest that 1.) Attachment style may not be as stable a personality feature as previously thought and 2.) Some facets of empathy may capture aspects of negative affectivity. Results need to be confirmed in longitudinal assessment studies.