Journal
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Volume 24, Issue 3, Pages 272-279Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1177/0956797612452571
Keywords
attachment theory; attachment anxiety; marriage; chronic stress; cortisol; psychoneuroimmunology; psychoneuroendocrinology; interpersonal relationships; individual differences; neuroendocrinology; health
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Funding
- NCI NIH HHS [CA016058, R21 CA158868, CA158868, P30 CA016058] Funding Source: Medline
- NCRR NIH HHS [M01-RR0034, M01 RR000034] Funding Source: Medline
- NIA NIH HHS [AG016321, P01 AG016321] Funding Source: Medline
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Although evidence suggests that attachment anxiety may increase risk for health problems, the mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood. In the current study, married couples (N = 85) provided saliva samples over 3 days and blood samples on two occasions. Participants with higher attachment anxiety produced more cortisol and had fewer numbers of CD3(+) T cells, CD45(+) T cells, CD3(+)CD4(+) helper T cells, and CD3(+)CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells than participants with lower attachment anxiety. Higher cortisol levels were also related to fewer numbers of CD3(+), CD45(+), CD3(+)CD4(+), and CD3(+)CD8(+) cells, which is consistent with research showing that cortisol alters the cellular immune response. These data suggest that attachment anxiety may have physiological costs, and they provide a glimpse into the pathways through which social relationships affect health. The current study also extends attachment theory in an important new direction by demonstrating the utility of a psychoneuroimmunological approach to the study of attachment anxiety, stress, and health.
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