Association of parent-child experiences with insecure attachment in adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This study reviewed and synthesized existing research to examine the association of parent-child experiences in childhood with two types of adult insecure attachments styles: anxiety-related attachment (ANA) and avoidance-related attachment (AVA). Correlates of adult insecure attachment styles were systematically reviewed and quantitatively synthesized using meta-analytic methods. Overall, 213 and 177 correlates with ANA and AVA were identified from 56 studies, with these factors further categorized into four thematic domains: perceived attachment with parents, perceived parenting style, perceived relationship with parents, and recalled childhood adversity. Children's attachment patterns with their parents were strongly associated with their pattern of adult attachment. Codependent relationships with parents, childhood neglect, and childhood psychological abuse were also significantly associated with both ANA and AVA. Authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles showed the strongest positive and negative associations with ANA and AVA, respectively. Our findings revealed the importance of early parenting for children's lifelong health and developmental outcomes.