Relation between adult attachment styles and global self-esteem

The goal of this research was to explore the relation between adult romantic attachment styles (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) and global self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1979). Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing attachment styles, global self-esteem, and self-perceived competence across a variety of life domains (e.g., athletics, social skills). Results showed that secure and dismissing participants reported higher global self-esteem and greater average competence than did either preoccupied or fearful participants. Significant differences in competence across attachment styles, however, occurred only in socially relevant domains. A commonality analysis indicated that both attachment styles and domain-specific competence accounted for significant independent portions of the variance in global self-esteem, as did the overlap between these two variables. Results are discussed in terms of the conceptual relation between attachment styles and the self.