Vinculação e exploração em jovens adultos

: um estudo exploratório em alunos do primeiro ciclo do ensino superior

Abstract

Despite the behavior systems of attachment and exploration work in close connection, exploratory behavior in adults has received less attention. The present study aims to examine the relation between attachment styles and facets of exploration (e.g., intellectual, environmental, social) in a sample of 281 Portuguese college students. Adult attachment styles were assessed using the Portuguese version of the Adult Attachment Scale (Canavarro, 1998; Canavarro, Dias, & Lima, 2006). Intellectual, environmental and social exploration were assessed using the Portuguese version of Exploration Index (Green, & Campbell, 2000). Consistent with hypotheses, we found that secure individuals are more likely to explore when compared with insecure individuals and dismissing-avoidant individuals were lower in social exploration than secure, preoccupied and fearful-avoidant individuals. We haven't found significant differences between individuals who were and who were not involved in extracurricular activities regarding exploration. In addition, we have found that individuals who reported being part of a group expressed greater interest in exploration when compared with individuals who reported not being part of a group. Our findings demonstrated empirically a link between the two assessment measures and point to the complementarity between attachment and exploration systems, as described by Bowlby (1969).

Date of Award	20 Feb 2015
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Pedro Dias (Supervisor)