The relationship of attachment insecurity to subjective stress and autonomic function during standardized acute stress in healthy adults

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to test predicted relationships between adult attachment and stress using subjective and physiological measures.MethodsSixty-seven healthy adults completed measures of adult attachment and perceived chronic stress. Subjective stress and the high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) spectral bandwidths of heart rate variability (HRV) were measured during a standardized stress protocol.ResultsAttachment anxiety is associated with between-subject differences in chronic perceived stress (P=.001) and subjective acute stress (P=.01). There is a main effect of attachment avoidance on between-subject differences in HF HRV (P=.004). Attachment avoidance is inversely associated with HF HRV, independent of age and variability in respiration.ConclusionAttachment anxiety is associated with self-reported distress. Attachment avoidance is inversely associated with HF HRV, a marker of vagal influence on cardiac activity, but is not associated with subjective stress.