| The Influence of Attachment Styles and Motivation Behind Binge Drinking | | Kathryn Smith |

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Submitted as a PSS220 Lab Report for Swinburne University Lilydale

This study examines attachment styles and the influence different motives have on binge drinking in young adults between 18 and 30 year olds. There were 238 Swinburne University students and 103 non-students who participated in this study, all participants answered a questionnaire on attachment, motives and the amount of alcoholic drinks consumed on a typical night out. It was hypothesised that insecure attachment styles are more likely to drink at risky levels on a typical night out than secure individuals and that motives influence insecure attachments and
Brennan & Shaver (1995) looked at the quantity and frequency that young adults drink and found that drinking appears to be associated with negative views that are associated with the insecure attachment styles such as such as fearful, and dismissive. Cooper, Shaver and Collins (1998) found that dismissive, preoccupied and fearful attachment styles consumed more alcohol than secure attachment styles. Both studies found that alcohol consumption by fearful attachment styles reported more drinking related problems, and both agreed that drinking is not related to positive styles. Obnibene & Collin (1998) looked at how different attachment styles used coping strategies and social support, it was found that secure and preoccupied individuals would use coping strategies that involved social support, dismissive individuals would distance themselves psychologically from the stressor where the preoccupied and fearful attachments are more likely to use escape avoidance coping, such as turning to alcohol to escape the problem.
There has been little research done on attachment styles and if they can be changed in adulthood, yet some theorist believe that attachment styles may changed, so that individual feel more secure. In a study conducted by Mikulincer & Shaver (2007 as cited in Gillath, Selcuk & Shaver 2008) on changing attachments in security priming laboratory procedures show reductions in anxiety and avoidance and had beneficial