ABSTRACT This study investigated attachment style differences in online relationships with regard to interaction characteristics and relationship satisfaction. The effect of relationship type was also taken into account in these investigations. The findings suggested that attachment style differences in interaction breadth and depth were present only in casual friendships. Preoccupied and dismissing individuals had a lower level of interaction breadth and depth than did secure and fearful individuals within this type of online relationship. A same pattern of attachment style differences was found in relationship satisfaction of casual online friendships. 60

Ph.D Jiali Ye

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CYBERPSYCHOLOGY & BEHAVIOR
Volume 10, Number 4, 2007
© Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089/cpb.2007.9982
Attachment Style Differences in Online Relationship
Involvement: An Examination of Interaction
Characteristics and Relationship Satisfaction
JIALI YE, Ph.D.
ABSTRACT
This study investigated attachment style differences in online relationships with regard to in-
teraction characteristics and relationship satisfaction. The effect of relationship type was also
taken into account in these investigations. The findings suggested that attachment style differ-
ences in interaction breadth and depth were present only in casual friendships. Preoccupied and
dismissing individuals had a lower level of interaction breadth and depth than did secure and
fearful individuals within this type of online relationship. A same pattern of attachment style
differences was found in relationship satisfaction of casual online friendships.
605
INTRODUCTION
ATTACHMENT THEORY has often been used as aframework to study interpersonal interaction
and relationships. While individuals’ attachment
style differences have been found to influence the
extent to which people engage in a variety of be-
haviors in close, face-to-face relationships,1 the role
of attachment style in relationships developed via
computer-mediated communication (CMC) re-
mains an unexplored area.
Researchers have attempted to identify general
attachment styles. Among different categorizations
of attachment styles, Bartholomew’s2 four-category
scheme (secure, preoccupied, dismissing, and fear-
ful) was one of the most frequently used ways to
differentiate patterns of attachment. Secure indi-
viduals are low in both attachment-related anxiety
and avoidance, and as a result, they are comfortable
with intimacy and autonomy in relationships. Pre-
occupied individuals are high in anxiety and low in
avoidance; they tend to show a strong desire for de-
pendence in a relationship but are concerned about
possible rejections. Dismissing individuals are low
in anxiety but high in avoidance; they place high
value on independence and often avoid close rela-
tionships. Fearful individuals are high in both anx-
iety and avoidance; they desire close relationships
and intimacy, but they often avoid close relation-
ships because of the fear of rejection.
So far, little empirical evidence has been put forth
to show how attachment styles are associated with
people’s online relational communications. The pri-
mary purpose of this study was to examine the ap-
plicability of attachment theory to online relation-
ship involvement. Specifically, the study explored
how individuals’ attachment styles may influence
the breadth and depth of interaction as well as the
National Center for Primary Care, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Rapid Communication
satisfaction with their online relationships. Given
the importance of relationship type in relational
communications, the study also took into account
this factor in the investigation of relationships be-
tween attachment style and online relationship in-
volvement.
METHODS
One hundred thirteen participants (51 females, 62
males) recruited from Google Newsgroups com-
pleted an online questionnaire. They ranged in age
from 19 to 69 years old, with a mean age of 35.4
years. On average, these participants spent 24.8
hours on the Internet per typical week (SD  11.7).
The participants completed an online questionnaire
that assessed their attachment styles, online rela-
tionship types (casual friendship, close friendship,
romantic relationship), relationship length, interac-
tion breadth and depth, and relationship satisfac-
tion.
Attachment styles were measured with Barthol-
omew and Horowitz’s3 four short descriptions of at-
tachment styles. Breadth and depth of interaction
with online relational partners were measured with
a scale derived from Parks and Floyd’s4 scale of lev-
els of development in online relationship. The par-
ticipants rated the degree to which they felt each
statement could describe his or her communication
with the identified relational partner on a five-point
Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree)
to 5 (strongly agree). Five items assessed interaction
breadth (  0.83); six items assessed interaction
depth (  0.80). A shortened version of Hen-
drick’s5 five-point Likert-type relational assessment
scale was used to measure online relationship sat-
isfaction. The alpha reliability for the relationship
satisfaction was 0.79.
Statistic analysis
Separate 4  3 analyses of covariance (ANCO-
VAs) were conducted, with attachment style and re-
lationship type as independent variables, and
breadth and depth of interaction and relationship
satisfaction as dependent variables. Because rela-
tionship length varied substantially, it was entered
as a covariate in all the analyses.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
On the dimension of interaction breadth, AN-
COVA produced an interaction between attachment
style and relationship type, F(6, 99)  3.22, p  0.01,
2  0.06. Tukey contrast revealed that within ca-
sual friendships, secure and fearful individuals ex-
hibited higher levels of interaction breadth in com-
parison to preoccupied and dismissing individuals.
However, within close friendships and romantic re-
lationships, the four attachment styles did not dif-
fer significantly on this dimension. On the dimen-
sion of interaction depth, ANCOVA also yielded an
interaction between attachment style and relation-
ship type, F(6, 99)  2.17, p  0.05, 2  0.05. The
following Tukey contrast showed that the interac-
tion pattern was the same as that of interaction
breadth. Specifically, within casual friendships, se-
cure and fearful individuals reported higher levels
of interaction depth than did preoccupied and dis-
missing individuals, whereas within close friend-
ships and romantic relationship, the four attach-
ment styles were not significantly.
To test the effect of attachment style on online re-
lationship satisfaction, ANCOVA revealed a main
effect of relationship type, F(2, 99)  11.19, p 
0.001, 2  0.15, and an interaction between attach-
ment style and relationship type, F(6,99)  2.32, p 
0.05, 2  0.10. Overall, satisfaction scores were sig-
nificantly higher among those involved in close
friendships (M  4.10) or romantic relationships
(M  3.96), as compared to those involved in casual
friendships (M  3.38). However, the interaction
with attachment style indicated that the pattern of
relationship satisfaction differed across attachment
style in certain types of relationships. Tukey con-
trast showed that such differences existed only in
casual friendships: dismissing individuals were
most satisfied with casual friendships, followed
with fearful and secure individuals, then preoccu-
pied individuals.
Consistent with propositions about interpersonal
relationship development, the findings of the study
underscored the important role of relationship type
in communication patterns and relationship satis-
faction in online relationships. As people’s rela-
tionships develop to a higher level, the breadth and
depth of interaction increases. It seems once peo-
ple’s online relationships have reached a level of
high closeness, people feel comfortable to talk about
a wide range of topics and are willing to have in-
depth conversation regardless of attachment style
differences. Moreover, people with different attach-
ment styles reported similar level of satisfaction
with these close relationships. One potential expla-
nation is that within close online relationships, the
characteristics of the online setting, such as lack of
nonverbal cues and perceived similarity (e.g., mem-
bers of the same newsgroup), can function as a lev-
YE606
eler for different attachment styles. Collins and
Feeney1 have suggested that in certain contexts, at-
tachment systems may be deactivated. For example,
dismissing individuals may learn that they can ef-
fectively derive comfort and security from relational
partners if they do not openly express their attach-
ment needs. It would be of interest to examine how
characteristics of CMC along with attachment style
affect people’s online communication behaviors and
relational outcomes.
In sum, the study provides insight regarding how
relational needs impact social relationships developed
in the electronic setting. The findings also contribute
to the growing body of literature on online relation-
ships in general. Future research may build on this
study to further explore how attachment style may in-
fluence people’s general online social behaviors.
REFERENCES
1. Collins, N.L., & Feeney, B.C. (2004). An attachment the-
ory perspective on closeness and intimacy. In Mashek,
D.J., & Aaron, A. (eds.) Handbook of closeness and inti-
macy. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, pp. 163–188.
2. Bartholomew, K. (1990). Avoidance of intimacy: an at-
tachment perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Re-
lationships 7:147–178.
3. Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L.M. (1991). Attach-
ment styles among young adults: a test of a four cate-
gory model. Journal of Personal and Social Psychology
61:226–244.
4. Parks, M., & Floyd, K. (1996). Making friends in cy-
berspace. Journal of Communication 46:80–97.
5. Hendrick, S.S. (1988). A generic measure of relation-
ship satisfaction. Journal of Marriage and the Family
50:93–98.
Address reprint requests to:
Dr. Jiali Ye
National Center for Primary Care
Morehouse School of Medicine
720 Westview Drive, Ste 245A
Atlanta, GA 30310
E-mail: jye@msm.edu
ATTACHMENT DIFFERENCES IN ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS 607



Attachment style difference in online relationship involvement: An examination of interaction characteristics and relationship satisfaction

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Attachment style difference in online relationship involvement: An examination of interaction characteristics and relationship satisfaction

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