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Article

Life Positions and Attachment Styles: A Canonical Correlation Analysis

Pages 62-67
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
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This article describes research that investigates the relationship between life positions (Berne, 1962) and the attachment prototypes of Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991). These two constructs were perceived by the authors to have a one-to-one correspondence. “I'm OK, You're OK” (I+U+) was hypothesized to be correlated with secure attachment; “I'm Not OK, You're OK” (I-U+) with preoccupied attachment; “I'm OK, You're Not OK” (I+U-) with the dismissing attachment prototype; and “I'm Not OK, You're Not OK” (I-U-) with fearful attachment. The results of a canonical correlation analysis yielded R = .59, χ2 = 92.92 (df = 16), p < .01, showing a reliable relationship between the two major constructs under investigation. The squared canonical R was .348. This indicates that almost 35% of the variation is shared by life positions and attachment. At a specific level, secure attachment positively correlated with I+U+, r = .44, p < .05. Dismissing attachment correlated reliably with the parallel life position, I+U-, r = .20, p < .05, while the fearful attachment also correlated well with I-U-, r = .40, p < .05. Preoccupied attachment did not correlate with its conceptual parallel, I-U+, r = .05, p > .05; this is the only hypothesis that was not supported. The conceptual parallelism between the two constructs is argued, although their theoretical differences are also recognized.

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Author information

Michael Mark B. Mende

Fredrick A. Boholst, M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City, Philippines. He is the vice chairman of the Philippine Mental Health Association, Cebu City Chapter, and a member of the editorial board of the Transactional Analysis Journal. He can be reached by writing the Department of Psychology, University of San Carlos, P. del Rosario St., Cebu City, Philippines, or by email at . His Web site is at http://geocities.com/fredrickboholst/ .
Giselle B. Boholst, M.A. (Candidate) in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, is a personnel training supervisor at Allied Banking Corporation in Cebu City, Philippines.
Michael Mark B. Mende, M.A. in Industrial Relations, is a faculty member in the Social Sciences Department at the University of the Philippines-Cebu College, Philippines.
 

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