The relationship experiences people have faced across their life create different beliefs, expectations, and ways of dealing with difficult interpersonal situations. When people have tough relationship experiences, they tend to hold negative relationship expectations, distrust others or belief they will be rejected, and develop poor strategies to manage their emotions and relationships. These attachment insecurities make it difficult for people to sustain happy relationships. Our research examines the different ways that attachment insecurity can harm relationships, including how attachment insecurity shapes how people perceive their relationships and relationship partners, manage conflict with close others, give and receive support, and generally behave in their daily relationship life. More importantly, our research examines how partners can help insecure individuals feel more secure and behave more constructively to have more satisfying relationships.
Relevant Publications:
Girme, Y.U. & Overall, N.C. (2024). Greater average levels of relatedness need fulfilment across daily and monthly life predict lower attachment insecurities across time. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. doi.org/10.1177/02654075231162390
Sasaki, E., Overall, N.C., Reis, H.T., Righetti, F., Chang, V.T., Low, R.S.T., Henderson, A.M.E., McRae, C.S., Cross, E.J., Jayamaha, S.D., Maniaci, M.R. & Reid, C.J. (2023). Feeling loved as a strong link in relationship interactions: Partners who feel loved may buffer destructive behavior by actors who feel unloved. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 125(2), 367-396. doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000419
Chang, V.T., & Overall, N.C. (2022). Attachment anxiety, tracking accuracy, and biased memory of prior relationship evaluations. Personal Relationships, 29, 262-282. doi.org/10.1111/pere.12417
Overall, N.C., Chang, V.T., Pietromonaco, P.R., Low, S.T. & Henderson, A.M.E. (2022). Partners’ attachment insecurity and stress predict poorer relationship functioning during COVID-19 quarantines. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13, 285-298. doi.org/10.1177/1948550621992973
Overall, N.C., Pietromonaco, P.R. & Simpson, J.A. (2022). Buffering and spillover of adult attachment insecurity in couple and family relationships. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1, 101-111. doi.10.1038/s44159-021-00011-1
Pietromonaco, P.R. & Overall, N.C. (2022). Implications of social isolation, separation and loss during the Covid-19 pandemic for couples’ relationships. Current Opinion in Psychology, 43, 189-194. doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.07.014
Girme, Y.U., Jones, R.E., Fleck, C., Simpson, J.A., & Overall, N.C. (2021). Infants’ attachment insecurity predicts attachment-relevant emotion regulation patterns in adulthood. Emotion, 21(2), 260-272. doi.org/10.1037/emo0000721
Girme, Y.U., Peters, B. J., Baker, L.R., Overall, N.C., Fletcher, G.J.O., Reis, H.T., Jamieson, J.P. & Sigal, M.J. (2021). Attachment anxiety and the curvilinear effects of expressive suppression on individuals’ and partners’ outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121, 524-547. doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000338
McRae, C. S., Overall, N. C., Henderson, A. M. E., Low, R. S. T., & Cross, E.J. (2021). Conflict-Coparenting Spillover: The role of actors’ and partners’ attachment insecurity and gender. Journal of Family Psychology, 35(7), 972-982. doi.org/10.1037/fam0000884
Nakamura, M.S., Simpson, J.A., & Overall, N.C. (2020). Partner buffering in intimate relationships: An attachment perspective. In Laura E. Vanderdrift, Christopher R. Agnew, and Ximena B. Arriaga (Eds.), Interdependence, Interaction, and Close Relationships. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Sasaki, E., & Overall, N.C. (2020). A dyadic perspective of felt security: Does partners’ security buffer the effects of actors’ insecurity on daily commitment? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 7411. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207411
Karantzas, G.C., Simpson, J.A., Overall, N.C., & Campbell, L. (2019). The association between attachment orientations and partner evaluations: An ideal standards perspective. Personal Relationships, 26, 628-653. doi.org/10.1111/pere.12297
Girme, Y.U., Overall, N.C., & Hammond, M.D. (2019). Facilitating autonomy in interdependent relationships: Invisible support facilitates highly avoidant individuals’ autonomy. Journal of Family Psychology, 33, 154-165. doi.org/10.1037/fam0000488
Overall, N.C. (2019). Attachment insecurity and power regulation in intimate relationships. Current Opinion in Psychology, 25, 53-58. doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.03.004
Overall, N.C., & Cross, E.J. (2019). Attachment insecurity and the regulation of power and dependence in intimate relationships. In C.R. Agnew & J.J. Harmon (Eds.), Power in Close Relationships (pp. 28-54). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Peters, B.J., Overall, N.C., Girme, Y.U., & Jamieson, J.P. (2019). Partners’ attachment insecurity predicts greater physiological threat in anticipation of attachment-relevant interactions. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36, 469-489. doi.org/10.1177/0265407517734655
Arriaga, X.B., Kumashiro, M., Simpson, J.A., & Overall, N.C. (2018). Revising working models across time: Relationship situations that enhance attachment security. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 22, 71-96. doi.org/10.1177/1088868317705257
Cross, E.J., & Overall, N.C. (2018). Women’s attraction to benevolent sexism: Needing relationship security predicts greater attraction to men who endorse benevolent sexism. European Journal of Social Psychology, 48, 336-347. doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2334
Dixon, H.C., & Overall, N.C. (2018). Regulating fears of rejection: Dispositional mindfulness attenuates the links between daily conflict, rejection fears and destructive relationship behaviors. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 35, 159-179. doi.org/10.1177/0265407516678486
Jayamaha, S.D., Girme, Y.U., & Overall, N.C. (2017). When attachment anxiety impedes support provision: Feeling undervalued when partners are distressed. Journal of Family Psychology, 31, 181-191. doi.org/10.1037/fam0000222.
Cross, E.J., Overall, N.C. & Hammond, M.D. (2016). Perceiving partners to endorse benevolent sexism attenuates highly anxious women’s negative reactions to conflict. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 923-940. doi.org/10.1177/0146167216647933
Girme, Y.U., Molloy, P., Overall, N.C. (2016). Repairing distance and facilitating support: Reassurance seeking by highly avoidant individuals is associated with greater closeness and partner support. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 645-661. doi.org/10.1177/0146167216637846
Farrell, A.K., Simpson, J.A., Overall, N.C., & Shallcross, S.L. (2016). Buffering avoidantly attached romantic partners in strain test situations. Journal of Family Psychology, 30, 580-591. doi.org/10.1037/fam0000186.
Jayamaha, S.D., Antonellis, C., & Overall, N.C. (2016). Attachment insecurity and inducing guilt to regulate romantic partners. Personal Relationships, 23, 311-338. doi.org/10.1111/pere.12128.
Overall, N.C., Girme, Y. U., & Simpson, J.A. (2016). The Power of Diagnostic Situations: How support and conflict can foster growth and security. In C.R. Knee and H.T. Reis (Eds.), Positive Approaches to Optimal Relationship Development. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Overall, N.C., Fletcher, G.J.O., Simpson, J.A., & Filo, J. (2015). Attachment insecurity, biased perceptions of romantic partners’ negative emotions, and hostile relationship behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 108(5):730-749. doi.org/10.1037/a0038987 Download PDF
Girme, Y.U., Overall, N.C., Simpson, J.A., & Fletcher, G.J.O. (2015). “All or nothing”: Attachment avoidance and the curvilinear effects of partner support. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(3), 450-475. doi.org/10.1037/a0038866 Download PDF
Overall, N.C. & Lemay, E.P. (2015). Attachment and dyadic regulation processes. In J.A. Simpson and W.S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment Theory and Research: New Directions and Emerging Themes. New York: Guilford.
Overall, N.C. & Simpson, J.A. (2015). Attachment and dyadic regulation processes. In J.A. Simpson and E.J. Finkel (Eds.), Current Opinion in Psychology, 1, 61-66. Download PDF
Overall, N.C., Girme, Y.U., Lemay, E.P. Jr., & Hammond, M.D. (2014). Attachment anxiety and reactions to relationship threat: The benefits and costs of inducing guilt in romantic partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106, 235-256. doi.org/10.1037/a0034371 Download PDF
Simpson, J.A., & Overall, N.C. (2014). Partner buffering of attachment insecurity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 54-59. doi.org/10.1177/0963721413510933 Download PDF
Overall, N.C., Simpson, J.A., & Struthers, H. (2013). Buffering attachment avoidance: Softening emotional and behavioral defenses during conflict discussions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 854-871. doi.org/10.1037/a0031798 Download PDF
Tan, R., Overall, N.C., & Taylor, J.K. (2012). Let’s talk about us: Attachment, relationship-focused disclosure, and relationship quality. Personal Relationships, 19, 521-534. doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2011.01383.x Download PDF
Overall, N.C., & Sibley, C.G. (2009). When rejection-sensitivity matters: Regulating dependence within daily interactions with family and friends. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 1057-1070. doi.org/10.1177/0146167209336754 Download PDF
Overall, N.C., & Sibley, C.G. (2009). Attachment and dependence regulation within daily interactions with romantic partners. Personal Relationships, 16, 239-261. doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2009.01221.x Download PDF
Overall, N.C., & Sibley, C.G. (2008). Attachment and attraction toward romantic partners versus relevant alternatives within daily interactions. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 1126-1137. doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.11.006 Download PDF
Sibley, C.G., & Overall, N.C. (2008). Modeling the hierarchical structure of attachment representations: A test of domain differentiation. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 238-249. doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.08.003 Download PDF
Sibley, C.G., & Overall, N.C. (2007). The boundaries between attachment and personality: Associations across three levels of the attachment network. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 960-967. doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.10.002 Download PDF
Overall, N.C., Fletcher, G.J.O., & Friesen, M.D. (2003). Mapping the intimate relationship mind: Comparisons between three models of attachment representations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1479-1493. doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.4.662 Download PDF