Elise FERRERDevelopmental psychology, Master's Theses, Thesis Abstracts, , ,

Giftedness, attachment and intimate relationship in adulthood : a thesis abstract



Research context

My research paper is part of a larger study conducted by M. Guignard and M. Bacro on attachment, empathy and emotional regulation in gifted individuals. My research focuses on giftedness, attachment and intimate relationships in adulthood.

Firstly, giftedness or high intellectual potential is a broad concept on which researchers can’t seem to agree on. It appears to be used to qualify individuals with an intellectual quotient higher than 130, but the lack of consensual definition reveals some discrepancies (Cramond, 2004). For instance, on the one hand, it seems gifted individuals are more anxious and encounter more difficulties in social relationships than neurotypical individuals. On the other hand, authors found intelligence to be linked with better emotional regulation strategies and better adaptability in social context. Either way, the characteristic all can agree on, is a high general intelligence. 

Secondly, the attachment theory (Bowlby, 1988) was first formulated by Bowlby in the late 80s. It depicts how children seek and try to maintain an emotional bond with their care-giver(s) to feel loved and secure. Over the years, four attachment styles emerged from this theory (Main & Solomon,1990) : secure, avoidant, anxious-ambivalent and disorganized, depending on the child’s strategies to keep their care-giver’s attention. Researchers found that this theory was applicable in adulthood (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991), that adults also used inhibition and hyperactivation strategies to maintain a bond with their loved ones, especially in loving and intimate relationships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987). 

The study of attachment in gifted individuals is scarce but it is even more limited regarding their intimate relationships. One of the only studies on the matter (Dijkstra et al., 2016) (if not the only) seems to indicate that gifted people are insecurely attached to their partner and that they tend to avoid intimacy because of the risk of being rejected. Thus the main objective of this study is to understand how higher intelligence can affect attachment strategies in intimate relationships.


Methodology

Multiple tools were used to investigate this issue. To assess intelligence, the participants were evaluated through Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (A-PM I-II, Raven, 1947), where they had to choose the most logical answer among a list of propositions. To assess attachment, participants first partaken in a semi-directive interview, the Attachment Multiple Model Interview (AMMI, Miljkovitch et al., 2015), where they were asked about their parents, siblings and loving partner. The participant’s speech allows us to bring out feelings and behaviors and evaluate their attachment style. They then had to complete a 5 to 10 minutes questionnaire : the Relationship Structures questionnaire (ECR-RS,  Fraley et al., 2011), which emphasize the attachment strategies they use with their parents, best friend and partner.


Results 

To analyse our data, different statistical tests were used such as descriptive statistics, comparisons and correlations tests and multiple regression analysis. Unfortunately, as data is still being processed, it is impossible to draw any conclusion at this time. However, it is possible to consider the contributions and the limits of this study.


Limits and conclusion

The first limit that needs to be addressed in this study concerns the participants. The gifted sample was recruited through MENSA, an organization created to bring highly intelligent people together. However, MENSA members don’t seem representative of the gifted population notably because of their recruitment process. Also, the sample size is quite small and cannot reflect all of the diversity of the gifted or the non gifted population. Conducting this study during the COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted the test-taking conditions such as the requirement to wear masks and the social distancing, and the ability to find and recruit participants. Finally, the assessment of intelligence should be refined to replicate this study as Raven’s Matrices solely give us a measurement of fluid intelligence although we know it to be a multidimensional concept.

Nonetheless, my research focuses on a grey area in the scientific literature and despite its limits, it plays a part in a better understanding of the issue.


Key words

  • a bond : un lien (relationnel)
  • scare : rare
  • test-taking condition : condition de passation (d’un test)
  • to refine : affiner, peaufiner


References

Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 61, 226–244

Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base. Basic Books.

Cramond, B. (2004). Can we, should we, need we agree on a definition of giftedness ? Roeper Review, 27(1), 15‑16. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783190409554282

Dijkstra, P., Barelds, D. P. H., Ronner, S., & Nauta, A. P. (2016). Intimate Relationships of the Intellectually Gifted : Attachment Style, Conflict Style, and Relationship Satisfaction Among Members of the Mensa Society. Marriage & Family Review, 53(3), 262‑280. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2016.1177630

Fraley, R. C., Heffernan, M. E., Vicary, A. M., & Brumbaugh, C. C. (2011). The experiences in close relationships – relationship structures questionnaire: A method for assessing attachment orientations across relationships. Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 615–625. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022898

Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511

Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized/disoriented during the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Dans M. T. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti, & E. M. Cummings (Eds.), The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation series on mental health and development. Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 121–160). University of Chicago Press.

Miljkovitch, R., Moss, E., Bernier, A., Pascuzzo, K., & Sander, E. (2015). Refining the assessment of internal working models : the Attachment Multiple Model Interview. Attachment & Human Development, 17(5), 492‑521. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2015.1075561

Raven, J.C. (1947) Progressive Matrices Sets I and II (for adults). H.K. Lewis & Co., Ltd., London.

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