Many of my posts focus on research studies that have examined how relationship quality is associated with health in LGBTQ couples. Although the facets of relationship quality assessed vary somewhat, most studies in some way evaluate how satisfied with, invested in, and/or committed to a relationship someone is. As such, relationship quality is inherently interpersonal. It is how someone thinks and feels about their association with someone else (i.e., their relationship partner).

But what about how people feel about themselves? Or their beliefs about how others feel about them? Consider how you might respond in conversation if someone were to ask you the following questions about your relationships in general:

These kinds of questions are similar to those asked on measures of adult attachment style (Collins & Read, 1990; Fraley et al., 2000). Notice that the instructions are asking you to think about your relationships broadly (in general), not just one relationship with a specific person. The assumption is that your answers convey something about the way you think about yourself and other people.

Attachment theory was first proposed by Bowlby (1977) and expanded upon by Ainsworth (1989). The general premise is that, beginning at birth, our interactions with other people shape the way we think about, feel toward, and behave in future interactions. There has been a lot of scholarship on attachment since. As a starting point, let's focus on two dimensions – anxiety and avoidance – that characterize adult relationships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987, 1994). These dimensions are not the only way attachment has been understood, but they are commonly used in health-related studies of LGBTQ people.

Attachment develops over time (McConnell & Moss, 2011) beginning in infancy. Children whose parents are reasonably responsive,........

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