Developmental Personality Styles: An Attachment Theory Conceptualization of Personality Disorders

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2001

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Attachment theory, as a developmentally based theory of personality formation, provides a viable framework for understanding the development and maintenance of personality disorders, or what A. E. Ivey and M. B. Ivey (1998) have referred to as "developmental personality styles." Using K. Bartholomew's (1990) 4-dimensional model of adult attachment as an organizational framework, 10 developmental personality styles are differentiated regarding their unique attachment experiences, working models of self and other, and feedforward beliefs. Implications of an attachment theory framework for counseling clients with problematic developmental personality styles are discussed.

Publication Title

Journal of Counseling and Development

Volume

79

Issue

4

First Page

405

Last Page

414

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