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Attachment security, environmental adversity, and fast life history behavioral profiles in human adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2024

Hui Jing Lu ,
Jennifer E. Lansford Open the ORCID record for Jennifer E. Lansford [Opens in a new window] ,
Yuan Yuan Liu ,
Bin Bin Chen ,
Marc H. Bornstein ,
Ann T. Skinner ,
Kenneth A. Dodge Open the ORCID record for Kenneth A. Dodge [Opens in a new window] ,
Laurence Steinberg ,
Kirby Deater-Deckard Open the ORCID record for Kirby Deater-Deckard [Opens in a new window]  and
W. Andrew Rothenberg
...Show all authors
Hui Jing Lu
Affiliation:
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Jennifer E. Lansford
Affiliation:
Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Yuan Yuan Liu
Affiliation:
University of Macau, Taipa, Macau, China
Bin Bin Chen
Affiliation:
Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Marc H. Bornstein
Affiliation:
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, USA UNICEF, NYC, USA Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK
Ann T. Skinner
Affiliation:
Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Kenneth A. Dodge
Affiliation:
Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Laurence Steinberg
Affiliation:
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Kirby Deater-Deckard
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
W. Andrew Rothenberg
Affiliation:
Duke University, Durham, NC, USA University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Coral Gables, FL, USA
Dario Bacchini
Affiliation:
University of Naples “Federico II,” Naples, Italy
Concetta Pastorelli
Affiliation:
Università di Roma “La Sapienza,” Rome, Italy
Liane Peña Alampay
Affiliation:
Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines
Emma Sorbring
Affiliation:
University West, Trollhättan, Sweden
Sevtap Gurdal
Affiliation:
University West, Trollhättan, Sweden
Suha M. Al-Hassan
Affiliation:
Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan Emirates College for Advanced Education, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Paul Oburu
Affiliation:
Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya
Saengduean Yotanyamaneewong
Affiliation:
Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Sombat Tapanya
Affiliation:
Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Laura Di Giunta
Affiliation:
Università di Roma “La Sapienza,” Rome, Italy
Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado
Affiliation:
Universidad de San Buenaventura, Medellín, Colombia
Lei Chang*
Affiliation:
University of Macau, Taipa, Macau, China
*
Corresponding author: Lei Chang; Email: chang@um.edu.mo
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Abstract

One species-general life history (LH) principle posits that challenging childhood environments are coupled with a fast or faster LH strategy and associated behaviors, while secure and stable childhood environments foster behaviors conducive to a slow or slower LH strategy. This coupling between environments and LH strategies is based on the assumption that individuals’ internal traits and states are independent of their external surroundings. In reality, individuals respond to external environmental conditions in alignment with their intrinsic vitality, encompassing both physical and mental states. The present study investigated attachment as an internal mental state, examining its role in mediating and moderating the association between external environmental adversity and fast LH strategies. A sample of 1169 adolescents (51% girls) from 9 countries was tracked over 10 years, starting from age 8. The results confirm both mediation and moderation and, for moderation, secure attachment nullified and insecure attachment maintained the environment-LH coupling. These findings suggest that attachment could act as an internal regulator, disrupting the contingent coupling between environmental adversity and a faster pace of life, consequently decelerating human LH.

Keywords

caregiver–child attachmentextrinsic and intrinsic mortality risksfast and slow life history behavioral profiles

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Type
Regular Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , August 2025 , pp. 1534 - 1542
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© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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