Insecure attachment intensifies risk of love addiction, study suggests

New research suggests that insecure attachment styles, especially anxious attachment, play a crucial role in the development of love addiction. The findings, published in the journal Psychology & Sexuality, shed light on why some individuals are more prone to developing unhealthy, obsessive behaviors towards their romantic partners.

Love addiction is a psychological condition characterized by an overwhelming obsession and dependence on a romantic partner, leading to significant distress and impairment in daily functioning. Individuals suffering from love addiction exhibit behaviors such as constantly thinking about their partner, feeling the need to spend excessive time with them, using the relationship to cope with emotional distress, and experiencing withdrawal symptoms when apart.

The legitimacy of love addiction as a diagnosable condition is still a topic of debate within the scientific community. While it shares similarities with other behavioral addictions, some experts caution against overpathologizing normal intense emotions and passions that can occur in romantic relationships.

To better understand and delineate love addiction from healthy passionate love, researchers have turned to attachment theory. This theory suggests that early relationships with caregivers shape our future interpersonal dynamics and attachment styles, which in turn influence how we form and maintain romantic relationships.

In their new study, the researchers aimed to identify whether insecure attachment styles — such as anxious or avoidant attachment — might predispose individuals to developing love addiction. By examining these psychological factors, they sought to provide insights into the conditions under which passionate love might escalate into pathological love addiction.

The study involved 307 participants, who were recruited through social media platforms and university networks. The participants, who were required to be at least 18 years old and identify as male or female, completed a series of self-report questionnaires designed to measure various aspects of their romantic relationships and psychological functioning.

The researchers found a strong positive correlation between passionate love and love addiction. In other words, those who agreed with statements such as “I want my partner physically, emotionally, mentally” and “Sometimes I feel I can’t control my thought; they are obsessively on my partner” tended to score higher on a measure of love addiction.

Participants with insecure attachment styles, particularly those with anxious attachment, also showed a higher propensity for love addiction. Anxious attachment is marked by a preoccupation with relationships and a constant need for reassurance and approval. These individuals tend to worry excessively about the stability of their relationships, which can lead to behaviors characteristic of love addiction, such as obsessive thinking about the partner and distress when separated from them.

Avoidant attachment styles, characterized by discomfort with closeness and emotional intimacy, showed less consistent but still notable associations with love addiction, particularly with withdrawal symptoms when separated from their partner. This indicates that while avoidant individuals may struggle with aspects of love addiction, their tendency to distance themselves emotionally may mitigate some of the more overt symptoms.

Insecure attachment styles were also found to intensify the relationship between passionate love and love addiction. This suggests that individuals with high levels of passionate love are at greater risk of developing love addiction if they also have insecure attachment styles.

For example, an individual with anxious attachment who experiences passionate love may become excessively preoccupied with their partner, leading to addictive behaviors. This finding is crucial for clinicians as it indicates that the presence of insecure attachment can serve as a predictor for when passionate love might become problematic.

The researchers controlled for age and gender in their analyses. But the study includes some limitations to consider. First, the cross-sectional design limits the ability to infer causality, meaning that while associations can be identified, it cannot be determined whether one variable directly causes changes in another. Second, the reliance on self-report measures may introduce biases such as social desirability bias, where participants might answer in ways they believe are more socially acceptable rather than being completely truthful.

Future studies might consider longitudinal designs to establish causality, incorporate more diverse samples to enhance generalizability, and utilize mixed methods to validate self-report measures with observational or clinical interview data.

Nevertheless, the findings provide valuable insights into the links between passionate love, attachment styles, and love addiction. They highlight the importance of considering psychological factors when assessing the potential for passionate love to develop into love addiction.

The study, “Love addiction and sexual satisfaction within the attachment perspective: an empirical contribution,” was authored by Guyonne Rogier, Ferdinando Di Marzio, Christian Presicci, Roberta Gabriella Cavalli, and Patrizia Velotti.