Psychologists suggest that development early in life is related to the behaviors and personality that each individual exhibits later in life. Research shows that development continues into adulthood and throughout an individual's lifetime. In fact, human development is related to the environment around the individual as well as the individuals' interactions with others, especially individuals' primary caregivers (Bowlby 1988). These relationships can be seen in attachment. Attachment behavior is any form of behavior that one individual uses to maintain an attachment to another individual who is believed to be better able to cope with the world. This research project examines the associations among these early experiences in emerging adults' lives in the context of their attachment styles, their attributions, and their current relationships with romantic partners and peers. One hundred thirteen undergraduate female students in Psychology courses at the University of Central Florida between the ages of 18- to 25-years completed a packet of questionnaires assessing these variables. All participants indicated that they were involved in a relationship at the time of the study. Results of this study indicate that emerging adults' attachment to their parents, their perceptions of their parents, their attributions about their romantic partners, and their attachment to their partners and their peers are related significantly. These findings emphasize the importance of research investigating the relationships among attachment to parents and relationships during emerging adulthood.

Recent studies have shown significant improvements in the attachment security of adult therapy clients during therapy, supporting Bowlby's theory that such improvement can be influenced by secure-base caregiving provided by mentors such as therapists. However, because these studies did not measure the secure-base variable, its relationship to client attachment development remains unknown. The present study is the first to evaluate that relationship by measuring clients' pre and posttherapy attachment security using the Relationship Scales Questionnaire and therapists' secure-base caregiving using the Client Attachment to Therapist and Working Alliance Inventory, Short Form. Of 21 initially insecure client participants, 17 experienced high levels of secure-base caregiving from their therapists (the SBC-High group) while 4 experienced low levels (the SBC-Low group). Comparison of pre and posttherapy group mean attachment scores, using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, found a statistically significant improvement (a = .01) in attachment security for the SBC-High group with no statistical change in attachment security for the SBC-Low group. These findings suggest that therapists and other mentors can positively influence the attachment development of their insecure mentees. Purposeful incorporation of this knowledge into the design and goals of existing graduate and professional mentoring programs can positively influence regenerative social change by promoting the attachment security of approximately one third of mentees expected to be insecurely attached, based on demographic studies. Improving their attachments can equip them to positively influence the attachments of all their future insecure clients who, like them, might then realize the multiple benefits associated with attachment security.