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Ashlyn Griffith, Psy.D., is a 2026 graduate of the Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, New England

Dissertation Committee:

  • Karen Meteyer, PhD, Chairperson
  • Gina Pasquale, PsyD, Committee Member
  • Rosalyn DeVincentis, PsyD, Committee Member

Keywords

attachment, earned security, romantic relationships, adulthood, interpretive phenomenological analysis

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

This dissertation explored how earned attachment security is experienced and developed within long-term romantic relationships through couples’ shared narratives. Using dyadic interviews, the study focused on romantic partners in which one individual demonstrated continuous attachment security while the other described a shift toward earned security over time. Although existing attachment research has examined the traits that encourage security in other relational contexts, limited research has explored the lived attachment experiences of couples or their shared understanding of how security develops within romantic love. Five long-term romantic couples participated in semi-structured dyadic interviews designed to elicit shared narratives of relationship development, experiences of insecurity, and relational change. Data was analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), with attention to both individual meaning making and the co-constructed nature of the dyadic narratives. Analysis revealed three superordinate themes: (a) establishing safety through consistent emotional responsiveness, (b) navigating insecurity through rupture and repair as a shared relational process, and (c) the gradual internalization of earned security over time. Across couples, earned security was not described as the absence of insecurity, but as a felt shift in how insecurity was experienced, understood, and managed within the relationship. These findings suggest that romantic relationships may serve as meaningful contexts for attachment reorganization in adulthood and support conceptualizing earned attachment security as a relationally sustained process rather than a fixed attachment outcome. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

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ORCID iD: 0009-0007-2484-6165

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