Conclusions
Stability in attachment representation in this middle class sample was very high..
We did find some amount of change toward secure attachment. All of it across the transition to marriage. We suspect that the mechanisms for such change include both actual secure base experience, reflection upon one’s role and responsibilities as a secure base partner, and co-constructive narrative building interactions that may be more characteristic of marriage than of courtship or dating relationships.
The absence of change over the transition to parenthood may reflect the fact that co-constructive processes are less a part of parenting although they can certainly occur when both parents are fully engaged and actively working to coordinate their parenting.
Alternatively, all of the people whose attachment representation could change in response to ordinary experience changed over the transition to marriage. That is, all of the easy changes were accomplished in the transition to marriage and little more would be expected from parenthood.