Study explores psychological pathways from attachment style to love addiction

A study conducted in Italy found that individuals with a fearful attachment pattern tended to exhibit stronger symptoms of love addiction. It is possible that fearful attachment increases separation anxiety. This separation anxiety may make individuals more prone to using immature defense mechanisms, which in turn could heighten the risk of developing love addiction. The research was published in Behavioral Sciences.

Love addiction is a behavioral condition in which a person becomes excessively dependent on romantic relationships, often to the point of obsession. Those affected experience intense cravings for emotional connection and constantly seek validation and attention from their partners. They often live in constant fear of abandonment, which leads to unhealthy relationship patterns such as clinginess, jealousy, or tolerating toxic behaviors.

When separated from their partner, love addicts may experience withdrawal-like symptoms, including anxiety, depression, or compulsive behaviors such as excessive texting or stalking. The condition has been linked to low self-esteem, childhood trauma, and underlying mental health issues such as attachment disorders.

Study author Eleonora Topino and her colleagues hypothesized that separation anxiety and maladaptive defense mechanisms jointly mediate the association between fearful attachment and love addiction. In other words, a fearful attachment pattern may increase separation anxiety and make individuals more likely to use maladaptive defense mechanisms to cope with stress. These factors, in turn, could contribute to love addiction.

Fearful attachment is one of four recognized emotional attachment patterns. It is characterized by a deep desire for closeness combined with an intense fear of rejection, leading individuals to avoid emotional intimacy while simultaneously craving it. The other three patterns include:

• Secure attachment, where individuals feel comfortable with both intimacy and independence;
• Anxious attachment, marked by a strong need for closeness and a fear of abandonment; and
• Avoidant attachment, in which individuals prioritize independence and resist emotional closeness.

The study involved 332 Italian students who reported being in a romantic relationship. Of the participants, 80% were female, and the average age was 23 years.

Participants completed assessments measuring symptoms of love addiction (using the Love Addiction Inventory – Short Form), attachment patterns (the Relationship Questionnaire), separation anxiety (the Seven Domains Addiction Scale), and defense mechanisms (the Forty Item Defense Style Questionnaire).

Results showed that individuals with a fearful attachment pattern tended to report stronger symptoms of love addiction. Those with higher levels of love addiction also tended to experience greater separation anxiety and more frequent use of neurotic and immature defense mechanisms.

Neurotic defense mechanisms include:

• Undoing (attempting to “cancel out” an unacceptable thought or action),
• Pseudo-altruism (helping others in ways that unconsciously benefit oneself),
• Idealization (overestimating someone’s positive qualities while ignoring their flaws), and
• Reaction formation (expressing the opposite of one’s true feelings to reduce anxiety).

Immature defense mechanisms include:

• Projection (attributing one’s unacceptable thoughts or feelings to others),
• Passive aggression (indirectly expressing anger or resentment),
• Acting out (engaging in impulsive or destructive behavior to express emotions),
• Denial (refusing to accept reality to avoid distress),
• Dissociation (detaching from emotions or reality to cope with stress),
• Devaluation (minimizing the worth of oneself or others to manage insecurity),
• Autistic fantasy (excessive daydreaming as an escape from reality),
• Splitting (viewing people or situations as all good or all bad), and
• Somatization (converting emotional distress into physical symptoms).

The researchers tested a statistical model proposing that fearful attachment increases both separation anxiety and the use of neurotic defense mechanisms. In this model, separation anxiety further increases the use of immature defense mechanisms. Both categories of defense mechanisms then contribute to the development of love addiction. The results supported the plausibility of this proposed relationship.

“The results highlight the role of insecure attachment, particularly the fearful pattern, as a significant risk factor for love addiction. The study also demonstrates the mediating role of separation anxiety and neurotic/immature defense mechanisms in this relationship. This suggests that individuals with a fearful attachment style may experience higher levels of separation anxiety, leading them to employ maladaptive defense mechanisms, which in turn contribute to the development or maintenance of love addiction,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the links between attachment patterns and love addiction. However, the design of the study does not allow any causal inferences to be drawn from the data. The psychological mechanism proposed in the study remains only a possibility until it can be verified with a stronger study design.

The paper, “Risk Factors for Love Addiction in a Sample of Young Adult Students: A Multiple Mediation Model Exploring the Role of Adult Attachment, Separation Anxiety, and Defense Mechanisms,” was authored by Eleonora Topino, Marco Cacioppo, Shady Dell’Amico, and Alessio Gori.