Are emotional and instrumental supportive interactions beneficial in times of stress? The impact of attachment style

The present study investigates the contribution of individuals' attachment style to the effectiveness of social support in dealing with stress. Secure, avoidant, and anxious-ambivalent persons were exposed to a stressful situation (handling a snake). Then, participants waited alone for the task or were assigned to either emotional or instrumental conversations with a partner, and their affective state before and after the social interactions were measured. Findings indicated that the affective state of securely attached participants was improved by either emotional or instrumental social interactions. The affective state of avoidant persons benefited from an instrumental conversation, but it was impaired by an emotionally-ladden social interaction. Anxious-ambivalent persons were not affected by an emotional conversation, but showed an increase in negative affects after an instrumental conversation. Results were discussed in terms of attachment theory and research.