Journal of Counseling & Development ■ Summer 2007 ■ Volume 85 337 © 2007 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved. Researchers have tried to pinpoint the antecedents to per- sonality development for decades. Although there is some evidence of heritability for normal personality traits, there does not appear to be sufficient evidence to support the notion that personality disorders (PDs) are genetically transmitted (McGuffin & Thapar, 1992; Nigg & Goldsmith, 1994). This leaves much of the variance in PD behavior to be explained by psychosocial and environmental factors (Vaillant, 1987). Risk factor research has identified several environmental risk fac- tors for personality dysfunction, including family dysfunction, early separation and loss, parental neglect, childhood abuse or trauma, parental psychopathology, and social disintegration (Paris, 1996, 1997). However, none of these risk factors can consistently account for a significant amount of personality dysfunction. It has been suggested that successful approaches to the treatment and understanding of PDs need to be built on a broad etiological framework in order to understand how such disorders are developed and maintained (Paris, 1998). Although risk factor research has identified developmental antecedents that can lead to significant impairment in one’s interpersonal, cognitive, and affective ways of relating (Ameri- can Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000), published studies on the etiology of PDs are limited. Research by Watson and Sinha (1995) lends support to a dimensional (rather than categorical) view of personality, even when considering PD characteristics and traits. For example, using clinical and nonclinical samples, they found similari- ties in the dimensional structure of PDs across measures and samples, noting that PD traits appear to be present in a variety of intensities in both clinical and nonclinical samples. This suggests that PD traits are not unique to individuals with PD diagnoses but rather indicate support for a common dimen- sional structure between nonclinical and clinical samples (Dyce, O’Connor, Parkins, & Janzen, 1997; Livesley & Schroeder, 1990; Livesley, Schroeder, & Jackson, 1992). A dimensional view of PDs suggests that dysfunction may lie on a continuum. As such, all behavior may be considered adaptive behavior, and “pathological behavior” is viewed as once having important utility but is currently no longer functional or productive (Ivey, 1991). Following from Ivey, and consistent with prior work (Lyddon & Sherry, 2001), this article addresses PDs as developmental personality styles (DPSs). The word styles emphasizes that such personality traits lie on a dimensional continuum replacing the categori- cal word disorder. The term developmental implies that such personality traits, although no longer functional for the indi- vidual, often develop adaptively in the context of the person’s life experiences and relationships. Attachment Theory In order to organize a dimensional view of DPS etiology, a comprehensive theoretical framework is needed. Such a framework should account for and explain the dysfunc- tional areas of cognition, affect, interpersonal functioning, and impulse control that are essential for the diagnosis. Attachment theory is a metaperspective that holds promise for explaining these aspects of DPSs. Not only does it em- phasize cognitive, affective, and interpersonal dynamics, it also addresses important links between one’s past learning experiences and current functioning (Lopez, 1995; Lyddon, 1995). Attachment theory effectively accounts for the in- evitable developmental logic associated with even the most disturbed behavior (Ivey, 1991). Attachment theorists propose that there are distinct quali- ties of the caregiver–child relationship that shape the develop- ment and personality of a child (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980). Attachment theory’s principal concern is with the role that enduring affectional bonds between child and caregiver play in shaping one’s personality and life course (Lopez, 1995). Alissa Sherry, Counseling Psychology Program, Department of Educational Psychology at the University ofTexas at Austin; William J. Lyddon, Counseling Psychology Program, Department of Psychology at The University of Southern Mississippi; Robin K. Henson, Educational Research, Department of Technology and Cognition at the University of North Texas. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Alissa Sherry, The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Educational Psychology, 1 University Station D5800, Austin, TX 78712-0383 (e-mail: alissa.sherry@mail.utexas.edu). Adult Attachment and Developmental Personality Styles: An Empirical Study Alissa Sherry, William J. Lyddon, and Robin K. Henson The current study was designed to test specific hypotheses associated with W. J. Lyddon and A. Sherry’s (2001) at- tachment theory model of developmental personality styles. More specifically, 4 adult attachment dimensions were correlated with 10 personality scales on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (T. Millon, R. Davis, & C. Millon, 1997) with a sample of 273 men and women. Findings indicated that the adult attachment dimensions were able to predict 7 of the 10 personality styles.