Secure attachment: implications for hope, trust, burnout, and performance BRET L. SIMMONS 1 * , JANAKI GOOTY 2 , DEBRA L. NELSON 3 AND LAURA M. LITTLE 4 1 University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, U.S.A. 2 State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, U.S.A. 3 Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, U.S.A. 4 University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, U.S.A. Summary Secureattachmentisahealthyattachmentstylethatenablesindividualstoworkautonomously as well as with others when appropriate. Secure attachments are characterized by internal regulatory mechanisms that allow individuals to be flexible and constructive in their inter- personal relationships Our model incorporates hope, trust in one’s supervisor, and burnout asexplanatoryvariablesthattranslatethebenefitsofsecureattachmentintobettersupervisor- rated task performance. Among 161 employees of an assisted living center and their super- visors,secureattachmenthadasignificant,positiverelationshipwithhope,trust,andburnout, butonlytrusthadasignificant,positiverelationshipwithsupervisor-ratedperformance.These resultsindicatethatsecureattachmentshouldbeconsideredapositivepsychologicalstrength thathasimportantimplicationsforworkingadults.Copyright # 2009JohnWiley&Sons,Ltd. Introduction Since the 1960s, Bowlby’s attachment theory has become an important framework in understanding interpersonal processesinadulthood;namely,thewayinwhichattachmentstyleaffectsthequalityof closerelationships.Theseinterpersonalprocesseshavebeenstudiedinavarietyofcontextsincluding the work context wherein attachment style has been related to socialization, change adjustment, and leader-follower relations (Kahn, 1995; Keller, 2003; Nelson, Quick, & Joplin, 1991). Recently, progress has been made in terms of theory and research on the internal regulatory processes that are characteristicofattachmentstyles(Mikulincer,1995;Mikulincer&Florian,1995).Thisresearchhas shiftedfocustoincludetheimpactofattachmentstyleonone’srepresentationoftheselfandone’sview ofothers,whichthenhasexploredtheexplanatorymechanismsthatmighttranslatesecureattachments intopositivepsychologicalstatesandperformanceatwork(i.e.,Hazan&Shaver,1987,1990).Infact, Lopez(2003)concludedthat‘‘givenitsstrongassociationswithhealthyandadaptiveself-regulationin adulthood,attachmentsecurityarguablycouldserveasakeyconstructinthecontinueddevelopmentof positive psychology’’ (p. 285). Journal of Organizational Behavior J. Organiz. Behav. 30, 233–247 (2009) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/job.585 *Correspondence to: Bret L. Simmons, Department of Managerial Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, U.S.A. E-mail: simmonsb@unr.edu Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 10 November 2008