Exploring the Relationship between Childhood Neglect and Adult Attachment Style and Love Language Preferences

The purpose of this study work is to examine the relationship between childhood neglect, adult attachment style and preferred love languages. There were two theories developed for this investigation. According to Hypothesis 1, those who were neglected as children will have an unstable attachment style. According to hypothesis number two, people with insecure attachment styles would gravitate toward love languages that provide comfort and approval. Three instruments were used in the study to collect data: the Love Language Scale by Chapman, the Adult Attachment Scale by Hazen and Shaver, and the Neglect Scale by Murray A. Straus. The participants ranged in age from eighteen to twenty-five college going graduate and post graduate students. Participants in the study completed the aforementioned questionnaires to determine their preferences for love language, adult attachment style, and childhood neglect. A correlational research design was used. To investigate the associations between the variables, statistical studies were performed using correlation coefficients. The results of this study showed that individuals who had undergone emotional childhood neglect showed a higher relationship with insecure attachment styles as compared to those who did not. The results also indicated that there is a relationship between adult attachment style and preferred love languages.