Attachment, Autonomy, and Emotional Reliance: A Multilevel Model

Emotional reliance is a motivational construct reflecting the willingness to seek interpersonal support (Ryan, La Guardia, Solky-Butzel, Chirkov, & Kim, 2005). Given the importance of interpersonal support during stressful events (Cohen, Sherrod, & Clark, 1986; Pierce, Sarason, & Sarason, 1991), the willingness to seek interpersonal support may be especially relevant to counselors and other helping professionals who are all too familiar with the motivational problems that can prevent clients from beginning or continuing in counseling. But what factors or processes are associated with the willingness to seek support, and how might this information be useful to counselors? Recently, there has been some debate on the relative contributions of autonomy versus security in interpersonal processes (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007; Ryan, Brown, & Creswell, 2007). Two theories suggest that emotional reliance may be one of the processes influenced by security, autonomy, or both. Attachment theory (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1973) suggests that those who provide security are more likely to elicit trust and support-seeking behavior. Self-determination theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2000b) holds that people prefer to turn to partners who provide support for their basic psychological needs, particularly the need for autonomy (Ryan et al., 2005). Although the two constructs are not mutually exclusive—indeed, both theories consider attachment and autonomy to be important—they are assigned a different priority depending on the theoretical orientation. The present research attempts to address a gap in the literature by exploring the respective contributions of autonomy and security provision to emotional reliance. For counselors, understanding the role played by security and autonomy in the willingness to seek support may suggest ways of working with their clients that can enhance client motivation. The larger theoretical issue to which this question points is how an understanding of security and autonomy can be used to frame a positive theory of relationship processes (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007; Ryan et al., 2007). A secondary aim of the present study is to provide an example of how multilevel modeling (MLM) can be used by researchers in counseling and development (see also Lynch, 2012b).