What does a theory that helps explain romantic relationship styles in adults have to do with caring about climate change and the environment?

A lot, says one Kansas researcher. It’s called attachment theory, and you may have encountered it in your own therapy or through the many social media channels and podcasts dedicated to helping people be better partners.

The latest research shows that attachment theory, which is about how our early childhood bonds affect individual behavior and how we form adult romantic relationships throughout life, could be far more existential than we first thought. It might help preserve the health of our planet.

“For the sake of simplicity, people who are secure, low anxiety or avoidant, are the ones who are more likely to engage in pro-social behavior and be more altruistic – like caring about climate change,” Prof. Omri Gillath, professor of psychology at the University of Kansas, told Reckon. “Whereas people who are insecure in relationships, high anxiety or avoidant, are less likely to engage in that process or will do it for the wrong reasons — to deal with their anxieties, get close to other people and feel appreciated.”

Attachment theory generally categorizes every person into one of three groups: secure, anxious and avoidant. Secure individuals are comfortable with intimacy and trust easily, while anxious people fear rejection and seek validation, and avoidant types shun closeness, fearing loss of independence.

A fourth style, disorganized or anxious-avoidant, includes anxious and avoidant elements and involves unpredictable or confusing behavior.

Gillath’s research primarily focuses on how our attachment styles affect how we are as caregivers, our altruistic tendencies and how they prepare us to receive compassionate care, but several recent studies have looked specifically at the link between attachment styles and climate change.

One study from 2022 echoes Gillath’s thoughts, noting that people with insecure attachment styles most likely don’t care about climate change or the environment.

“Insecure attachment predisposes us, as a species, to neglect, denigrate, and commodify the natural world, which, in turn, is giving rise to climate change,” noted the study, Mother Nature: An Initial Exploration of New Potential for Attachment theory.

The research appeared in Australasia Psychiatry, the bi-monthly journal of the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.

A 2021 research article by academics at the University of Oslo made noted that secure individuals cared more about climate change because they had increased empathy for humanity.

There’s another fascinating piece to this new research. The 2022 study found that conservatives, who in the United States are statistically less likely to care about the environment and climate change, do care about our precious planet under certain circumstances. They need to have their concern for others activated.

“We demonstrate that this activation bypasses the resistance of politically conservative individuals to mitigate climate change,” noted the 2021 study, which the authors said can help with intervention and policymaking strategies to help fight climate change in the future.

The good news is that changing your attachment style and your views on climate change is possible. Therapy and dating a secure person are two options, said Gillath. However, he and his team at the University of Kansas found ways to alter attachment styles by exposing people to positive words and images that made them feel more secure. This is known as security priming.

Various studies reported that those who participated showed increased positive mood and self-esteem, authenticity and honesty, tolerance, pro-social behaviors, and preference for long-term mating strategies rather than one-night stands. Instances of regret, social biases, non-compassionate breakup strategies and depression went down.

What can you do at home to help the change? Gillath says that being more tolerant, forgiving, kind, trusting and grateful are great ways to start. He also suggests helping others, even if it feels fake at first.

“Let go of your defensiveness and hatred, especially these days,” he said in his 2017 Tedx Talk. “Try to find the things that work for you and repeat them.”