Secure Attachment Style & iphysRelation to MMPI-2 Scales, the DSQ, Enneagram & MBTI Personality Type

Click to Enlarge Image.
Example results from the free online assessment provided
of adult Attachment Style. The four quadrants graph 
an adult's tendency, its strength, and inclinations.
Top left = Secure; Top right = Preoccupied;
Bottom left = Dismissive; Bottom right = Fearful.
These adult bonding patterns typically follow 
the cognitive dynamics set in motion 
by the attachment style acquired during infancy.
Results shown are my own. 

A Secure Attachment Style is frequently related to the following profiles, scales on psychological and personality tests, and slope in measurements of defense mechanisms as scored by the Defense Style Questionnaire.

An early secure style has a protective effect that lasts throughout the lifespan, even under duress later on in life, such that it is tied to lower psychopathology levels and also to a faster bouncing back from any psychological crisis they may suffer.  The effects that emerge from attachment style tend to permeate the manner of adult romantic relationships are had as well as their overall quality.

To take a free Attachment Style personality test for adults, the Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised (ECR-R), click here where you will also find large amounts of highly useful and data-driven information on the different styles and their most frequent developmental trajectories.

Secure Attachment and Enneagram of Personality Types

The Enneagram of Personality is a loose model based on the principles that guide teleological actions, unlike the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which classifies people by how they process information. As a result, though two people having the same MBTI may see eye to eye in how they go about figuring things out, their actual behavior can vary wildly because their goals and the principles that propel them forward are not measured at all by the MBTI typology.  Inversely, though two people with exactly the same Enneagram Personality number, wing, and instinctual sub-type may go about things in a similar way, it is very likely that they do not see eye-to-eye and could, thus, easily come into conflict without their similarities actually making any difference at all insofar as getting them to understand the details of how one another process the information in their environment.

Click to Enlarge Image.
Enneagram of Personality chart dividing the groups
by what they seek the most in their everyday life.

Take the Enneagram Personality Test to know your type now!

• Secure attachment style in infancy with a subsequent healthy upbringing

For an infant with a Secure Attachment Style that managed to grow up healthy into early adulthood, the most likely Enneagram of Personality types are:

• Type 8 - "The Challenger" (sometimes called the "Protector") - with a 7 wing and a 9 wing being similarly likely, and with a Sexual Instinct as most probable, unless later on repressed by religion or moral tradition, in which case Social Instinct may take shape.  A Self-Preservation Instinct would be indicative of a harsh and damaging upbringing following an initially healthy infancy.


• Type 2 - "The Helper" - with a 1 wing more likely under an optimal upbringing and a 3 wing suggesting less healthy experiences growing up.  A Social instinctual subtype would be most likely under healthy circumstances, followed by a Self-Preservation Instinct, but a Sexual Instinct may suggest a perverse aspect underlying the helping actions regardless of the wing type.


• Type 4 - "The Individualist - with a 5 wing being healthiest and a 3 wing suggesting some troubles during development, though not necessarily an unhealthy context.  A secure infant that grew up less healthy and became a 4w3 is likely to fall into a Sexual Instinct as a means of validation, a little less likely to display a Social Instinct as a means of attaining the long-term goals of authentic originally and material success, with a Self-Preservation Instinct being so counterproductive that its very existence could cancel the configuration altogether, thereby changing the enneagram configuration and making this a moot point.  On the other hand, Self-Preservation is the mode of choice for any 4w5 whose cognitive dynamics had secure attachment as a starting point and a healthy path afterwards because self-preservation would afford a path where the person could become truly authentic by becoming wise beyond their years.  If, however, the person is extroverted and possesses exceptional social skills, that opportunistic "Individualist" may adapt a Social Instinctual sub-type; likewise, were the 4w5 very physically attractive and desirable, a Sexual Instinct could be adopted to obtain recognized individuality in virtue of their sexual prowess and also obtain knowledge by getting to know people in the intimate setting where they are most vulnerable to tell the truth while being repeatedly questioned.

• Likely enneagram types for secure infants whose context became less optimal over their formative years

If the quality of treatment of those closest individuals deteriorates, the following Enneagram Archetypes become more likely as the secure infant struggles into adulthood.

• Type 1 - "Reformer" - with a wing 9 suggesting less detrimental conditions and a 2 wing being largely indicative of a gargantuan amount of built-up ressentiment towards family, work associates, and pretty much anyone that has achieved actual success.  While a 1w9 may display any of the three Instinctual subtypes, 1w2's are overwhelmingly drawn to a Self-Preservation Instinct, becoming more excluded as the years pass for a Social Instinct to not obliterate both their serenity and their pride yet also being too moralistic and socially undesirable for a Sexual Instinct to serve as a constraint in the teleological heuristic guiding their actions.


• Type 5 - "The Investigator" — with a 6 wing being more common as environmental anxiety increases and prompts a need for structural clarity, whereas a 4 wing suggests a deeper internal withdrawal into an idiosyncratic, subjective reality. A Self-Preservation Instinct becomes the primary defense mechanism to conserve energy and erect boundaries against an intrusive or demanding environment. A Sexual Instinct, however, may manifest as an intense, hyper-focused search for a single "trusted mind" to share intellectual intimacy with, keeping the rest of the world firmly at bay, while a Social Instinct remains rare and highly selective under these deteriorating conditions.


• Type 6 - "The Loyalist" — with a 5 wing appearing as a highly analytical, hyper-vigilant posture against perceived betrayals, and a 7 wing attempting to actively mask underlying anxieties through nervous multi-tasking or a superficial charm. Under these conditions, the Self-Preservation subtype is overwhelmingly common for phobic variants seeking a safe, predictable haven. Conversely, a Sexual Instinct may forge a counterphobic presentation, where the individual aggressively projects strength or beauty to deter threats, a direct behavioral reaction to the frustration of losing their early-life baseline of absolute security.


• Type 9 - "The Peacemaker" — with an 8 wing providing a stubborn, subterranean boundary against external disruption, and a 1 wing leading to a highly internalized, compliant sense of duty to keep the peace. The Self-Preservation Instinct manifests here as an appetitive, comfort-seeking routine used to numb out interpersonal friction. If a Social Instinct takes hold instead, the individual will likely merge entirely with group agendas to maintain external harmony, effectively sacrificing their own distinct identity and desires to ensure the family or social system does not fragment further.

On the MMPI-2, a secure infant once grown up usually scores low on the clinical scales of Hypochondria, Hysteria, Psychasthenia.  He or she may score moderately high on Psychopathic Deviate, particularly if a college graduate, as they may not feel traditional societal norms are worth following or that these fail to make any sense at all to them.  This may lead to a moderately elevated Pd1 - Amorality,   He may score low on K, and lower on K than S, unless influenced heavily by a religion.  He may score high on Depression as he or she has discovered the world at present to be a far worse place than they imagined. This depression would tend to be more obvious than subtle, and the likely higher subscales would be D1 - Subjective Depression, D2 - Psychomotor Retardation, and D4 - Mental Dullness.]