As hypothesized, the intercepts of individuals who had high early caregiving/low adult romantic quality fell between the two extreme anchoring groups. Positive early caregiving experiences appear to have buffered these individuals from the detrimental effects of having a low-quality romantic relationship at age 23. This finding is consistent with the view that positive early caregiving experiences act as an “inner resource” when one confronts future challenges (Bowlby, 1973, 1980; Mikulincer & Florian, 1998; Mikulincer et al., 2003; Sroufe et al., 1990).
