Adult Attachment Styles, Destructive Conflict Resolution, and the Experience of Intimate Partner Violence.

PubMed

Bonache, Helena; Gonzalez-Mendez, Rosaura; Krahé, Barbara

2016-04-01

Although there is ample evidence linking insecure attachment styles and intimate partner violence (IPV), little is known about the psychological processes underlying this association, especially from the victim's perspective. The present study examined how attachment styles relate to the experience of sexual and psychological abuse, directly or indirectly through destructive conflict resolution strategies, both self-reported and attributed to their opposite-sex romantic partner. In an online survey, 216 Spanish undergraduates completed measures of adult attachment style, engagement and withdrawal conflict resolution styles shown by self and partner, and victimization by an intimate partner in the form of sexual coercion and psychological abuse. As predicted, anxious and avoidant attachment styles were directly related to both forms of victimization. Also, an indirect path from anxious attachment to IPV victimization was detected via destructive conflict resolution strategies. Specifically, anxiously attached participants reported a higher use of conflict engagement by themselves and by their partners. In addition, engagement reported by the self and perceived in the partner was linked to an increased probability of experiencing sexual coercion and psychological abuse. Avoidant attachment was linked to higher withdrawal in conflict situations, but the paths from withdrawal to perceived partner engagement, sexual coercion, and psychological abuse were non-significant. No gender differences in the associations were found. The discussion highlights the role of anxious attachment in understanding escalating patterns of destructive conflict resolution strategies, which may increase the vulnerability to IPV victimization. © The Author(s) 2016.

Adult attachment style dimensions in women who have gay or bisexual fathers.

PubMed

Sirota, Theodora

2009-08-01

This study explored possible differences in adult attachment style dimensions between women with gay or bisexual fathers (n = 68) and women with heterosexual fathers (n = 68) using a revised version of the Adult Attachment Scale (Collins & Read, 1990b). Data analysis revealed highly significant differences between groups on all three adult attachment dimensions. Women with gay or bisexual fathers were significantly less comfortable with closeness and intimacy (t = 5.264, P = .0001), less able to trust and depend on others (t = 6.621, P = .0001), and experienced more anxiety in relationships (t = 4.368, P = .0001) than women with heterosexual fathers. Theoretical and methodological issues, conclusions, and implications related to the findings are discussed.

Interpersonal and Genetic Origins of Adult Attachment Styles: A Longitudinal Study from Infancy to Early Adulthood

PubMed Central

Fraley, R. Chris; Roisman, Glenn I.; Booth-LaForce, Cathryn; Owen, Margaret Tresch; Holland, Ashley S.

2013-01-01

One of the assumptions of attachment theory is that individual differences in adult attachment styles emerge from individuals’ developmental histories. To examine this assumption empirically the authors report data from an age 18 follow-up (Booth-LaForce & Roisman, 2012) of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a longitudinal investigation that tracked a cohort of children and their parents from birth to age 15. Analyses indicate that individual differences in adult attachment can be traced to variations in the quality of individuals’ caregiving environments, their emerging social competence, and the quality of their best friendship. Analyses also indicate that assessments of temperament and most of the specific genetic polymorphisms thus far examined in the literature on genetic correlates of attachment styles were essentially uncorrelated with adult attachment, with the exception of a polymorphism in the serotonin receptor gene (HTR2A rs6313), which modestly predicted higher attachment anxiety and that revealed a G × E interaction such that changes in maternal sensitivity across time predicted attachment-related avoidance. The implications of these data for contemporary perspectives and debates concerning adult attachment theory are discussed. PMID:23397970

Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism as Mediators of Adult Attachment Styles and Depression, Hopelessness, and Life Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gnilka, Philip B.; Ashby, Jeffrey S.; Noble, Christina M.

2013-01-01

This study examined the relationships between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, anxious and avoidant adult attachment styles, depression, hopelessness, and life satisfaction among a sample of 180 undergraduate students. Maladaptive perfectionism mediated the relationship between both forms of adult attachment and depression, hopelessness,…

Relationship between attachment style and posttraumatic stress symptomatology among adults who report the experience of childhood abuse.

PubMed

Muller, R T; Sicoli, L A; Lemieux, K E

2000-04-01

This study examines the relationship between adult attachment style and posttraumatic stress symptomatology in a volunteer sample of adults who reported the experience of childhood abuse. Sixty-six individuals completed measures of abuse history, attachment style, and posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Results indicated that 76% of participants endorsed one of the three insecure attachment styles (dismissing, fearful, or preoccupied). Analyses of variances revealed that those who displayed fearful and preoccupied attachment styles, which represent a negative view of the self, had the highest mean scores on posttraumatic symptoms. Correlational analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between negative view of self and posttraumatic stress symptomatology, but not between negative view of other and posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Regression analyses indicated that having a negative view of self was most highly associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms, followed by a history of physical abuse. The regression analysis further indicated that negative view of other was unrelated to posttraumatic stress symptoms.

The relationships among separation anxiety disorder, adult attachment style and agoraphobia in patients with panic disorder.

PubMed

Pini, Stefano; Abelli, Marianna; Troisi, Alfonso; Siracusano, Alberto; Cassano, Giovanni B; Shear, Katherine M; Baldwin, David

2014-12-01

Epidemiological studies indicate that separation anxiety disorder occurs more frequently in adults than children. It is unclear whether the presence of adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) is a manifestation of anxious attachment, or a form of agoraphobia, or a specific condition with clinically significant consequences. We conducted a study to examine these questions. A sample of 141 adult outpatients with panic disorder participated in the study. Participants completed standardized measures of separation anxiety, attachment style, agoraphobia, panic disorder severity and quality of life. Patients with ASAD (49.5% of our sample) had greater panic symptom severity and more impairment in quality of life than those without separation anxiety. We found a greater rate of symptoms suggestive of anxious attachment among panic patients with ASAD compared to those without ASAD. However, the relationship between ASAD and attachment style is not strong, and adult ASAD occurs in some patients who report secure attachment style. Similarly, there is little evidence for the idea that separation anxiety disorder is a form of agoraphobia. Factor analysis shows clear differentiation of agoraphobic and separation anxiety symptoms. Our data corroborate the notion that ASAD is a distinct condition associated with impairment in quality of life and needs to be better recognized and treated in patients with panic disorder. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

POSTPARTUM BONDING DIFFICULTIES AND ADULT ATTACHMENT STYLES: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION AND CHILDBIRTH-RELATED PTSD.

PubMed

S Hairston, Ilana; E Handelzalts, Jonathan; Assis, Chen; Kovo, Michal

2018-03-01

Despite decades of research demonstrating the role of adult attachment styles and early mother-infant bonding in parenting behaviors and maternal mental health, these constructs have seldom been studied together. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment styles and specific bonding difficulties of mothers. In addition, as postpartum depression and childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms have been associated with both constructs, we explored their possible mediation effect. One hundred fourteen mothers, 4 to 12 weeks' postpartum, completed a demographic questionnaire, the Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire (M. Mikulincer, V. Florian, & A. Tolmacz, 1990), the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (L.F. Brockington, C. Fraser, & D. Wilson, 2006), the Modified Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (J.L. Callahan, S.E. Borja, & M.T. Hynan, 2006), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (J.L. Cox, G. Chapman, D. Murray, & P. Jones, 1996), using an online survey system. As predicted, insecure attachment styles were associated with bonding difficulties wherein anxious/ambivalent attachment was associated with greater infant-focused anxiety, mediated by postpartum depression but not childbirth-related PTSD symptoms. In contrast, greater avoidant attachment style was associated with greater rejection and anger, mediated by childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but not depression symptoms. The current study confirmed the association of different attachment styles with bonding as well as the mediating roles of childbirth-related PTSD and postpartum depression symptoms. Future psychological interventions may utilize such evidence to target interventions for bonding disorders in accordance with individual differences. © 2018 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Relationship between Attachment Styles with Girls Thinking Style Functions at High School in Hamadan. September 2012

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yaghobi, Abolghasem; Mohagheghy, Hosseyn; Moghadam, Nafiseh Yari; Ghodarzi, Marzieh

2012-01-01

Background: In recent years, the researchers had worked on attachment style theory in studying different aspects of individual and social life of adults and announce that attachment style is related to most behavior, thought and motivational behaviors. The aim of the current study was investigating the relationship between attachment styles with…

Attachment style and defense mechanisms in parents who abuse their children.

PubMed

Cramer, Phebe; Kelly, Francis D

2010-09-01

Adult attachment style, defense mechanisms, and personal history of abuse was studied in a group of abusive parents. As a group, these parents made unusually high use of the defense of denial; this was especially true of those with a Fearful attachment style. However, the use of Identification was characteristic of those with a Preoccupied attachment style. Further, personal abuse history was related to adult attachment style. Those who reported having been abused as a child were less likely to have a Secure attachment style, and a history of physical or sexual abuse was associated with a Preoccupied style. In general, these findings support the deactivating/hyperactivating defensive theory of Mikulincer et al (Emotion Regulation in Couples and Families: Pathways to Dysfunction and Health. 2006; pp 77-99. Washington (WA): American Psychological Association).

Postpartum bonding: the impact of maternal depression and adult attachment style.

PubMed

Nonnenmacher, N; Noe, D; Ehrenthal, J C; Reck, C

2016-10-01

Maternal depression poses a risk for the developing mother-infant relationship. Similarly, maternal insecure attachment styles may limit the ability to adequately connect with the newborn during the postpartum period. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal depression and insecure attachment (insecure and dual/disorganized) on maternal bonding in a sample of n = 34 women with depression according to DSM-IV and n = 59 healthy women. Maternal depression was assessed 3 to 4 months postpartum with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), bonding with the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire, and maternal attachment style with the Attachment Style Interview. Women with current and lifetime depression as well as women with dual/disorganized attachment style reported lower bonding. Explorative analysis revealed that depression partially mediated the link between dual/disorganized attachment style and bonding with a medium-sized mediation effect. The combination of maternal depression and dual/disorganized attachment style may pose a special risk constellation for the developing mother-infant bond that should be addressed in prevention and early intervention programs.

[Attachment styles, childhood and adult traumatic experiences, mental states and methods of suicide attempts among psychiatrically treated women].

PubMed

Mandal, Eugenia; Zalewska, Karolina

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore any particular personality traits and psychosocial conditions of suicidal attempts among women, especially their adult attachment styles, harmful social experiences in childhood, adult live events and mental states directly leading to suicidal effort and methods of suicide. A group of 35 psychiatrically treated women who attempted suicide were submitted to the study. The following measures were used: Attachment Style Test, structured psychological interview. Women, who attempted suicide mainly described their attachment style as avoidant; the types of problems they reported as being significant were: experiences of violence in their childhood, loss of members of their families, suicide of their relatives in their adulthood, being the victims of marital violence; those women mainly felt social rejection and overdosed medications when trying to commit suicide. Parasuicides were characterised by avoidant attachment style and had a variety of traumatic and harmful experiences during their lifetime, that established their victimisation process and the wish of auto-destruction.

Adult attachment interview, thematic analysis, and communicative style in families with substance use disorder.

PubMed

Anolli, Luigi; Balconi, Michela

2002-02-01

The paper examined the Adult Attachment Interview with special reference to thematic and semantic analysis in line with the discourse study (van Dijk, 1997). The hypothesis was that correspondence between the communicative organization of speech and the mental representations of the attachment experiences would be substantial. Eight Adult Attachment Interview transcripts of fathers with a heroin addicted young son were analyzed at two levels, (a) thematic analysis to individuate the topics of their talk applying the structural and semantic study of discourse and (b) enunciative analysis of speech to define their linguistic patterns utilizing a set of linguistic micro- and macro-units. Results showed nine main topics in the Adult Attachment Interview, each of which was characterized by a distinctive linguistic profile. In this perspective this device seems to be effective not only for discriminating attachment styles between subjects but also to identify differences within subjects belonging to the same attachment pattern.

[Developing the Japanese version of the Adult Attachment Style Scale (ECR)].

PubMed

Nakao, Tatsuma; Kato, Kazuo

2004-06-01

This study attempted to adapt into Japanese the Adult Attachment Style Scale (ECR: Experiences in Close Relationships inventory) that was constructed by Brennan, Clark, and Shaver (1998), based on 14 existing scales. Of 387 respondents, 231 who reported having been or are currently involved in romantic relationships were employed for final analysis. We examined validities of the Japanese version of ECR in the two ways: (1) Examining the correlations between "Anxiety" and Self-esteem scale by Rosenberg (1965) which were theoretically related to Self-view, and the correlations between "Avoidance" and Other-view scale by Kato (1999b) which were theoretically related to Other-view; (2) whether or not ECR represents the features of four attachment styles as classified by Relationship Questionnaire (RQ; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). The results supported our expectations. This Japanese version of ECR was demonstrated to have adequate psychometric properties in validity and reliability.

The relationship between adult attachment style and post-traumatic stress symptoms: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Woodhouse, Sarah; Ayers, Susan; Field, Andy P

2015-10-01

There is increasing evidence that adult attachment plays a role in the development and perseverance of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This meta-analysis aims to synthesise this evidence and investigate the relationship between adult attachment styles and PTSD symptoms. A random-effects model was used to analyse 46 studies (N=9268) across a wide range of traumas. Results revealed a medium association between secure attachment and lower PTSD symptoms (ρˆ=-.27), and a medium association, in the opposite direction, between insecure attachment and higher PTSD symptoms (ρˆ=.26). Attachment categories comprised of high levels of anxiety most strongly related to PTSD symptoms, with fearful attachment displaying the largest association (ρˆ=.44). Dismissing attachment was not significantly associated with PTSD symptoms. The relationship between insecure attachment and PTSD was moderated by type of PTSD measure (interview or questionnaire) and specific attachment category (e.g. secure, fearful). Results have theoretical and clinical significance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perceptions about parents' relationship and parenting quality, attachment styles, and young adults' intimate expectations: a cluster analytic approach.

PubMed

Einav, Michal

2014-01-01

This study examines the associations between young adults' perceptions of their parents' intimate relationship and the quality of their parenting as predictors of their children's expectations about intimacy in their own future relationships. A sample of 111 young adults completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions regarding their parents' intimate relationship and parenting quality, their own attachment styles, and their own expectations regarding intimate relationships. A correlational analysis revealed a positive link between the parents' relationship and parenting quality, and between parenting quality and expectations about intimacy, which supports the attachment theory. A cluster analysis identified three distinct groups of parental profiles interrelated with attachment styles that had varying effects on their children's expectations about intimacy. These findings emphasize the unique characteristics of parental relations in the family of origin relations, which have an enduring effect on the interpersonal styles of adult children, providing additional support to an integrated, intergenerational approach to family dynamics.

Adults and Children with Asperger Syndrome: Exploring Adult Attachment Style, Marital Satisfaction and Satisfaction with Parenthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lau, Winnie; Peterson, Candida C.

2011-01-01

Asperger syndrome (AS) is a disorder resembling autism in its problems with social interaction and cognitive flexibility. Today, a number of adults with AS marry and rear children. Yet there has been little research into the quality of their marital and parental relationships. This study explored romantic attachment style, marital satisfaction and…

Attachment style and readiness for psychotherapy among psychiatric outpatients.

PubMed

Kealy, David; Tsai, Michelle; Ogrodniczuk, John S

2017-06-01

Ninety-two adults attending outpatient mental health services completed measures of attachment style and readiness to engage in psychotherapy. Correlation and linear regression analyses found anxious attachment to be positively associated with treatment-seeking distress and found avoidant attachment to be negatively associated with openness to personal disclosure in the therapy relationship. Insecure attachment may influence prospective patients' readiness for psychotherapy. Patients with an avoidant attachment style may need assistance in preparing for the relational aspects of psychotherapy. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Attachment Styles and Psychological Profiles of Child Sex Offenders in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marsa, Fiona; O'Reilly, Gary; Carr, Alan; Murphy, Paul; O'Sullivan, Maura; Cotter, Anthony; Hevey, David

2004-01-01

When 29 child sex offenders, 30 violent offenders, 30 nonviolent offenders, and 30 community controls were compared, a secure adult attachment style was 4 times less common in the child sex offender group than in any of the other three groups. Ninety-three percent of sex offenders had an insecure adult attachment style. Compared with community…

The role of adult attachment style, birth intervention and support in posttraumatic stress after childbirth: a prospective study.

PubMed

Ayers, Susan; Jessop, Donna; Pike, Alison; Parfitt, Ylva; Ford, Elizabeth

2014-02-01

There is converging evidence that between 1% and 3% of women develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after childbirth. Various vulnerability and risk factors have been identified, including mode of birth and support during birth. However, little research has looked at the role of adult attachment style in how women respond to events during birth. This study prospectively examined the interaction between attachment style, mode of birth, and support in determining PTSD symptoms after birth. A longitudinal study of women (n=57) from the last trimester of pregnancy to three months postpartum. Women completed questionnaire measures of attachment style in pregnancy and measures of PTSD, support during birth, and mode of birth at three months postpartum. Avoidant attachment style, operative birth (assisted vaginal or caesarean section) and poor support during birth were all significantly correlated with postnatal PTSD symptoms. Regression analyses showed that avoidant attachment style moderated the relationship between operative birth and PTSD symptoms, where women with avoidant attachment style who had operative deliveries were most at risk of PTSD symptoms. The study was limited to white European, cohabiting, primiparous women. Future research is needed to see if these findings are replicated in larger samples and different sociodemographic groups. This study suggests avoidant attachment style may be a vulnerability factor for postpartum PTSD, particularly for women who have operative births. If replicated, clinical implications include the potential to screen for attachment style during pregnancy and tailor care during birth accordingly. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Perceived Parenting Styles Fail to Mediate between Anxiety and Attachment Styles in Adult Siblings of Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, Linda P.; Murray, Lindsay E.

2016-01-01

Adult siblings of individuals with developmental disabilities often experience higher levels of anxiety than individuals in the general population. The present study tested whether perceived parenting could mediate the relationship between attachment styles and anxiety in the sibling group compared to a control group. Little association was found…

Attachment Style and Internet Addiction: An Online Survey

PubMed Central

Schott, Markus; Decker, Oliver; Sindelar, Brigitte

2017-01-01

Background One of the clinically relevant problems of Internet use is the phenomenon of Internet addiction. Considering the fact that there is ample evidence for the relationship between attachment style and substance abuse, it stands to reason that attachment theory can also make an important contribution to the understanding of the pathogenesis of Internet addiction. Objective The aim of this study was to examine people’s tendency toward pathological Internet usage in relation to their attachment style. Methods An online survey was conducted. Sociodemographic data, attachment style (Bielefeld questionnaire partnership expectations), symptoms of Internet addiction (scale for online addiction for adults), used Web-based services, and online relationship motives (Cyber Relationship Motive Scale, CRMS-D) were assessed. In order to confirm the findings, a study using the Rorschach test was also conducted. Results In total, 245 subjects were recruited. Participants with insecure attachment style showed a higher tendency to pathological Internet usage compared with securely attached participants. An ambivalent attachment style was particularly associated with pathological Internet usage. Escapist and social-compensatory motives played an important role for insecurely attached subjects. However, there were no significant effects with respect to Web-based services and apps used. Results of the analysis of the Rorschach protocol with 16 subjects corroborated these results. Users with pathological Internet use frequently showed signs of infantile relationship structures in the context of social groups. This refers to the results of the Web-based survey, in which interpersonal relationships were the result of an insecure attachment style. Conclusions Pathological Internet use was a function of insecure attachment and limited interpersonal relationships. PMID:28526662

The Role of Adult Attachment Style in Forgiveness Following an Interpersonal Offense

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawler-Row, Kathleen A.; Younger, Jarred W.; Piferi, Rachel L.; Jones, Warren H.

2006-01-01

The role of attachment style in relation to forgiveness was investigated in 2 betrayal interviews. Blood pressure and heart rate were assessed, along with attachment style, forgiveness, empathy, and emotional expressiveness. Securely attached individuals were more forgiving of the specific offense, had higher levels of trait forgiveness, and…

Developmental processes across the first two years of parenthood: Stability and change in adult attachment style.

PubMed

Stern, Jessica A; Fraley, R Chris; Jones, Jason D; Gross, Jacquelyn T; Shaver, Phillip R; Cassidy, Jude

2018-05-01

The first months after becoming a new parent are a unique and important period in human development. Despite substantial research on the many social and biological changes that occur during the first months of parenthood, little is known about changes in mothers' attachment. The present study examines developmental stability and change in first-time mothers' attachment style across the first 2 years of motherhood. At Time 1, 162 economically stressed primiparous mothers (Mage = 23.98 years, SD = 5.18) completed measures of attachment anxiety and avoidance at five time points: when their children were 0, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age. Converging results of stability functions and latent growth curve models suggest that attachment styles were generally stable during the first 2 years of motherhood, even in this economically stressed sample. Furthermore, model comparisons revealed that a prototype model better characterized the developmental dynamics of mothers' attachment style than did a revisionist model, consistent with previous studies of adults and adolescents. This suggests that a relatively enduring prototype underlies mothers' attachment style and anchors the extent to which mothers experience attachment-related changes following the birth of their first child. Within this overall picture of continuity, however, some mothers did show change over time, and specific factors emerged as moderators of attachment stability, including maternal depressive symptoms and overall psychological distress, as well as sensitive care from their own mothers. Findings shed light on patterns of continuity and change in new parents' development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Adult attachment security and college student substance use.

PubMed

Kassel, Jon D; Wardle, Margaret; Roberts, John E

2007-06-01

Previous research has demonstrated strong links between quality of adult attachment styles and various forms of psychological distress. A burgeoning literature further points to a relationship between insecure attachment and drug use, particularly alcohol consumption. In the present study, we expanded upon the existing literature by examining the relationship between adult attachment style and use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana in a sample of 212 college students. Moreover, based on our previous work [Hankin, B.L., Kassel, J.D., and Abela, J.R.Z. (2005). Adult attachment dimensions and specificity of emotional distress symptoms: prospective investigations of cognitive risk and interpersonal stress generation as mediating mechanisms. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 136-151.], we proposed a conceptual model positing that adult attachment style influences both frequency of drug use and stress-motivated drug use through its impact on dysfunctional attitudes and self-esteem. Initial correlational analyses indicated significant (positive) associations between anxious attachment (tapping neediness and fear of abandonment) and both drug use frequency and stress-motivated drug use. Simultaneous regression analyses revealed that, for drug use frequency, the influence of anxious attachment operated primarily through its effect on dysfunctional attitudes and self-esteem. Regarding drug use attributable to negative affect reduction, anxious attachment demonstrated direct, independent effects on both cigarette smoking and alcohol use. These findings highlight the potential importance of adult attachment styles as a risk factor for drug use among college students.

Is It Attachment Style or Socio-Demography: Singlehood in a Representative Sample.

PubMed

Petrowski, Katja; Schurig, Susan; Schmutzer, Gabriele; Brähler, Elmar; Stöbel-Richter, Yve

2015-01-01

Since the percentage of single adults is steadily increasing, the reasons for this development have become a matter of growing interest. Hereby, an individual's attachment style may have a connection to the partnership status. In the following analysis, attachment style, gender, age, education, and income were compared in regard to the partnership status. Furthermore, an analysis of variance was computed to compare the attachment style within different groups. In 2012, a sample of 1,676 representative participants was used. The participants were aged 18 to 60 (M = 41.0, SD = 12.3); 54% of the sample were female, and 40% were single. Attachment-related attitudes were assessed with the German version of the adult attachment scale (AAS). Single adult males did not show a more anxious attachment style than single adult females or females in relationships. Younger, i.e., 18 to 30 years old, paired individuals showed greater attachment anxiety than single individuals, whereby single individuals between the ages of 31 to 45 showed greater attachment anxiety than individuals in relationships. In addition, single individuals more frequently had obtained their high school diploma in contrast to individuals in relationships. Concerning attachment style, the individuals who had not completed their high school diploma showed less faith in others independent of singlehood or being in a relationship. Concerning age, older single individuals, i.e., 46 to 60 years, felt less comfortable in respect to closeness and showed less faith in others compared to paired individuals. Logistic regression showed that individuals were not single if they did not mind depending on others, showed high attachment anxiety, were older, and had lower education. An income below € 2000/month was linked to a nearly 13-fold increase of likelihood of being single. In sum, the attachment style had a differential age-dependent association to singlehood versus being in a relationship. Education played also a

The influence of attention biases and adult attachment style on treatment outcome for adults with social anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Byrow, Yulisha; Peters, Lorna

2017-08-01

Attention biases figure prominently in CBT models of social anxiety and are thought to maintain symptoms of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Studies have shown that individual differences in pre-treatment attention biases predict cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) outcome. However, these findings have been inconsistent as to whether vigilance towards threat predicts better or poorer treatment outcome. Adult attachment style is an individual characteristic that may influence the relationship between attention bias and SAD. This study investigates the relationship between attention biases and CBT treatment outcome for SAD. Furthermore, we examined the influence of adult attachment style on this relationship. Participants with a primary diagnosis of SAD completed a passive viewing (measuring vigilance towards threat) and a novel difficulty to disengage (measuring difficulty to disengage attention) eye-tracking task prior to attending 12 CBT group sessions targeting SAD. Symptom severity was measured at pre- and post-treatment. Regression analyses were conducted on a sample of 50 participants. Greater vigilance for threat than avoidance of threat at pre-treatment predicted poorer treatment outcomes. Greater difficulty disengaging from happy faces, compared to neutral faces, predicted poorer treatment outcomes. Attachment style did not moderate these relationships. The associations between attention biases and specific components of CBT treatment were not examined. The novel findings regarding difficulty to disengage attention require replication. The findings have implications for the theoretical models of SAD and for the treatment of SAD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attachment styles, pain, and the consumption of analgesics during labor: a prospective observational study.

PubMed

Costa-Martins, José Manuel; Pereira, Marco; Martins, Henriqueta; Moura-Ramos, Mariana; Coelho, Rui; Tavares, Jorge

2014-03-01

Individuals with less secure attachment styles have been shown to experience more pain than people with more secure attachment styles; however, attachment styles have not yet been examined in the context of labor pain and analgesic consumption. The purpose of this prospective observational study was to assess the influence of the mother's attachment style on the perception of labor pain, as assessed by a visual analog scale and analgesic consumption. Eighty-one pregnant women with a mean age of 32 years (standard deviation = 5.1) were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy and during labor. The physical predictors of labor pain were recorded, and the adult attachment style was assessed with the Adult Attachment Scale-Revised. For labor analgesia, a low dose of patient-controlled epidural analgesia protocol (ropivacaine .6 mg/mL plus sufentanil .5 μg/mL) was used. Women with a secure attachment style reported significantly less labor pain (P < .001) and a significantly lower analgesic consumption during labor (P < .001) than insecurely attached women. These findings suggest that women's attachment style was associated with labor pain and analgesic consumption and support the relevance of the attachment theory as a promising conceptual framework for understanding labor pain. This study showed that women with an insecure attachment style were more likely to report higher pain before patient-controlled epidural analgesia and higher analgesic consumption and to request supplemental analgesia during labor. The assessment of adult attachment has the potential to identify women at high risk of poorly coping with pain during childbirth. Copyright © 2014 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neuroscience of human social interactions and adult attachment style

PubMed Central

Vrtička, Pascal; Vuilleumier, Patrik

2012-01-01

Since its first description four decades ago, attachment theory (AT) has become one of the principal developmental psychological frameworks for describing the role of individual differences in the establishment and maintenance of social bonds between people. Yet, still little is known about the neurobiological underpinnings of attachment orientations and their well-established impact on a range of social and affective behaviors. In the present review, we summarize data from recent studies using cognitive and imaging approaches to characterize attachment styles and their effect on emotion and social cognition. We propose a functional neuroanatomical framework to integrate the key brain mechanisms involved in the perception and regulation of social emotional information, and their modulation by individual differences in terms of secure versus insecure (more specifically avoidant, anxious, or resolved versus unresolved) attachment traits. This framework describes how each individual's attachment style (built through interactions between personal relationship history and predispositions) may influence the encoding of approach versus aversion tendencies (safety versus threat) in social encounters, implicating the activation of a network of subcortical (amygdala, hippocampus, striatum) and cortical (insula, cingulate) limbic areas. These basic and automatic affective evaluation mechanisms are in turn modulated by more elaborate and voluntary cognitive control processes, subserving mental state attribution and emotion regulation capacities, implicating a distinct network in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), superior temporal sulcus (STS), and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), among others. Recent neuroimaging data suggest that affective evaluation is decreased in avoidantly but increased in anxiously attached individuals. In turn, although data on cognitive control is still scarce, it points toward a possible enhancement of mental state representations associated with

Possible Involvement of Avoidant Attachment Style in the Relations Between Adult IBS and Reported Separation Anxiety in Childhood.

PubMed

Ben-Israel, Yuval; Shadach, Eran; Levy, Sigal; Sperber, Ami; Aizenberg, Dov; Niv, Yaron; Dickman, Ram

2016-12-01

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adults as well as separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) in childhood are associated with anxiety and somatization. Our aim was to examine possible associations between IBS in adulthood and SAD in childhood. Patients with IBS and healthy subjects completed a demographic questionnaire, the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (SASI), the Somatization Subscale of Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), the Attachment Style Questionnaire, and a retrospective self-report questionnaire regarding RAP. Compared with controls, patients with IBS were characterized by an avoidant attachment style and scored higher on the SCL-90-R scale regarding the tendency to somatization (25.35 ± 7.47 versus16.50 ± 4.40, p < 0.001). More patients with IBS (25% versus 7.5%) reported RAP in childhood, but contrary to prediction, also had significantly lower SASI scores. Adults with IBS were characterized by somatization, insecure attachment style and recalled higher rates of RAP and surprisingly less symptoms of SAD in childhood. Based on these results, an etiological model for IBS is suggested, in which an avoidant attachment style and a tendency to somatization play an important role in the development of IBS. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Different attachment styles correlate with mood disorders in adults with epilepsy or migraine.

PubMed

Mula, Marco; Danquah-Boateng, Davies; Cock, Hannah R; Khan, Usman; Lozsadi, Dora A; Nirmalananthan, Niranjanan

2016-01-01

Interpersonal relationships are viewed as important contexts within which psychopathology emerges and persists or desists. Attachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans especially in families and lifelong friendships. The present study was aimed at investigating attachment styles in adult patients with epilepsy as compared to subjects with migraine and their potential correlates with a history of mood disorders. A consecutive sample of 219 adult outpatients with epilepsy (117) or migraine (102) was assessed with the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ). Patients with epilepsy and a lifetime history of mood disorders presented elevated scores for Need for approval (p<0.001) and Preoccupation with relationships (p<0.001). Age correlated with the Relationships as secondary (r=0.322; p<0.001) and Need for approval (r=0.217; p=0.019) subscales while age at onset correlated only with Relationships as secondary (r=0.225; p=0.015). Seizure-free patients presented lower scores for Need for approval (p=0.003). Patients with migraine and a lifetime history of mood disorders presented lower scores in Confidence (p=0.002) and higher scores in Discomfort with closeness (p=0.026). An anxious-preoccupied attachment correlated with mood disorders in epilepsy while it was an avoidant pattern in migraine. Our results bring further data on the role of psychological variables in mood disorders in epilepsy. Further studies will allow early identification of patients at risk and the development of preventive strategies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attachment Style and Internet Addiction: An Online Survey.

PubMed

Eichenberg, Christiane; Schott, Markus; Decker, Oliver; Sindelar, Brigitte

2017-05-17

One of the clinically relevant problems of Internet use is the phenomenon of Internet addiction. Considering the fact that there is ample evidence for the relationship between attachment style and substance abuse, it stands to reason that attachment theory can also make an important contribution to the understanding of the pathogenesis of Internet addiction. The aim of this study was to examine people's tendency toward pathological Internet usage in relation to their attachment style. An online survey was conducted. Sociodemographic data, attachment style (Bielefeld questionnaire partnership expectations), symptoms of Internet addiction (scale for online addiction for adults), used Web-based services, and online relationship motives (Cyber Relationship Motive Scale, CRMS-D) were assessed. In order to confirm the findings, a study using the Rorschach test was also conducted. In total, 245 subjects were recruited. Participants with insecure attachment style showed a higher tendency to pathological Internet usage compared with securely attached participants. An ambivalent attachment style was particularly associated with pathological Internet usage. Escapist and social-compensatory motives played an important role for insecurely attached subjects. However, there were no significant effects with respect to Web-based services and apps used. Results of the analysis of the Rorschach protocol with 16 subjects corroborated these results. Users with pathological Internet use frequently showed signs of infantile relationship structures in the context of social groups. This refers to the results of the Web-based survey, in which interpersonal relationships were the result of an insecure attachment style. Pathological Internet use was a function of insecure attachment and limited interpersonal relationships. ©Christiane Eichenberg, Markus Schott, Oliver Decker, Brigitte Sindelar. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 17.05.2017.

Attachment Styles of Dermatological Patients in Europe: A Multi-centre Study in 13 Countries.

PubMed

Szabó, Csanád; Altmayer, Anita; Lien, Lars; Poot, Françoise; Gieler, Uwe; Tomas-Aragones, Lucía; Kupfer, Jörg; Jemec, Gregor B E; Misery, Laurent; Linder, M Dennis; Sampogna, Francesca; van Middendorp, Henriët; Halvorsen, Jon Anders; Balieva, Flora; Szepietowski, Jacek C; Romanov, Dmitry; Marron, Servando E; Altunay, Ilknur K; Finlay, Andrew Y; Salek, Sam S; Dalgard, Florence

2017-07-06

Attachment styles of dermatological outpatients and satisfaction with their dermatologists were investigated within the framework of a multicentre study conducted in 13 European countries, organized by the European Society for Dermatology and Psychiatry. Attachment style was assessed with the Adult Attachment Scale. Patient satisfaction with the dermatologist was assessed with an 11-degree scale. A total of 3,635 adult outpatients and 1,359 controls participated in the study. Dermatological outpatients were less able to depend on others, were less comfortable with closeness and intimacy, and experienced similar rates of anxiety in relationships as did the controls. Participants who had secure attachment styles reported stressful life events during the last 6 months significantly less often than those who had insecure attachment styles. Patients with secure attachment styles tended to be more satisfied with their dermatologist than did insecure patients. These results suggest that secure attachment of dermatological outpatients may be a protective factor in the management of stress.

Adult Attachment Styles Associated with Brain Activity in Response to Infant Faces in Nulliparous Women: An Event-Related Potentials Study.

PubMed

Ma, Yuanxiao; Ran, Guangming; Chen, Xu; Ma, Haijing; Hu, Na

2017-01-01

Adult attachment style is a key for understanding emotion regulation and feelings of security in human interactions as well as for the construction of the caregiving system. The caregiving system is a group of representations about affiliative behaviors, which is guided by the caregiver's sensitivity and empathy, and is mature in young adulthood. Appropriate perception and interpretation of infant emotions is a crucial component of the formation of a secure attachment relationship between infant and caregiver. As attachment styles influence the ways in which people perceive emotional information, we examined how different attachment styles associated with brain response to the perception of infant facial expressions in nulliparous females with secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles. The event-related potentials of 65 nulliparous females were assessed during a facial recognition task with joy, neutral, and crying infant faces. The results showed that anxiously attached females exhibited larger N170 amplitudes than those with avoidant attachment in response to all infant faces. Regarding the P300 component, securely attached females showed larger amplitudes to all infant faces in comparison with avoidantly attached females. Moreover, anxiously attached females exhibited greater amplitudes than avoidantly attached females to only crying infant faces. In conclusion, the current results provide evidence that attachment style differences are associated with brain responses to the perception of infant faces. Furthermore, these findings further separate the psychological mechanisms underlying the caregiving behavior of those with anxious and avoidant attachment from secure attachment.

Adult Attachment Styles Associated with Brain Activity in Response to Infant Faces in Nulliparous Women: An Event-Related Potentials Study

PubMed Central

Ma, Yuanxiao; Ran, Guangming; Chen, Xu; Ma, Haijing; Hu, Na

2017-01-01

Adult attachment style is a key for understanding emotion regulation and feelings of security in human interactions as well as for the construction of the caregiving system. The caregiving system is a group of representations about affiliative behaviors, which is guided by the caregiver’s sensitivity and empathy, and is mature in young adulthood. Appropriate perception and interpretation of infant emotions is a crucial component of the formation of a secure attachment relationship between infant and caregiver. As attachment styles influence the ways in which people perceive emotional information, we examined how different attachment styles associated with brain response to the perception of infant facial expressions in nulliparous females with secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles. The event-related potentials of 65 nulliparous females were assessed during a facial recognition task with joy, neutral, and crying infant faces. The results showed that anxiously attached females exhibited larger N170 amplitudes than those with avoidant attachment in response to all infant faces. Regarding the P300 component, securely attached females showed larger amplitudes to all infant faces in comparison with avoidantly attached females. Moreover, anxiously attached females exhibited greater amplitudes than avoidantly attached females to only crying infant faces. In conclusion, the current results provide evidence that attachment style differences are associated with brain responses to the perception of infant faces. Furthermore, these findings further separate the psychological mechanisms underlying the caregiving behavior of those with anxious and avoidant attachment from secure attachment. PMID:28484415

Attachment Style of Foster Carers and Caregiving Role Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caltabiano, Marie L.; Thorpe, Rosamund

2007-01-01

This study assessed the adult attachment styles of 111 male and female foster carers of children who have been abused and neglected in the Mackay/Whitsunday region of Queensland, Australia. It was hypothesised that those foster carers with secure attachment or with "earned" secure attachment status are better able to cope with the…

Attachment style predicts affect, cognitive appraisals, and social functioning in daily life

PubMed Central

Sheinbaum, Tamara; Kwapil, Thomas R.; Ballespí, Sergi; Mitjavila, Mercè; Chun, Charlotte A.; Silvia, Paul J.; Barrantes-Vidal, Neus

2015-01-01

The way in which attachment styles are expressed in the moment as individuals navigate their real-life settings has remained an area largely untapped by attachment research. The present study examined how adult attachment styles are expressed in daily life using experience sampling methodology (ESM) in a sample of 206 Spanish young adults. Participants were administered the Attachment Style Interview (ASI) and received personal digital assistants that signaled them randomly eight times per day for 1 week to complete questionnaires about their current experiences and social context. As hypothesized, participants’ momentary affective states, cognitive appraisals, and social functioning varied in meaningful ways as a function of their attachment style. Individuals with an anxious attachment, as compared with securely attached individuals, endorsed experiences that were congruent with hyperactivating tendencies, such as higher negative affect, stress, and perceived social rejection. By contrast, individuals with an avoidant attachment, relative to individuals with a secure attachment, endorsed experiences that were consistent with deactivating tendencies, such as decreased positive states and a decreased desire to be with others when alone. Furthermore, the expression of attachment styles in social contexts was shown to be dependent upon the subjective appraisal of the closeness of social contacts, and not merely upon the presence of social interactions. The findings support the ecological validity of the ASI and the person-by-situation character of attachment theory. Moreover, they highlight the utility of ESM for investigating how the predictions derived from attachment theory play out in the natural flow of real life. PMID:25852613

Attachment style predicts affect, cognitive appraisals, and social functioning in daily life.

PubMed

Sheinbaum, Tamara; Kwapil, Thomas R; Ballespí, Sergi; Mitjavila, Mercè; Chun, Charlotte A; Silvia, Paul J; Barrantes-Vidal, Neus

2015-01-01

The way in which attachment styles are expressed in the moment as individuals navigate their real-life settings has remained an area largely untapped by attachment research. The present study examined how adult attachment styles are expressed in daily life using experience sampling methodology (ESM) in a sample of 206 Spanish young adults. Participants were administered the Attachment Style Interview (ASI) and received personal digital assistants that signaled them randomly eight times per day for 1 week to complete questionnaires about their current experiences and social context. As hypothesized, participants' momentary affective states, cognitive appraisals, and social functioning varied in meaningful ways as a function of their attachment style. Individuals with an anxious attachment, as compared with securely attached individuals, endorsed experiences that were congruent with hyperactivating tendencies, such as higher negative affect, stress, and perceived social rejection. By contrast, individuals with an avoidant attachment, relative to individuals with a secure attachment, endorsed experiences that were consistent with deactivating tendencies, such as decreased positive states and a decreased desire to be with others when alone. Furthermore, the expression of attachment styles in social contexts was shown to be dependent upon the subjective appraisal of the closeness of social contacts, and not merely upon the presence of social interactions. The findings support the ecological validity of the ASI and the person-by-situation character of attachment theory. Moreover, they highlight the utility of ESM for investigating how the predictions derived from attachment theory play out in the natural flow of real life.

Effect of Attachment Styles to Parents on Sexual Dysfunction Domains of Married Women

PubMed Central

Nia, Anvar Sadat Nayebi; Salari, Parvin; Sharifi, Nasibeh; Nooghani, Hadi Jabbari

2017-01-01

Introduction According to Bowbly attachment theory, attachment of a baby and its main care provider, influences on social growth and the baby’s feelings throughout its life. The present study was performed aim to determine the effect of attachment style to parents on domains of sexual dysfunction in married women. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out on two hundred married women who were fertile, and referred private and governmental gynecology clinics in Mashhad, Iran, in 2014. Data collection tools were three questionnaires; Demographic and marital questionnaire, Female sexual function index questionnaire, and Adult attachment style questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20 (IBM© SPSS© Statistics version 20 using independent-samples t-test and logistic regression. The statistical tests were performed at the 95% confidence interval. Result Mean of safe attachment style to parents in all aspect of sexual dysfunction was significantly lower (p≤0.01), however, mean of distant attachment style to parents in all aspects of sexual dysfunction was significantly higher (p≤0.05). Conclusion Secure and distance attachment style to the mother showed maximum power of prediction for sexual dysfunction, which indicates the importance of attachment to parents and its impact on adult relationships. PMID:28243413

The Relationship Between Attachment Styles, Self-Monitoring and Cybercrime in Social Network Users.

PubMed

Yaghoobi, Abolghasem; Mohammadzade, Serwa; Chegini, Ali Asghar; Yarmohammadi Vasel, Mosaeib; Zoghi Paidar, Mohammad Reza

2016-09-01

The anonymity in the cyberspace environment, as well as the rapid advent of and improvements to online activities has increased cybercrime. The aim of this paper was to survey the relationship between attachment styles, self-monitoring and cybercrime in social network users. The Collins and Read Adult Attachment Scale, and the Snyder self-monitoring and cybercrime scales were sent to 500 social network users. Of these, 203 users (103 men and 100 women) filled out the questionnaires. The results showed that women achieved higher scores in self-monitoring and the anxious attachment style, and men achieved higher scores in cybercrime and the anxious attachment style. There was a negative correlation between self-monitoring and cybercrime, and the anxious attachment style had a positive correlation with cybercrime and a negative correlation with self-monitoring. The secure attachment style had a positive correlation with self-monitoring and a negative correlation with cybercrime. The dependent attachment style had a positive correlation with self-monitoring and a negative correlation with cybercrime. All correlations were significant. Attachment styles have significant relationships with both self-monitoring and cybercrime. Self-monitoring and attachment styles are significant predictors of cybercrimes.

Tobacco Use and Attachment Style in Appalachia.

PubMed

Wise, Mary Heath; Weierbach, Florence; Cao, Yan; Phillips, Ken

2017-07-01

Tobacco has been recognized as the number one cause of preventable death in America and results in almost 5.2 million years of potential life lost each year. The use of tobacco products is highly correlated with pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and other forms of chronic illness in America. New tobacco products are trending in the tobacco market such as the water pipe/hookah and e-cigarettes. With e-cigarettes and other newer forms of tobacco on the rise, it is important to look at the underlying factors for using all kinds of tobacco products as a means of prevention. Certain adult attachment styles (secure, preoccupied, dismissing-avoidant, and fearful-avoidant) in emotionally meaningful relationships could be indicators for physical illness, mental illness, and even addiction. This study investigated whether or not there is a relationship between tobacco use and attachment style. Based on a university-wide survey that was sent out at a university in Appalachia with 522 participants, demographic data revealed 68.5% (n = 358) did not currently use tobacco products. Of those who did currently use tobacco products 54.5% (n = 90) were male, 84.8% (n = 140) were undergraduate students, and 66.7% (n = 110) were between the ages of 18-25. For individuals who used tobacco 23.5% (n = 38) were in the secure attachment group, 27.8% (n = 45) were in the dismissing-avoidant attachment group, 30.2% (n = 49) were in the fearful-avoidant attachment group, and 18.5% (n = 30) were in the preoccupied attachment group. Chi Square analysis demonstrated that attachment style was significantly (p < 0.001) different between tobacco users and non-users revealing that there is a possibility for prevention of smoking initiation through the development of a secure attachment style.

Attachment styles and contingencies of self-worth.

PubMed

Park, Lora E; Crocker, Jennifer; Mickelson, Kristin D

2004-10-01

Previous research on attachment theory has focused on mean differences in level of self-esteem among people with different attachment styles. The present study examines the associations between attachment styles and different bases of self-esteem, or contingencies of self-worth, among a sample of 795 college students. Results showed that attachment security was related to basing self-worth on family support. Both the preoccupied attachment style and fearful attachment style were related to basing self-worth on physical attractiveness. The dismissing attachment style was related to basing self-worth less on others' approval, family support, and God's love.

The Relationship Between Attachment Styles, Self-Monitoring and Cybercrime in Social Network Users

PubMed Central

Yaghoobi, Abolghasem; Mohammadzade, Serwa; Chegini, Ali Asghar; Yarmohammadi Vasel, Mosaeib; Zoghi Paidar, Mohammad Reza

2016-01-01

Background The anonymity in the cyberspace environment, as well as the rapid advent of and improvements to online activities has increased cybercrime. Objectives The aim of this paper was to survey the relationship between attachment styles, self-monitoring and cybercrime in social network users. Patients and Methods The Collins and Read Adult Attachment Scale, and the Snyder self-monitoring and cybercrime scales were sent to 500 social network users. Of these, 203 users (103 men and 100 women) filled out the questionnaires. Results The results showed that women achieved higher scores in self-monitoring and the anxious attachment style, and men achieved higher scores in cybercrime and the anxious attachment style. There was a negative correlation between self-monitoring and cybercrime, and the anxious attachment style had a positive correlation with cybercrime and a negative correlation with self-monitoring. The secure attachment style had a positive correlation with self-monitoring and a negative correlation with cybercrime. The dependent attachment style had a positive correlation with self-monitoring and a negative correlation with cybercrime. All correlations were significant. Conclusions Attachment styles have significant relationships with both self-monitoring and cybercrime. Self-monitoring and attachment styles are significant predictors of cybercrimes. PMID:27818964

Attachment Style and Resiliency in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

PubMed Central

Zakiei, Ali; Farnia, Vahid; Khkian, Zinab; Shakeri, Jalal; Golshani, Sanobar

2017-01-01

Background The goal of the present study was to determine the relationships between attachment styles and resiliency in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Methods A random sample of 260 subjects was obtained from the population of undergraduate students of the Nour Branch of Islamic Azad University, which is located in Mazandaran, and these subjects were enrolled in this descriptive and correlational study. The collected data included the subjects' responses to an adult attachment style questionnaire, resilience scale, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder questionnaire. The data were analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficient indices and multiple regressions. Results The results of the data analysis showed a positive correlation (relationship) between ambivalent/avoidant attachment styles and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and a negative correlation between resilience and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Furthermore, these results demonstrated that attachment style and resiliency can predict obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. In addition, no significant relationships were found between the demographic variables (convertibles) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Conclusion These results suggested that attachment style and resiliency contribute to the development of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. PMID:28197331

Attachment Style and Resiliency in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder.

PubMed

Zakiei, Ali; Alikhani, Mostafa; Farnia, Vahid; Khkian, Zinab; Shakeri, Jalal; Golshani, Sanobar

2017-01-01

The goal of the present study was to determine the relationships between attachment styles and resiliency in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. A random sample of 260 subjects was obtained from the population of undergraduate students of the Nour Branch of Islamic Azad University, which is located in Mazandaran, and these subjects were enrolled in this descriptive and correlational study. The collected data included the subjects' responses to an adult attachment style questionnaire, resilience scale, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder questionnaire. The data were analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficient indices and multiple regressions. The results of the data analysis showed a positive correlation (relationship) between ambivalent/avoidant attachment styles and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and a negative correlation between resilience and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Furthermore, these results demonstrated that attachment style and resiliency can predict obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. In addition, no significant relationships were found between the demographic variables (convertibles) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. These results suggested that attachment style and resiliency contribute to the development of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Attachment style and oxytocin receptor gene variation interact in influencing social anxiety.

PubMed

Notzon, S; Domschke, K; Holitschke, K; Ziegler, C; Arolt, V; Pauli, P; Reif, A; Deckert, J; Zwanzger, P

2016-01-01

Social anxiety has been suggested to be promoted by an insecure attachment style. Oxytocin is discussed as a mediator of trust and social bonding as well as a modulator of social anxiety. Applying a gene-environment (G × E) interaction approach, in the present pilot study the main and interactive effects of attachment styles and oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene variation were probed in a combined risk factor model of social anxiety in healthy probands. Participants (N = 388; 219 females, 169 males; age 24.7 ± 4.7 years) were assessed for anxiety in social situations (Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory) depending on attachment style (Adult Attachment Scale, AAS) and OXTR rs53576 A/G genotype. A less secure attachment style was significantly associated with higher social anxiety. This association was partly modulated by OXTR genotype, with a stronger negative influence of a less secure attachment style on social anxiety in A allele carriers as compared to GG homozygotes. The present pilot data point to a strong association of less secure attachment and social anxiety as well as to a gene-environment interaction effect of OXTR rs53576 genotype and attachment style on social anxiety possibly constituting a targetable combined risk marker of social anxiety disorder.

Contentment Duration Mediates the Associations between Anxious Attachment Style and Psychological Distress

PubMed Central

Ng, Sin Man; Hou, Wai Kai

2017-01-01

Relatively little is known about the emotional processes underlying the association between adult attachment styles and psychological distress. This study aims to examine the role of contentment in terms of intensity and duration in the positive associations between anxious and avoidant attachment styles and psychological distress. A sample of 284 Chinese university students completed a self-reported questionnaire on attachment styles, intensity and duration of contentment, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Structural equation modeling revealed that duration of contentment mediated the positive associations of anxious attachment style with anxiety symptoms [β = 0.05, p = 0.004; BC 95% CI (0.02,0.11)] and depressive symptoms [β = 0.04, p = 0.03; BC 95% CI (0.003,0.09)], model fit: χ2(259) = 455.06, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.05, SRMR = 0.07. Participants with higher anxious attachment style were more likely to report shorter duration of contentment, which was, in turn, associated with higher anxiety and depressive symptoms. The results suggest a positive emotional pathway underlying the association between anxious attachment style and psychological distress. Implications based on the findings are discussed. PMID:28275363

Adult attachment style and childhood interpersonal trauma in non-epileptic attack disorder.

PubMed

Holman, Natalie; Kirkby, Antonia; Duncan, Susan; Brown, Richard J

2008-03-01

Non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD) poses a significant clinical problem but is poorly understood. Attachment theory provides a framework for understanding the development and maintenance of NEAD and the contribution of childhood abuse and neglect to these processes. A cross-sectional design was used to study attachment style and early traumatic experiences in individuals with NEAD (N=17) compared to those with epilepsy (N=26). A significant difference in predominant attachment style between the two groups was found, with fearful attachment occurring more frequently in the NEAD group. Abuse and neglect were also significantly more common in the NEAD patients. Both early traumatic experiences and fearful attachment added significantly to the predictive power of a logistic regression equation after controlling for anxiety and dysthymia. The findings suggest a link between disturbed attachment and NEAD and have clinical implications for therapeutic intervention with this group.

Attachment style and adjustment to divorce.

PubMed

Yárnoz-Yaben, Sagrario

2010-05-01

Divorce is becoming increasingly widespread in Europe. In this study, I present an analysis of the role played by attachment style (secure, dismissing, preoccupied and fearful, plus the dimensions of anxiety and avoidance) in the adaptation to divorce. Participants comprised divorced parents (N = 40) from a medium-sized city in the Basque Country. The results reveal a lower proportion of people with secure attachment in the sample group of divorcees. Attachment style and dependence (emotional and instrumental) are closely related. I have also found associations between measures that showed a poor adjustment to divorce and the preoccupied and fearful attachment styles. Adjustment is related to a dismissing attachment style and to the avoidance dimension. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that secure attachment and the avoidance dimension predict adjustment to divorce and positive affectivity while preoccupied attachment and the anxiety dimension predicted negative affectivity. Implications for research and interventions with divorcees are discussed.

Anxious Attachment Style and Salivary Cortisol Dysregulation in Healthy Female Children and Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oskis, Andrea; Loveday, Catherine; Hucklebridge, Frank; Thorn, Lisa; Clow, Angela

2011-01-01

Background: Attachment style has been linked with basal cortisol secretion in healthy adult women. We investigated whether dysregulation in basal cortisol secretion may be evident in younger healthy females. Methods: Sixty healthy females aged 9-18 years (mean 14.16, SD [plus or minus] 2.63 years) participated in the Attachment Style Interview…

Child sexual abuse, attachment style, and depression: the role of the characteristics of abuse.

PubMed

Cantón-Cortés, David; Cortés, María Rosario; Cantón, José

2015-02-01

The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of secure, avoidant, and anxious attachment styles on depressive symptomatology in child sexual abuse (CSA) among young female adult victims. The role of attachment style was studied by considering possible interactive effects with the type of abuse, the relationship with the perpetrator, and the continuity of abuse. Participants were 168 female victims of CSA. Information about the abuse was obtained from a self-reported questionnaire. Attachment style was assessed with the Attachment Style Measure (ASM), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess depressive symptomatology. Secure and anxious attachment styles were correlated with low and high depression scores respectively. The effects of attachment style were stronger in cases where the abuse consisted of oral sex/penetration, a non-family member as perpetrator, and in isolated, compared with continued, abuse. These results confirm that characteristics of CSA (type of abuse, relationship with the perpetrator, and continuity of abuse) can affect the impact of attachment style on depressive symptomatology. © The Author(s) 2014.

Parents' self-reported attachment styles: a review of links with parenting behaviors, emotions, and cognitions.

PubMed

Jones, Jason D; Cassidy, Jude; Shaver, Phillip R

2015-02-01

For decades, attachment scholars have been investigating how parents' adult attachment orientations relate to the ways in which they parent. Traditionally, this research has been conducted by developmental and clinical psychologists who typically employ the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to measure adult attachment. However, dating back to the mid-1990s, social and personality psychologists have been investigating how self-reported adult attachment styles relate to various facets of parenting. The literature on self-reported attachment and parenting has received less attention than AAI research on the same topic and, to date, there is no comprehensive review of this literature. In this article, we review more than 60 studies of the links between self-reported attachment styles and parenting, integrate the findings to reach general conclusions, discuss unresolved questions, and suggest future directions. Finally, we discuss the potential benefits to the study of parenting of collaborations among researchers from the developmental and social attachment research traditions. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Parents’ Self-Reported Attachment Styles: A Review of Links with Parenting Behaviors, Emotions, and Cognitions

PubMed Central

Jones, Jason D.; Cassidy, Jude; Shaver, Phillip. R.

2014-01-01

For decades, attachment scholars have been investigating how parents’ adult attachment orientations relate to the ways in which they parent. Traditionally, this research has been conducted by developmental and clinical psychologists who typically employ the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to measure adult attachment. However, dating back to the mid-1990s, social and personality psychologists have been investigating how self-reported adult attachment styles relate to various facets of parenting. The literature on self-reported attachment and parenting has received less attention than AAI research on the same topic and, to date, there is no comprehensive review of this literature. In this article, we review over 60 studies of the links between self-reported attachment styles and parenting, integrate the findings to reach general conclusions, discuss unresolved questions, and suggest future directions. Finally, we discuss the potential benefits to the study of parenting of collaborations among researchers from the developmental and social attachment research traditions. PMID:25024278

Adult attachment, emotion dysregulation, and symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Marganska, Anna; Gallagher, Michelle; Miranda, Regina

2013-01-01

Differences in attachment style have been linked to both emotion regulation and psychological functioning, but the emotion regulatory mechanism through which attachment style might impact symptoms of depression and anxiety is unclear. The present study examined the explanatory role of emotion dysregulation in the relation between adult attachment style and symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in a sample of 284 adults. Secure attachment was associated with lower depression and GAD symptoms and lower emotion dysregulation, whereas insecure attachment styles were generally associated with higher depression and GAD scores and higher emotion dysregulation. Perceived inability to generate effective emotion regulation strategies mediated the relation between insecure attachment and both depression and GAD symptoms. Nonacceptance of negative emotions and inability to control impulsive behaviors emerged as additional mediators of the relation between insecure attachment styles and GAD symptoms. The differential contribution of attachment style and emotion regulation to the prediction of depression and GAD symptoms may reflect differences in vulnerability to depression and GAD. © 2013 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

Attachment and coping of dementia care staff: The role of staff attachment style, geriatric nursing self-efficacy, and approaches to dementia in burnout.

PubMed

Kokkonen, Taru-Maija; Cheston, Richard I L; Dallos, Rudi; Smart, Cordet A

2014-07-01

Past research suggests that dementia care staff are vulnerable to the development of burnout, which has implications for staff well-being and hence the quality of care for people with dementia. Studying personal vulnerability factors in burnout is important as it can guide staff training and support. Attachment theory suggests that adult attachment styles affect caregiving relationships and individuals' responses to stress, providing a framework for understanding caregivers' styles of coping. This cross-sectional survey study examined relationships between staff attachment styles, geriatric nursing self-efficacy, and approaches to dementia in burnout. Seventy-seven members of dementia care staff working on inpatient wards for older people completed self-report questionnaires. Insecure attachment, lower levels of self-efficacy, and more optimistic attitudes in staff were related to higher levels of burnout. Staff training on the role of attachment in dementia care is recommended. Further research is required to explore mediating factors between adult attachment styles and burnout. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Attachment style, anxiety coping, and personality-styles in withdrawn alcohol addicted inpatients.

PubMed

Wedekind, Dirk; Bandelow, Borwin; Heitmann, Soren; Havemann-Reinecke, Ursula; Engel, Kirsten R; Huether, Gerald

2013-01-10

Insecure early attachment experiences have been reported to play an important role in the manifestation in alcoholism. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of attachment styles with anxiety, anxiety coping and dysfunctional personality styles, as well as with the prevalence of personality disorders, and adverse life-events in adolescence. 59 inpatient alcohol addicted male (n=43) and female (n=16) patients were characterized by an attachment style scale (Relationships-style-questionnaire-RSQ) and completed a questionnaire battery comprising the State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI), the Anxiety-Coping-Inventory (ABI), Temperament-and-character-inventory (TCI), Personality-system-interaction-inventory (PSI), and gave information on sociodemography, alcohol history, and adolescent adverse events. A structured interview (SKID-II) was performed to diagnose personality disorders. Only 33% of subjects had a secure attachment style. Insecure attachment was associated with significantly higher trait-anxiety, higher cognitive avoidance to control anxiety, and higher values on most personality style dimensions directed to the pathological pole. Despite the limitation due to a small sample size, the results of this study show that the consideration of attachment styles is of significance in the diagnosis and therapy of alcohol addiction. Attachment may characterize different styles to control emotional aspects, anxiety cues and interpersonal relationships in individuals suffering from alcohol addiction.

Understanding sexual perpetration against children: effects of attachment style, interpersonal involvement, and hypersexuality.

PubMed

Miner, Michael H; Robinson, Beatrice E Bean; Knight, Raymond A; Berg, Dianne; Romine, Rebecca Swinburne; Netland, Jason

2010-03-01

This study explores in an adolescent sample hypotheses about child sexual abuse perpetration drawn from contemporary theories that implicate insecure attachment and adolescent social development. Specifically, three 13- to 18-year-old adolescent male samples (sex offenders with child victims, sex offenders with peer/adult victims, and nonsex delinquent youth) were compared in a cross-sectional design. Participants completed a computer-administered self-report questionnaire and a semistructured attachment style interview. Attachment style was coded by two independent raters blind to study hypotheses and group membership. The results indicated an indirect effect for attachment style. Attachment anxiety affected involvement with peers and interpersonal adequacy. Feelings of interpersonal inadequacy, combined with oversexualization and positive attitudes toward others distinguished sex offenders with child victims from nonsex delinquents and from sex offenders with peer/adult victims. These data provide a preliminary model of sexual abuse perpetration consistent with contemporary theories. Attachment anxiety with a lack of misanthropic attitudes toward others appears to lead to isolation from peers and feelings of interpersonal inadequacy. Individuals with this constellation of factors may turn to children to meet their intimacy and sexual needs, both of which seem to be exaggerated compared with other troubled youth.

Parent characteristics linked with daughters' attachment styles.

PubMed

Kilmann, Peter R; Vendemia, Jennifer M C; Parnell, Michele M; Urbaniak, Geoffrey C

2009-01-01

This study investigated links between parent characteristics and daughters' attachment styles for 90 female undergraduates and their married biological parents. Parents with a secure attachment pattern were rated as more accepting, less controlling, more competent, and more consistent in showing love and affection to their daughter in contrast to parents with an insecure attachment pattern. Significant positive associations were found between mothers' fearful attachment scores and the fearful, preoccupied, and dismissive attachment scores of daughters. Daughters of matched secure parents were more likely to report a secure attachment style, while daughters of matched insecure parents were more likely to report an insecure attachment style.

Attachment style and its relationship to working alliance in the supervision of British clinical psychology trainees.

PubMed

Dickson, Joanne M; Moberly, Nicholas J; Marshall, Yehuda; Reilly, James

2011-01-01

Although the supervisory relationship is thought to be critical in training clinical psychologists, little is known about factors affecting the supervisory alliance. We conducted an Internet survey of British clinical doctoral trainees (N = 259) in which participants rated their supervisory working alliance, parental style during childhood, pathological adult attachment behaviours and attachment style for themselves and their supervisors. Trainees' ratings of the working alliance were associated with perceptions of supervisors' attachment style, but not with perceptions of trainees' own attachment styles. Path analysis supported a causal chain linking parental indifference, compulsive self-reliance, insecure supervisor attachment style and lower ratings of the working alliance. Our results broadly replicate data from a US sample and suggest that attachment theory is helpful in understanding clinical supervisory processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Attachment style, anxiety coping, and personality-styles in withdrawn alcohol addicted inpatients

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Insecure early attachment experiences have been reported to play an important role in the manifestation in alcoholism. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of attachment styles with anxiety, anxiety coping and dysfunctional personality styles, as well as with the prevalence of personality disorders, and adverse life-events in adolescence. Methods 59 inpatient alcohol addicted male (n=43) and female (n=16) patients were characterized by an attachment style scale (Relationships-style-questionnaire-RSQ) and completed a questionnaire battery comprising the State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI), the Anxiety-Coping-Inventory (ABI), Temperament-and-character-inventory (TCI), Personality-system-interaction-inventory (PSI), and gave information on sociodemography, alcohol history, and adolescent adverse events. A structured interview (SKID-II) was performed to diagnose personality disorders. Results Only 33% of subjects had a secure attachment style. Insecure attachment was associated with significantly higher trait-anxiety, higher cognitive avoidance to control anxiety, and higher values on most personality style dimensions directed to the pathological pole. Conclusions Despite the limitation due to a small sample size, the results of this study show that the consideration of attachment styles is of significance in the diagnosis and therapy of alcohol addiction. Attachment may characterize different styles to control emotional aspects, anxiety cues and interpersonal relationships in individuals suffering from alcohol addiction. PMID:23302491

Links between an Owner’s Adult Attachment Style and the Support-Seeking Behavior of Their Dog

PubMed Central

Rehn, Therese; Beetz, Andrea; Keeling, Linda J.

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate if an owner’s adult attachment style (AAS) influences how their dog interacts and obtains support from them during challenging events. A person’s AAS describes how they perceive their relationship to other people, but it may also reflect their caregiving behavior, and so their behavior toward the dog. We measured the AAS of 51 female Golden retriever owners, using the Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), and observed the reactions of the dog-owner dyads in response to different challenging situations [visual surprise, auditory stressor and social stressors like a person approaching dressed as ghost or in coat, hat and sunglasses]. In addition, the dog was left alone in a novel environment for 3 min. Interactions between the dog and owner were observed both before and after separation. Spearman rank correlation tests were made (between owner AAS and dog behavior) and where correlations were found, Mann–Whitney U-tests were made on the dogs’ behavioral response between high and low scoring groups of owners of the different subscales of the ASQ. The more secure the owner (ASQ subscale ‘Confidence’), the longer the dog was oriented to the two sudden stressors (the visual and auditory stressor). The more anxious the owner (ASQ subscale ‘Attachment anxiety’), the longer the dog oriented toward the owner during the approach of the strange-looking person and the dog showed less lip licking during separation from the owner. The more avoidant the owner (ASQ subscale ‘Avoidant attachment’), the longer the dog oriented toward the owner during the visual stressor, the less it was located behind the owner during the auditory stressor and the less it was oriented toward the auditory stressor. These links between owner attachment style and dog behavior imply that dogs may develop different strategies to handle challenging situations, based on the type of support they get from their owner. PMID:29250009

The drug-user husband and his wife: attachment styles, family cohesion, and adaptability.

PubMed

Finzi-Dottan, Ricky; Cohen, Orna; Iwaniec, Dorota; Sapir, Yaffa; Weizman, Abraham

2003-01-01

This study which assesses the association between the attachment styles of drug-user husbands (n = 56) and their wives (n = 56) and their perceptions of family dynamics was conducted in 1998. The population study included heroin (52.9%) and multidrug detoxified outpatients. All subjects completed the Adult Attachment Style Scale and the FACES III. Results indicated that the perceptions of family adaptability and cohesion among the drug-user husbands and their wives did not differ from the Israeli norm. Most of the drug users (60.7%) were characterized by the avoidant attachment style, followed by the secure style (26.8%), and the anxious/ambivalent style (12.5%). Half the wives (53.6%) were characterized by the secure style, followed by the avoidant style (42.9%) and the anxious/ambivalent style (3.6%). A secure style in husband and wife was associated with higher levels of family cohesion and adaptability, and the anxious/ambivalent style with a lower perception of family cohesion and adaptability. These findings have important implications for rehabilitation prospects and for planning intervention programs.

[Psychological femininity and masculinity, self-appeal, attachment styles, coping styles and strategies of self-presentation among women with suicide attempts].

PubMed

Mandal, Eugenia; Zalewska, Karolina

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to diagnose particular personality characteristics of women with suicide attempts: psychological femininity and masculinity, self-appeal, attachment styles, self-presentation strategies and coping styles. A group of 35 adult women who attempted suicide and the control group (35 women) were submitted to a research. The following measures were used: Inventory of Gender Identity (IPP), Strategies of Self-presentation Questionnaire (KSA), Attachment Style Test, Sense of Self-Appeal Scale (SPWA), Coping Inventory of Stressful Situations (CISS). Female suicide-attempters had a lower index of psychological masculinity and a lower sense of self-appeal than women in the control group. They were characterised by an avoidant attachment style, used a strategy of self-depreciation in self-presentation and an emotion-oriented style of coping. The predictors of risk of suicide behaviours that mainly showed: avoidant-attachment style and strategy of self-depreciation in self-presentation. Parasuicides were characterised by lower self-esteem and weak interpersonal skills, which reduced their ways of coping in difficult situations.

Relationship between attachment styles and happiness in medical students

PubMed Central

Moghadam, Marzyeh; Rezaei, Farzin; Ghaderi, Ebrahim; Rostamian, Negar

2016-01-01

Background: Attachment theory is one of the most important achievements of contemporary psychology. Role of medical students in the community health is important, so we need to know about the situation of happiness and attachment style in these students. Objectives: This study was aimed to assess the relationship between medical students’ attachment styles and demographic characteristics. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on randomly selected students of Medical Sciences in Kurdistan University, in 2012. To collect data, Hazan and Shaver's attachment style measure and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire were used. The results were analyzed using the SPSS software version 16 (IBM, Chicago IL, USA) and statistical analysis was performed via t-test, Chi-square test, and multiple regression tests. Results: Secure attachment style was the most common attachment style and the least common was ambivalent attachment style. Avoidant attachment style was more common among single persons than married people (P = 0.03). No significant relationship was observed between attachment style and gender and grade point average of the studied people. The mean happiness score of students was 62.71. In multivariate analysis, the variables of secure attachment style (P = 0.001), male gender (P = 0.005), and scholar achievement (P = 0.047) were associated with higher happiness score. Conclusion: The most common attachment style was secure attachment style, which can be a positive prognostic factor in medical students, helping them to manage stress. Higher frequency of avoidant attachment style among single persons, compared with married people, is mainly due to their negative attitude toward others and failure to establish and maintain relationships with others. PMID:28217589

Adolescents' strengths and difficulties: approach to attachment styles.

PubMed

Keskin, G; Cam, O

2010-06-01

This research is a descriptive field study conducted in order to investigate the relationship between adolescent difficulties and the attachment style. The study aims to investigate the relationship between adolescent attachment style and strength and difficulties in Turkey. Children attachment style and difficulties pattern in the group of adolescents aged 11-16 years old were compared with each other. Several different questionnaires, including The Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, The Relationship Scale Questionnaire were applied to 384 (mean age 12.10 +/- 1.4 years) adolescents. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, anova, t-test, Kruskall Wallis and effect sizes. The adolescent secure attachment style was associated with increased levels of prosocial behaviour, decreased levels of emotional symptoms, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems, conduct problems, total difficulties scores. The adolescent fearful attachment style was associated with increased levels of emotional symptoms, and total difficulties scores. The adolescent dismissing attachment style was significantly associated with higher levels of emotional symptoms, hyperactivity/inattention, total difficulties scores and lower levels of prosocial behaviour. Adolescent strengths and difficulties are associated with their attachment style. Insecure attachment styles of dismissing and fearful were associated with increased mental symptom reporting. It is suggested that further studies may illuminate the clinical value of the attachment disorder and quantify parental contribution to psychopathology. Giving the therapeutic, structured mental support programme to adolescents that have attachment problems could be beneficial in improving mental status of these individuals.

Childhood maltreatment, adult attachment and psychotic symptomatology: a study in patients, siblings and controls.

PubMed

van Dam, D S; Korver-Nieberg, N; Velthorst, E; Meijer, C J; de Haan, L

2014-11-01

The association between childhood maltreatment (ChM) and psychotic disorders is well established. However, there is an ongoing debate about which factors account for this relationship. One explanation is that the relationship between ChM and psychosis is mediated by adult attachment style. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate whether adult attachment style mediates the relationship between ChM and positive and negative symptomatology. We investigated the relation between ChM and psychotic symptoms, taking into account levels of (insecure) attachment, in 131 patients with psychotic illness, 123 siblings and 72 controls. ChM was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance were measured using the Psychosis Attachment Measure (PAM). In both patients and siblings, ChM predicted positive symptoms and this relationship was partly mediated by attachment style. This relationship was found to be stronger for siblings than for patients. ChM predicted negative symptoms in patients and siblings. In the patient sample, attachment style did not mediate the relationship between ChM and negative symptoms, whereas attachment style was found to be a mediator in the sibling sample. ChM was associated with positive and negative symptomatology in both patients and siblings. Particularly in siblings, the relationship between ChM and psychosis seems to be mediated by adult attachment style. Perhaps attachment style may play a more prominent role on a subclinical level.

Focusing on the adult attachment style in schizophrenia in community mental health centres: validation of the Psychosis Attachment Measure (PAM) in a German-speaking sample.

PubMed

Kvrgic, Sara; Beck, Eva-Marina; Cavelti, Marialuisa; Kossowsky, Joe; Stieglitz, Rolf-Dieter; Vauth, Roland

2012-07-01

Assessing attachment style in people with schizophrenia may be important to identify a risk factor in building a strong therapeutic relationship and so indirectly to understand the development of mal-compliance as one of the major obstacles in the treatment of schizophrenia. The present study analysed the psychometric properties of the German version of the Psychosis Attachment Measure (PAM), which assesses avoidant and anxious attachment style. A sample of 127 patients suffering from chronic schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder participated in this study. In testing discriminant validity, we assessed psychopathology, depression, therapeutic relationship and service engagement. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and factor structure were analysed. The German version of PAM exhibited acceptable to good internal and test-retest reliabilities and the two-factor structure of the English version could be replicated. Avoidant attachment style was related to higher levels of positive symptoms and to a poorer therapeutic relationship. In the context of external validation, a regression analysis revealed that a poor therapeutic relationship correlated with avoidant attachment style, independent of anxious attachment style and depressive symptoms. Anxious attachment was associated with higher treatment adherence. Both insecure attachment styles (avoidant and anxious) were found to be correlated with higher levels of depression, but only attachment anxiety had an independent predictive value for self-reported depression in regression analysis. The German version of PAM displayed satisfactory psychometric properties and seems to be a reliable measure for assessing attachment style in individuals with schizophrenia. Validation of PAM led to the finding that only the avoidant attachment style might be a risk factor when building a strong therapeutic relationship in schizophrenia. In future studies, other factors influencing therapeutic relationship should be

How coping styles, cognitive distortions, and attachment predict problem gambling among adolescents and young adults.

PubMed

Calado, Filipa; Alexandre, Joana; Griffiths, Mark D

2017-12-01

Background and aims Recent research suggests that youth problem gambling is associated with several factors, but little is known how these factors might influence or interact each other in predicting this behavior. Consequently, this is the first study to examine the mediation effect of coping styles in the relationship between attachment to parental figures and problem gambling. Methods A total of 988 adolescents and emerging adults were recruited to participate. The first set of analyses tested the adequacy of a model comprising biological, cognitive, and family variables in predicting youth problem gambling. The second set of analyses explored the relationship between family and individual variables in problem gambling behavior. Results The results of the first set of analyses demonstrated that the individual factors of gender, cognitive distortions, and coping styles showed a significant predictive effect on youth problematic gambling, and the family factors of attachment and family structure did not reveal a significant influence on this behavior. The results of the second set of analyses demonstrated that the attachment dimension of angry distress exerted a more indirect influence on problematic gambling, through emotion-focused coping style. Discussion This study revealed that some family variables can have a more indirect effect on youth gambling behavior and provided some insights in how some factors interact in predicting problem gambling. Conclusion These findings suggest that youth gambling is a multifaceted phenomenon, and that the indirect effects of family variables are important in estimating the complex social forces that might influence adolescent decisions to gamble.

The Role of Depression and Attachment Styles in Predicting Students' Addiction to Cell Phones.

PubMed

Ghasempour, Abdollah; Mahmoodi-Aghdam, Mansour

2015-01-01

The present study aimed at investigating the role of depression and attachment styles in predicting cell phone addiction. In this descriptive correlational study, a sample including 100 students of Payame Noor University (PNU), Reyneh Center, Iran, in the academic year of 2013-2014 was selected using volunteer sampling. Participants were asked to complete the adult attachment inventory (AAI), Beck depression inventory-13 (BDI-13) and the cell phone overuse scale (COS). Results of the stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that depression and avoidant attachment style were the best predictors of students' cell phone addiction (R(2) = 0.23). The results of this study highlighted the predictive value of depression and avoidant attachment style concerning students' cell phone addiction.

Association between Adult Romantic Attachment Styles and Family-of-Origin Expressive Atmosphere

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Shannon D.; Ng, Kok-Mun

2009-01-01

This study examined the associations between attachment quality and perceived family-of-origin expressive atmosphere (FOEA) in a convenience sample of 279 participants. Multivariate analysis of variance (MAN-OVA) was used to examine the associations between attachment style and FOEA, and hierarchical regression was used to analyze FOEA as a…

Disambiguating Dependency and Attachment Among Conjugally Bereaved Adults

PubMed Central

DENCKLA, CHRISTY A.; BORNSTEIN, ROBERT F.; MANCINI, ANTHONY D.; BONANNO, GEORGE A.

2017-01-01

This study aims to investigate the effects of dependency and attachment in adjusting to the loss of a loved one by directly comparing the relative contribution of each to bereavement outcomes among midlife adults. Comparisons among attachment and dependency are made using models that control for attachment among three groups of bereaved adults (N=102): prolonged grievers (n=25), resolved grievers (n=41), and a married comparison group (n=36). Prolonged grievers displayed higher marginal means of dysfunctional detachment dependency and lower marginal means of healthy dependency compared to resolved grievers and married adults, even when controlling for attachment style. Findings suggest that attachment and dependency predict unique domains of grief outcome. PMID:28855854

Disambiguating Dependency and Attachment Among Conjugally Bereaved Adults.

PubMed

Denckla, Christy A; Bornstein, Robert F; Mancini, Anthony D; Bonanno, George A

2015-01-01

This study aims to investigate the effects of dependency and attachment in adjusting to the loss of a loved one by directly comparing the relative contribution of each to bereavement outcomes among midlife adults. Comparisons among attachment and dependency are made using models that control for attachment among three groups of bereaved adults ( N =102): prolonged grievers ( n =25), resolved grievers ( n =41), and a married comparison group ( n =36). Prolonged grievers displayed higher marginal means of dysfunctional detachment dependency and lower marginal means of healthy dependency compared to resolved grievers and married adults, even when controlling for attachment style. Findings suggest that attachment and dependency predict unique domains of grief outcome.

[Emotional experience of early traumatic experiences and relationship-specific attachment styles in alcohol-dependent patients].

PubMed

Hebein, Ursula; Quantschnig, Bettina; Andreas, Sylke

2018-03-01

Emotional experience of early traumatic experiences and relationship-specific attachment styles in alcohol-dependent patients Objectives: The present investigation studied the differences in emotional experiences among alcohol-dependent patients in inpatient psychotherapy, taking into account their traumatic experiences and relationship-specific attachment styles. Three standardized instruments were used on this clinical sample of 70 patients in inpatient psychotherapy: (1) Scales for Experiencing Emotions (SEE), (2) Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), (3) Relationship-Specific Attachment Scales for Adults (RASA). The results showed that traumatic experiences in childhood and adolescence as well as relationship-specific attachment styles were indeed associated with deficits in emotional experience and regulation. Especially emotional abuse was associated with deficits in emotional experience. An insecure attachment style was associated with a lower level of acceptance of emotions, a lower level of self-control, and dysfunctional emotion regulation. In particular, the attachment style to the mother seems to be important. These results suggest that a distinction of alcohol-addicted patients, with respect to attachment styles and traumatic experiences in childhood and adolescent, seems to be important in order to define specific interventions to improve the ability to regulate emotions.

Maternal antenatal attachment style and potential fetal abuse.

PubMed

Pollock, P H; Percy, A

1999-12-01

Maternal antenatal emotional attachment (MAEA) to the fetus has been proposed as an important factor for the emergence of harm to the unborn child. The present study investigated whether MAEA was associated with self-reported intent to harm the fetus. Forty pregnant women, referred for psychological evaluation, completed a self-report measure of MAEA, the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-2 (MCMI-2) and confidential self-report questions on irritation with the fetus, urge to harm the fetus and predicted future loss of control with the child. Interview data was used to determine the mothers' adult attachment styles. (1) Negative preoccupied MAEA was associated with increased likelihood of reported irritation with the fetus, preoccupied adult attachment, borderline, histrionic, paranoid personality dimensions and symptoms of anxiety, mood disturbances and depression. (2) Negative disinterested MAEA was associated with a dismissing adult attachment, narcissistic, antisocial, aggressive-sadistic and passive-aggressive personality dimensions, alcohol dependence, but not self-report intention to harm the fetus. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding difficulties which may emerge in mother-fetus bonding and the identification of and interventions for mothers who report an intention to harm the fetus.

Adult Attachment and Transgender Identity in the Italian Context: Clinical Implications and Suggestions for Further Research

PubMed Central

Amodeo, Anna Lisa; Vitelli, Roberto; Scandurra, Cristiano; Picariello, Simona; Valerio, Paolo

2016-01-01

Introduction Although attachment theory has been recognized as one of the main reference for the study of the general wellbeing, little research has been focused on the attachment styles of transgender people. Attachment styles are deeply influenced by the earliest relationships with caregivers, which, for gender nonconforming children, are often characterized by parental rejection. Consequently, transgender children and adults likely internalize societal stigma, developing internalized transphobia. The current research was aimed to explore the link between adult attachment and internalized transphobia. Method 25 male-to-female (MtF) and 23 female-to-male (FtM) transgender people participated in the survey filling in two self-report questionnaires: the Attachment Style Questionnaire and the Transgender Identity Survey. A cluster analysis, T-Test and multiple regression analysis were conducted to explore the link between attachment styles and internalized transphobia. Results A greater prevalence of secure attachment styles was detected. Participants with secure attachment styles reported higher levels of positive transgender identity than those with insecure attachment styles. Secure attachment styles significantly affect positive transgender identity, while insecure attachment styles influence internalized transphobia. Conclusions A clinical focus on the redefinition of the Internal Working Models of transgender people can inform psychologically-focused interventions, which transgender people can benefit from. PMID:26937224

How Does Adult Attachment Affect Human Recognition of Love-related and Sex-related Stimuli: An ERP Study

PubMed Central

Hou, Juan; Chen, Xin; Liu, Jinqun; Yao, Fangshu; Huang, Jiani; Ndasauka, Yamikani; Ma, Ru; Zhang, Yuting; Lan, Jing; Liu, Lu; Fang, Xiaoyi

2016-01-01

In the present study, we investigated the relationship among three emotion-motivation systems (adult attachment, romantic love, and sex). We recorded event-related potentials in 37 healthy volunteers who had experienced romantic love while they viewed SEX, LOVE, FRIEND, SPORT, and NEUTRAL images. We also measured adult attachment styles, level of passionate love and sexual attitudes. As expected, results showed that, firstly, response to love-related image-stimuli and sex-related image-stimuli on the electrophysiological data significantly different on N1, N2, and positive slow wave (PSW) components. Secondly, the different adult attachment styles affected individuals’ recognition processing in response to love-related and sex-related images, especially, to sex-related images. Further analysis showed that voltages elicited by fearful attachment style individuals were significantly lower than voltages elicited by secure and dismissing attachment style individuals on sex-related images at frontal sites, on N1 and N2 components. Thirdly, from behavior data, we found that adult attachment styles were not significantly related to any dimension of sexual attitudes but were significantly related to passionate love scale (PLS) total points. Thus, the behavior results were not in line with the electrophysiological results. The present study proved that adult attachment styles might mediate individuals’ lust and attraction systems. PMID:27199830

How Does Adult Attachment Affect Human Recognition of Love-related and Sex-related Stimuli: An ERP Study.

PubMed

Hou, Juan; Chen, Xin; Liu, Jinqun; Yao, Fangshu; Huang, Jiani; Ndasauka, Yamikani; Ma, Ru; Zhang, Yuting; Lan, Jing; Liu, Lu; Fang, Xiaoyi

2016-01-01

In the present study, we investigated the relationship among three emotion-motivation systems (adult attachment, romantic love, and sex). We recorded event-related potentials in 37 healthy volunteers who had experienced romantic love while they viewed SEX, LOVE, FRIEND, SPORT, and NEUTRAL images. We also measured adult attachment styles, level of passionate love and sexual attitudes. As expected, results showed that, firstly, response to love-related image-stimuli and sex-related image-stimuli on the electrophysiological data significantly different on N1, N2, and positive slow wave (PSW) components. Secondly, the different adult attachment styles affected individuals' recognition processing in response to love-related and sex-related images, especially, to sex-related images. Further analysis showed that voltages elicited by fearful attachment style individuals were significantly lower than voltages elicited by secure and dismissing attachment style individuals on sex-related images at frontal sites, on N1 and N2 components. Thirdly, from behavior data, we found that adult attachment styles were not significantly related to any dimension of sexual attitudes but were significantly related to passionate love scale (PLS) total points. Thus, the behavior results were not in line with the electrophysiological results. The present study proved that adult attachment styles might mediate individuals' lust and attraction systems.

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways: Parenting during Adolescence, Attachment Styles, and Romantic Narratives in Emerging Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nosko, Amanda; Tieu, Thanh-Thanh; Lawford, Heather; Pratt, Michael W.

2011-01-01

In this longitudinal study, a quantitative and qualitative examination of the associations among parent-child relations, adult attachment styles, and relationship quality and theme in romantic narratives was conducted. Parenting and adult attachment style were assessed through questionnaires, whereas overall quality of romantic relationships…

Attachment, parenting styles and bullying during pubertal years.

PubMed

van der Watt, Ronél

2014-01-01

Research that focuses on combining attachment, parenting styles, bullying and the reciprocal nature thereof in the parent-adolescent and peer relationships is limited. The bio-psychosocial changes that adolescents experience open up broader social realities and are perceived differently by parents and adolescents. Attachment processes and parenting styles may elicit dissimilar perceptions. These processes are also associated with the multifaceted dynamics of bullying. The aim of the article is to advocate for research on the possible link between the implications of attachment, parenting styles and bullying. Exploring the association between attachment, parenting styles and bullying can deepen the understanding of the developmental challenges within the parent-adolescent relationship, add insight to the different perceptions of adolescents and parents, and complement intervention programmes accordingly. Firstly, this article outlines bio-psychosocial changes in the pubertal years as related to the social realities of the adolescent. Secondly, a discussion on the concepts 'attachment', 'parenting styles', 'bullying', and the potential link between these concepts will follow. Thirdly, an outline of the clinical implications of the apparent association between these concepts is given. The article concludes with recommendations that researchers can consider while exploring the relationship between attachment, parenting styles, and bullying and the delineation thereof in the parent-adolescent relationship.

Attachment style and interpersonal trauma in refugees.

PubMed

Morina, Naser; Schnyder, Ulrich; Schick, Matthis; Nickerson, Angela; Bryant, Richard A

2016-12-01

Refugees can suffer many experiences that threaten their trust in others. Although models of refugee mental health have postulated that attachment securities may be damaged by refugee experiences, this has yet to be empirically tested. This study aimed to understand the relationship between the nature of traumatic experiences sustained by refugees and attachment styles. In a cross-sectional study, treatment-seeking refugees (N = 134) were assessed for traumatic exposure using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale. Attachment style was assessed using the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale. Whereas gender and severity of interpersonal traumatic events predicted avoidant attachment style (accounting for 11% of the variance), neither these factors nor non-interpersonal trauma predicted anxious attachment. Exposure to interpersonal traumatic events, including torture, is associated with enduring avoidant attachment tendencies in refugees. This finding accords with attachment theories that prior adverse interpersonal experiences can undermine secure attachment systems, and may promote avoidance of attachment seeking. This finding may point to an important process maintaining poor psychological health in refugees affected by interpersonal trauma. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2016.

Adult Attachment and Disordered Eating in Undergraduate Men and Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elgin, Jenna; Pritchard, Mary

2006-01-01

Previous research on gender differences between males and females on the risk factors leading to disordered eating is sparse, especially on males and eating disorders using attachment theory. This study examined the relationship between adult attachment style and disordered eating in men and women. Secure attachment scores were significantly…

Recollections of parental behaviour, adult attachment and mental health: mediating and moderating effects.

PubMed

Gittleman, M G; Klein, M H; Smider, N A; Essex, M J

1998-11-01

Attachment theory posits links between early experiences with parents, adult relationships and adult mental health, but does not specify whether these are independent, mediating, or moderating effects. Associations of parent's behaviour on the Parental Bonding Instrument, adult attachment styles and three dimensions of mental health were investigated in a large sample of women and men. Men and women with secure styles recalled higher levels of care from both parents than those with fearful styles. Maternal and paternal control were more consistent predictors of increased distress for men than for women. Fearful and preoccupied adult styles were associated with higher levels of distress in both men and women. While adult styles had few mediating effects on the association of parental behaviour and mental health, interactions between the fearful style and parental variables suggested that this form of insecurity sometimes accentuated the impact of high parental care or low paternal control on mental health in both men and women; among women, however, the secure style seemed to buffer somewhat the negative effect of high parental control. Although the amount of variance explained by either parental behaviour or adult styles was modest, patterns of moderating effects of adult styles on associations between parental behaviour and mental health suggested that both continuity and discontinuity principles can be applied to understanding these links.

The relationship between adult attachment style and therapeutic alliance in individual psychotherapy: a meta-analytic review.

PubMed

Diener, Marc J; Monroe, Joel M

2011-09-01

The present study examined the relationship between adult attachment style and therapeutic alliance in individual psychotherapy. Search procedures yielded 17 independent samples (total N = 886, average n = 52, standard deviation = 24) for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Results indicated that greater attachment security was associated with stronger therapeutic alliances, whereas greater attachment insecurity was associated with weaker therapeutic alliances, with an overall weighted effect size of r = .17, p < .001 (95% confidence interval = .10-.23). Publication bias analyses did not indicate any cause for concern regarding the results. The data were not demonstrably heterogeneous (Q = 6.10, df = 16, p = .99), and all between-study moderator analyses were nonsignificant (p values > .10) with the exception of the source of alliance ratings; results indicated that patient-rated alliance demonstrated a significantly larger relationship with attachment compared with therapist-rated alliance (Qbetween = 3.95, df = 1, p = .047). Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved). (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Trust in the medical profession and patient attachment style.

PubMed

Klest, Bridget; Philippon, Olivia

2016-10-01

Attachment style is a person's approach to interpersonal relationships, which develops from early experiences with primary caregivers and can remain stable into adulthood. Depending on a person's attachment style, the amount of trust one has in others can vary when forming relationships, and trust is important in formation of the patient-physician relationship. The purpose of this study was to see if there is an association between attachment style and trust in physicians in general. Participants were recruited from an emergency department (ED) and an online university participant pool, and completed short questionnaires assessing attachment style and trust in the medical profession. Results revealed that individuals with a fearful attachment style reported significantly lower levels of trust in the medical profession than those with a secure attachment style. ED participants also reported higher levels of trust in the medical profession in comparison to student participants. This study provides a better understanding of trust in the medical profession, and insight into future care for patients who have low trust.

Attachment Styles among Bullies, Victims and Uninvolved Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koiv, Kristi

2012-01-01

Attachment theory provides a frame for understanding the role of attachment styles in the development of bullying behaviour in adolescence. The present study examined attachment styles (secure, avoidant and anxious/ambivalent) that differentiated bullies, victims, bully/victims and uninvolved adolescents. A total of 1,921 students (1,006 girls and…

Predictors of Child Molestation: Adult Attachment, Cognitive Distortions, and Empathy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Eric; Riggs, Shelley

2008-01-01

A conceptual model derived from attachment theory was tested by examining adult attachment style, cognitive distortions, and both general and victim empathy in a sample of 61 paroled child molesters and 51 community controls. Results of logistic multiple regression showed that attachment anxiety, cognitive distortions, high general empathy but low…

Relationships between maternal adult attachment security, child perceptions of maternal support, and maternal perceptions of child responses to sexual abuse.

PubMed

Leifer, Myra; Kilbane, Teresa; Skolnick, Linda

2002-01-01

This study assessed the relationships between maternal adult attachment style, children's perceptions of maternal support following disclosure of sexual abuse, and maternal perceptions of children's behavioral and emotional responses to sexual abuse among African-American child sexual abuse victims aged 4 to 12 (n=96) and a comparison group of non-abused subjects (n=100). Mothers with insecure attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of internalizing behaviors in their sexually abused children than did securely attached mothers. Among mothers of non-abused children, those with insecure adult attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of externalizing behaviors shown by their children in comparison with mothers with a secure adult attachment style. Mothers with insecure adult attachment styles also reported higher rates of overall behavior problems in their non-abused children that approached statistical significance. Sexually abused children's perceptions of maternal support were not related to maternal attachment style nor to child functioning. Contrary to our prediction, mothers of sexually abused children did not show lower rates of secure attachments when compared to mothers of non-sexually abused children. Our findings indicate that fostering parent- child attachment is important in order to decrease the risk for behavior problems and symptomatology in sexually abused children.

Family environment and adult attachment as predictors of psychopathology and personality dysfunction among inpatient abuse survivors.

PubMed

Riggs, Shelley A; Sahl, Gayla; Greenwald, Ellen; Atkison, Heather; Paulson, Adrienne; Ross, Colin A

2007-01-01

The current study explored the role of early family environment and adult attachment style in explaining long-term outcomes among child abuse survivors. Adult patients (N = 80) in a trauma treatment program were assessed for clinical diagnosis and administered a multiscale questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analyses were significant for dissociative identity disorder (DID), substance abuse, anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress, somatization, and six personality disorder dimensions. Adult attachment styles were significant predictors of most outcome variables. Of particular note was the strong contribution of attachment avoidance to DID. Five family environment scales (Independence, Organization, Control, Conflict, Expressiveness) also contributed to various psychopathological outcomes. Evidence emerged supporting a mediating role for attachment style in the link between family independence and five personality disorder dimensions.

Theory of Mind and attachment styles in people with psychotic disorders, their siblings, and controls.

PubMed

Pos, Karin; Bartels-Velthuis, Agna A; Simons, Claudia J P; Korver-Nieberg, Nikie; Meijer, Carin J; de Haan, Lieuwe

2015-02-01

Impaired Theory of Mind (ToM) and insecure (adult) attachment styles have been found in persons with schizophrenia as well as in their healthy siblings. ToM refers to the ability to infer mental states of self and others including beliefs and emotions. Insecure attachment is proposed to underlie impaired ToM, and comprises avoidant (discomfort with close relationships, high value of autonomy) and anxious (separation anxiety, dependency on others) attachment. Insight into the association between attachment style and ToM is clinically relevant, as it enhances our understanding and clinical approach to social dysfunction in schizophrenia. Therefore, we studied the association between insecure attachment styles and ToM in patients with schizophrenia, their siblings, and healthy controls. A total of 111 patients with a diagnosis in the schizophrenia spectrum, 106 non-affected siblings and 63 controls completed the Psychosis Attachment Measure, the Conflicting Beliefs and Emotions, a subsection of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form. Severity of symptoms was assessed with the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. After controlling for sex, intelligence, history of trauma and symptom severity, avoidant attachment was significantly associated with cognitive as well as with affective ToM, showing U-shaped associations, indicating better ToM performance for patients with lower or higher levels of avoidant attachment compared to medium levels. Anxious attachment in patients was associated with more problems in cognitive ToM. The results from this study support the idea that an anxious attachment style is associated with worse ToM performance in patients. Results also suggested a potential protective role of higher levels of avoidant attachment on ToM. These findings bear clinical relevance, as activation of (insecure) attachment mechanisms may affect interpersonal

Interaction of recalled parental ADHD symptoms and rearing behavior with current attachment and emotional dysfunction in adult offspring with ADHD.

PubMed

Edel, Marc-Andreas; Juckel, Georg; Brüne, Martin

2010-06-30

Research into attachment and emotion regulation has shown that children with ADHD are at risk of developing attachment disorders and emotion regulation disturbances, which in part may be due to the rearing style of their parents. No such data exists for adults with persistent ADHD. We hypothesized that current attachment style and emotion processing of adult patients with ADHD may be influenced by the presence of parental ADHD symptoms when the now adult patients were children, assuming that ADHD symptoms of parents have an impact on their parenting style. We examined recalled parental ADHD symptoms and rearing style as well as current attachment and emotion regulation abilities in a sample of 73 adults with ADHD using several self-rating instruments. Recalled prevalence of ADHD symptoms in the mother, and less so in the father, of adult patients with ADHD was significantly associated with partly adverse parental rearing styles, current attachment problems in romantic partnerships and emotion regulation disturbances compared with adult ADHD patients without possibly affected parent. ADHD symptoms in parents of children with ADHD may present a risk factor for attachment problems and poor emotion regulation when ADHD children are grown.

Application of adult attachment theory to group member transference and the group therapy process.

PubMed

Markin, Rayna D; Marmarosh, Cheri

2010-03-01

Although clinical researchers have applied attachment theory to client conceptualization and treatment in individual therapy, few researchers have applied this theory to group therapy. The purpose of this article is to begin to apply theory and research on adult dyadic and group attachment styles to our understanding of group dynamics and processes in adult therapy groups. In particular, we set forth theoretical propositions on how group members' attachment styles affect relationships within the group. Specifically, this article offers some predictions on how identifying group member dyadic and group attachment styles could help leaders predict member transference within the therapy group. Implications of group member attachment for the selection and composition of a group and the different group stages are discussed. Recommendations for group clinicians and researchers are offered. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved

Anxious and avoidant attachment styles and indicators of recovery in schizophrenia: associations with self-esteem and hope.

PubMed

Ringer, Jamie M; Buchanan, Erin E; Olesek, Kyle; Lysaker, Paul H

2014-06-01

Having an insecure attachment style in schizophrenia has been linked to treatment response and symptom severity in schizophrenia. This study sought to further examine whether attachment style is related to subjective indicators of recovery including hope and self-esteem, independent of symptom level and secondly, whether attachment style in schizophrenia differs from attachment style of persons facing adversity in the form of a prolonged non-psychiatric medical illness. Participants were 52 men with schizophrenia, and 26 with HIV/AIDS who had no history of experiencing severe mental illness. These groups were compared in terms of their endorsement of attachment style. All participants were administered the Experiences in Close Relationships measure of adult attachment style. The schizophrenia group was also given the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale to assess self-esteem, the Beck Hopelessness Scale as a measure of hope, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, as an assessment of symptoms. Avoidant attachment in the schizophrenia group was linked with higher levels of hopelessness while anxious attachment was linked to lower levels of self-esteem. The association between anxious attachment and self-esteem persisted after controlling for severity of positive, negative, and depressive symptoms in a stepwise multiple regression analyses. Compared to the HIV/AIDS group, participants with schizophrenia had significantly higher levels of anxious attachment but not avoidant attachment style. Attachment style may impact attainment of key subjective domains of recovery in schizophrenia such as self-esteem, independent of symptom severity. If self-esteem and/or hopelessness are identified as a focus of treatment, focusing on attachment style may be an important treatment component. Therapist understanding of patients' attachment style may allow for a better understanding of resistance in the therapeutic relationship. Helping persons with schizophrenia to recognize and

Adult separation anxiety and unsettled infant behavior: Associations with adverse parenting during childhood and insecure adult attachment.

PubMed

Kohlhoff, Jane; Barnett, Bryanne; Eapen, Valsamma

2015-08-01

This study examined the prevalence and correlates of Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder (ASAD) and Adult Separation Anxiety (ASA) symptoms in a sample of first-time mothers with an unsettled infant during the first postpartum year. Eighty-three primiparous women admitted to a residential parent-infant program participated in a structured clinical interview for DSM-IV diagnosis and questionnaires assessing ASA symptoms, adult attachment and childhood parenting experiences. Nurses recorded infant behavior using 24-hour charts. The prevalence of ASAD in this sample was 19.3% and women with ASAD were, on average, more likely to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders, report aversive parenting experiences during childhood and show adult attachment style insecurity. Both ASAD and ASA symptoms were predicted by adult attachment anxiety, and ASAD was associated with unsettled infant behavior. Attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance mediated relations between parental over-control and ASAD diagnosis, and between parental abuse and ASAD diagnosis. Attachment anxiety mediated the relation between parental over-control and ASA symptoms, and attachment avoidance mediated the relations of parental over-control and parental abuse with ASA symptoms. This study highlights the prevalence of ASAD among first time mothers experiencing early parenting difficulties and the roles of childhood parenting experiences and adult attachment style in the development of the disorder. This points to the importance of introducing universal screening for ASAD in postnatal settings, and for the development of targeted interventions. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Eating psychopathology amongst athletes: links to current attachment styles.

PubMed

Shanmugam, Vaithehy; Jowett, Sophia; Meyer, Caroline

2012-01-01

The aims of the study were two-fold; first to determine the associations between current attachment styles, and eating psychopathology amongst athletes, and second to simultaneously assess the mediating effects of self-esteem, perfectionism, and depression in this association. Four hundred and eleven British athletes completed self-report instruments pertaining to eating psychopathology, attachment styles, self-esteem, depression, and perfectionism. Athletes who scored highly on both avoidant and anxious attachment styles, reported elevated eating psychopathology scores. However, such associations were indirect and mediated via athletes' levels of self-esteem, self-critical perfectionism, and depression, with self-esteem and depression identified as more salient mediators than self-critical perfectionism. The current findings provide evidence to suggest that insecure attachment styles influence athletes' eating psychopathology via their impact on self-esteem, depression, and self-critical perfectionism. Moreover, self-esteem and depression may play more significant role in transferring the impact of insecure attachment styles on elevated eating psychopathology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The mediational pathway among parenting styles, attachment styles and self-regulation with addiction susceptibility of adolescents.

PubMed

Zeinali, Ali; Sharifi, Hassanpasha; Enayati, Mirsalahadine; Asgari, Parviz; Pasha, Gohlamreza

2011-09-01

The purpose of present study was to create and test a model that illustrates variables that influence the development of addiction susceptibility and determine how different styles of parenting may indirectly influence the addiction susceptibility of children through the mediators of attachment style and self-regulation. Using random cluster sampling, 508 adolescent high school boys and girls aged 14-19 years were enrolled. Data were analyzed using structural equations modeling (path analysis). The results showed that authoritative and permissive parenting styles were associated with secure attachment whereas authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles were associated with insecure attachment. Insecure attachment was associated with a low level of self-regulation whereas secure attachment was associated with a high level of self-regulation. We found that a low level of self-regulation increased the adolescent's addiction susceptibility whereas a high level of self-regulation decreased their addiction susceptibility. The findings of present study suggest the authoritative and permissive parenting styles as the most efficient styles and authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles as the most inefficient styles in terms of addiction susceptibility. Accordingly, efficient parenting style training to parents should be the main goal of drug demand reduction program.

Insecure Adult Attachment and Child Maltreatment: A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Lo, Camilla K M; Chan, Ko Ling; Ip, Patrick

2017-01-01

Extant evidence has shown that insecure adult attachment is related to dysfunctional parenting styles that heighten parents' risk of child maltreatment. However, there is a lack of studies appraising the evidence for the association between insecure adult attachment and child maltreatment. This meta-analytic study examined the relationship between parents' adult attachment and child maltreatment perpetration/child abuse potential. Studies examining the relationship between parents' adult attachment and child maltreatment/child abuse potential published before February 2017 were identified through a systematic search of online databases. In total, 16 studies ( N = 1,830) were selected. Meta-analysis based on random-effects models shows a significant positive association between insecure attachment and child maltreatment (pooled effect size: odds ratio [ OR] = 2.93, p = .000). Subgroup analyses show insecure attachment was more strongly associated with failure to thrive ( OR = 8.04, p = .000) and filicide ( OR = 5.00, p < .05). Medium effect sizes were found for subgroup analyses on insecure romantic attachment ( OR = 3.76, p = .000), general attachment ( OR = 3.38, p = .000), attachment to own child ( OR = 3.13, p = .001), and to own parents ( OR = 2.63, p = .000) in relation to child maltreatment.

Attachment style, self-concealment, and interpersonal distance among Japanese undergraduates.

PubMed

Yukawa, Shintaro; Tokuda, Hideji; Sato, Jun

2007-06-01

The relationships among attachment style, self-concealment, and interpersonal distance were studied with 71 Japanese undergraduates (33 men and 38 women, ages 18 to 20 years, M = 18.7, SD= .6). Participants completed a questionnaire about Self-concealment and Attachment Styles (Secure, Anxious, and Avoidant). One week later, Interpersonal Distance, which individuals maintain between themselves and others, was measured by the stop-distance paradigm. Analysis showed that scores for more Anxious and Avoidant Attachment Styles were positively correlated with those for greater Self-concealment. Scores for greater Self-concealment and more Anxious Attachment Style were also correlated with longer Interpersonal Distance.

Relationship of Attachment Styles and Emotional Intelligence With Marital Satisfaction

PubMed Central

Kamel Abbasi, Amir Reza; Tabatabaei, Seyed Mahmoud; Aghamohammadiyan Sharbaf, Hamidreza; Karshki, Hossein

2016-01-01

Background The early relationships between infant and care takers are significant and the emotional interactions of these relationships play an important role in forming personality and adulthood relationships. Objectives The current study aimed to investigate the relationship of attachment styles (AS) and emotional intelligence (EI) with marital satisfaction (MS). Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional research, 450 married people (226 male, 224 female) were selected using multistage sampling method in Mashhad, Iran, in 2011. Subjects completed the attachment styles questionnaire (ASQ), Bar-On emotional quotient inventory (EQ-i) and Enrich marital satisfaction questionnaire. Results The results indicated that secure attachment style has positive significant relationship with marital satisfaction (r = 0.609, P < 0.001), also avoidant attachment style and ambivalent attachment style have negative significant relationship with marital satisfaction (r = -0.446, r = -0.564) (P < 0.001). Also, attachment styles can significantly predict marital satisfaction (P < 0.001). Therefore, emotional intelligence and its components have positive significant relationship with marital satisfaction; thus, emotional intelligence and intrapersonal, adaptability and general mood components can significantly predict marital satisfaction (P < 0.001). But, interpersonal and stress management components cannot significantly predict marital satisfaction (P > 0.05). Conclusions According to the obtained results, attachment styles and emotional intelligence are the key factors in marital satisfaction that decrease marital disagreement and increase the positive interactions of the couples. PMID:27843473

Relationship of Attachment Styles and Emotional Intelligence With Marital Satisfaction.

PubMed

Kamel Abbasi, Amir Reza; Tabatabaei, Seyed Mahmoud; Aghamohammadiyan Sharbaf, Hamidreza; Karshki, Hossein

2016-09-01

The early relationships between infant and care takers are significant and the emotional interactions of these relationships play an important role in forming personality and adulthood relationships. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship of attachment styles (AS) and emotional intelligence (EI) with marital satisfaction (MS). In this cross-sectional research, 450 married people (226 male, 224 female) were selected using multistage sampling method in Mashhad, Iran, in 2011. Subjects completed the attachment styles questionnaire (ASQ), Bar-On emotional quotient inventory (EQ-i) and Enrich marital satisfaction questionnaire. The results indicated that secure attachment style has positive significant relationship with marital satisfaction (r = 0.609, P < 0.001), also avoidant attachment style and ambivalent attachment style have negative significant relationship with marital satisfaction (r = -0.446, r = -0.564) (P < 0.001). Also, attachment styles can significantly predict marital satisfaction (P < 0.001). Therefore, emotional intelligence and its components have positive significant relationship with marital satisfaction; thus, emotional intelligence and intrapersonal, adaptability and general mood components can significantly predict marital satisfaction (P < 0.001). But, interpersonal and stress management components cannot significantly predict marital satisfaction (P > 0.05). According to the obtained results, attachment styles and emotional intelligence are the key factors in marital satisfaction that decrease marital disagreement and increase the positive interactions of the couples.

The mediational pathway among parenting styles, attachment styles and self-regulation with addiction susceptibility of adolescents*

PubMed Central

Zeinali, Ali; Sharifi, Hassanpasha; Enayati, Mirsalahadine; Asgari, Parviz; Pasha, Gohlamreza

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND: The purpose of present study was to create and test a model that illustrates variables that influence the development of addiction susceptibility and determine how different styles of parenting may indirectly influence the addiction susceptibility of children through the mediators of attachment style and self-regulation. METHODS: Using random cluster sampling, 508 adolescent high school boys and girls aged 14-19 years were enrolled. Data were analyzed using structural equations modeling (path analysis). RESULTS: The results showed that authoritative and permissive parenting styles were associated with secure attachment whereas authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles were associated with insecure attachment. Insecure attachment was associated with a low level of self-regulation whereas secure attachment was associated with a high level of self-regulation. We found that a low level of self-regulation increased the adolescent's addiction susceptibility whereas a high level of self-regulation decreased their addiction susceptibility. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of present study suggest the authoritative and permissive parenting styles as the most efficient styles and authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles as the most inefficient styles in terms of addiction susceptibility. Accordingly, efficient parenting style training to parents should be the main goal of drug demand reduction program. PMID:22973379

Coping style as a mediator between attachment and mental and physical health in patients suffering from morbid obesity.

PubMed

Aarts, Floor; Hinnen, Chris; Gerdes, Victor E A; Acherman, Yair; Brandjes, Dees P M

2014-01-01

The presence of mental health problems and limitations in physical functioning is high in patients suffering from morbid obesity. The purpose of the current study was to examine the mediating role of coping style in the relationship between attachment representations and mental health and physical functioning in a morbidly obese population. A total of 299 morbidly obese patients who were referred to the Slotervaart bariatric surgery unit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, completed self-report questionnaires assessing adult attachment style (Experiences in Close Relationship-Revised Questionnaire), coping style (Utrecht Coping List), and patients physical functioning and mental health (Short Form-36). Attachment anxiety (beta = -.490, p < .001) and attachment avoidance (3 = -.387, p < .001) were both found to be related to mental health. In addition, attachment anxiety was also found to be related to physical functioning (beta = - .188,p < .001). Coping style partly mediated these associations. Findings suggest that coping mediates the association between attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance on the one hand and mental health and physical functioning in patients with morbid obesity on the other hand.

The Relationships among Attachment Style, Personality Traits, Interpersonal Competency, and Facebook Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenkins-Guarnieri, Michael A.; Wright, Stephen L.; Hudiburgh, Lynette M.

2012-01-01

Among emerging adult populations, the increasingly prevalent use of online social media, such as Facebook, and its relationship to individual personality traits and interpersonal relationships are of growing interest to researchers. The current study sought to investigate how attachment style, personality traits based on the Five Factor Model, and…

Attachment styles in patients with avoidant personality disorder compared with social phobia.

PubMed

Eikenaes, Ingeborg; Pedersen, Geir; Wilberg, Theresa

2016-09-01

Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) and social phobia (SP) are common, closely related conditions. Little is known about the underlying processes related to the social discomfort of subjects with AvPD and SP. Both disorders are associated with interpersonal problems. An attachment perspective may shed light on similarities and differences in close relationships between the disorders. The aim of the study was to compare self-reported attachment styles in patients with AvPD and SP. We expected that patients with AvPD would have more attachment anxiety and avoidance and more often a Fearful attachment style, compared with SP. This is a cross-sectional multisite study of 90 adult patients with AvPD and SP. Patients with AvPD with and without SP (AvPD group) were compared with patients with SP without AvPD (SP group). Patients were assessed using structured diagnostic interviews and self-reporting questionnaires, including Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR). The ECR dimensions, Anxiety and Avoidance, and the new described five factors of the ECR were used. The AvPD group had higher levels of attachment anxiety than the SP group, especially for the sub-factors Anxiety for abandonment and Separation frustration. The diagnostic groups did not differ in levels of avoidance. Anxiety for abandonment was still associated with AvPD after controlling for symptom disorders and the criteria of other personality disorders. A Fearful attachment style was more frequent among patients with AvPD. The results indicate AvPD is associated with more attachment anxiety than SP. Fear of abandonment may play a significant role in the AvPD pathology. This is the first study to compare attachment styles in patients with avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) and social phobia (SP). The AvPD group had higher attachment-related anxiety than the SP group, and anxiety was most pronounced for the fear of abandonment. Fear of abandonment may play an important role in the AvPD pathology. �

"My pet has passed": Relations of adult attachment styles and current feelings of grief and trauma after the event.

PubMed

Brown, Olivia K; Symons, Douglas K

2016-01-01

This study examined attachment relationships and emotional distress after the passing of a pet. Participants were 73 university students 17-26 years of age who had lost a family pet within the past 5 years. They completed measures of attachment styles toward people and their pet, as well as complicated grief, depression, and trauma. As hypothesized, there were positive relations between attachments with people and pets, and anxiety in pet attachment was positively related to complicated grief, even when attachment with people was controlled. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of attachment style to grief over loss.

Hormonal treatment reduces psychobiological distress in gender identity disorder, independently of the attachment style.

PubMed

Colizzi, Marco; Costa, Rosalia; Pace, Valeria; Todarello, Orlando

2013-12-01

Gender identity disorder may be a stressful situation. Hormonal treatment seemed to improve the general health as it reduces psychological and social distress. The attachment style seemed to regulate distress in insecure individuals as they are more exposed to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system dysregulation and subjective stress. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the presence of psychobiological distress and insecure attachment in transsexuals and to study their stress levels with reference to the hormonal treatment and the attachment pattern. We investigated 70 transsexual patients. We measured the cortisol levels and the perceived stress before starting the hormonal therapy and after about 12 months. We studied the representation of attachment in transsexuals by a backward investigation in the relations between them and their caregivers. We used blood samples for assessing cortisol awakening response (CAR); we used the Perceived Stress Scale for evaluating self-reported perceived stress and the Adult Attachment Interview to determine attachment styles. At enrollment, transsexuals reported elevated CAR; their values were out of normal. They expressed higher perceived stress and more attachment insecurity, with respect to normative sample data. When treated with hormone therapy, transsexuals reported significantly lower CAR (P < 0.001), falling within the normal range for cortisol levels. Treated transsexuals showed also lower perceived stress (P < 0.001), with levels similar to normative samples. The insecure attachment styles were associated with higher CAR and perceived stress in untreated transsexuals (P < 0.01). Treated transsexuals did not expressed significant differences in CAR and perceived stress by attachment. Our results suggested that untreated patients suffer from a higher degree of stress and that attachment insecurity negatively impacts the stress management. Initiating the hormonal treatment seemed to have a positive effect in

Young adult's attachment style as a partial mediator between maternal functioning and young adult offsprings' functioning.

PubMed

Ruiz, Sarah K; Harris, Susan J; Martinez, Pedro; Gold, Philip M; Klimes-Dougan, Bonnie

2018-05-01

The quality of our early attachment relationships with primary caregivers is carried forward to new developmental domains, including interpersonal contexts in adulthood. One of the factors that can disrupt early attachment is maternal depression, which may be associated with less responsive care and may impede the development of a secure attachment. Moreover, this disruption in secure attachment may act as a mechanism by which offspring of depressed mothers are more likely to experience their own psychopathology. In this study we predicted that attachment anxiety and avoidance would mediate the relationship between maternal depression diagnosis and functional impairment predicting young adult offspring's functional impairment. This study utilized longitudinal data from 98 families with clinically diagnosed depressed and well mothers, and two of their young adult children, an older and younger sibling (N = 123, Female = 75, Mage = 22.09, SD = 2.57). Mother's and young adult children's functioning was based on clinical ratings on the Global Assessment Scale. Attachment was based on the young adult's self-report on the Experiences in Close Relationships. Results indicate that maternal diagnosis and functional impairment predicted offspring's functional impairment. This relationship was partially mediated through offspring's attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance. The mediator and outcome variable were measured concurrently, thus causal implications are limited. Our study provides critical evidence that early experiences with depressed mothers may have influence into young adulthood in typical and atypical domains of development. This work extends our understanding of the impact of early experiences in long-term development, and may have treatment implications for intervening on both maternal and romantic relationships to improve attachment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attachment styles and clinical communication performance in trainee doctors.

PubMed

Fletcher, Ian; McCallum, Rachel; Peters, Sarah

2016-11-01

To investigate the relationship between trainee doctors' attachment style and their performance in qualifying clinical and communication skills assessments. Participants were 190 undergraduate medical students whose performance was assessed by examiners across two areas (communication and clinical skills) during their qualifying Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Simulated patients also rated communication skills. Participants' attachment style was rated across two dimensions, avoidance and anxiety, using the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ). Lower levels of attachment avoidance and anxiety significantly predicted higher performance in both communication and clinical skills. Trainee doctors' attachment styles are associated with patient communication and clinical performance. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of attachment on consultations between doctors and patients within clinical settings. Attachment theory can inform our understanding why, for some student doctors, interacting with patients may be particularly challenging and require additional support by medical educators. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adolescent attachment styles and their relation to the temperament and character traits of personality in a general population.

PubMed

Chotai, Jayanti; Jonasson, Mattias; Hägglöf, Bruno; Adolfsson, Rolf

2005-05-01

Attachment styles as well as personality traits in adolescents and adults have been found to be associated with their health outcomes and with their personality pathology. In this cross-sectional exploratory study, we study the relationship between attachment styles that derive from our data employing the items of Feeney et al. (1994) self-report attachment style questionnaire (ASQ), and personality traits given by the junior version of Cloninger et al. (1993) self-report temperament and character inventory (TCI), in a sample of 426 adolescents (54% females) from a general population. The secure attachment style was correlated significantly negatively with the personality trait harm avoidance (HA), but significantly positively with the personality traits novelty seeking (NS), reward dependence (RD), cooperativeness (CO) and self-transcendence (ST). The preoccupied (anxious/ambivalent) attachment style was correlated significantly positively with HA and NS, but significantly negatively with self-directedness (SD). The fearful-avoidant category was correlated significantly negatively with NS. Our five-factor solution of the attachment styles and their relation to the TCI point towards a need for a modification of the two-axis, four-category attachment model of Bartholomew (1990) and Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991), with their category dismissing-avoidant replaced by the two categories defined here as dismissing relations (correlated significantly negatively with CO) and dismissing others (correlated significantly negatively with RD and significantly positively with SD).

Attachment styles and personality disorders: their connections to each other and to parental divorce, parental death, and perceptions of parental caregiving.

PubMed

Brennan, K A; Shaver, P R

1998-10-01

Attachment theory was explored as a means of understanding the origins of personality disorders. We investigated whether adult attachment styles and personality disorders share a common underlying structure, and how both kinds of variables relate to family background factors, including parental death, parental divorce, and current representations of childhood relationships with parents. A nonclinical group of 1407 individuals, mostly adolescents and young adults, were surveyed about their attachment styles, parental marital status, parental mortality status, perceptions of treatment by parents in childhood, and 13 personality disorders. Results indicated substantial overlap between attachment and personality-disorder measures. Two of the personality-disorder dimensions are related to the two dimensions of the attachment space; that is, there is a two-dimensional space in which both the attachment patterns and most of the personality disorders can be arrayed. The one personality-disorder factor that is unrelated to attachment appears akin to psychopathy. Both personality disorders and attachment styles were associated with family-of-origin variables. Results are discussed in terms of encouraging further research to test the idea that insecure attachment and most of the personality disorders share similar developmental antecedents.

Lifetime romantic attachment style and social adaptation in late-onset depression.

PubMed

Paradiso, Sergio; Naridze, Rachelle; Holm-Brown, Erika

2012-10-01

Measuring social adjustment (including attachment style and current social adaptation) in late-life depression may support planning secondary prevention, rehabilitation, and treatment. Insecure attachment style is a risk factor for developing new depression, and social adjustment may constitute a problem after symptoms abatement. Few studies have examined attachment style and social adjustment in late-onset depression. Subjects 50 years of age and older with early-onset (n = 35), late-onset DSM-IV unipolar depression (n = 38), and never-depressed volunteers (n = 47) were assessed with a widely used measure of attachment style (the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale). Social adjustment was measured using the Social Adjustment Scale. Both early-onset and late-onset patients with depression showed greater insecure attachment and poorer social adaptation compared with never-depressed volunteers. No difference was found between early-onset and late-onset patients with depression on attachment style or social adjustment. There were no significant differences between late-life depression in remission or current on attachment or social adaptation. Insecure attachment style may be a risk factor for late-life depression irrespective of the age of onset. Social maladaptation may persist among individuals with late-life depression in remission. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The influence of childhood abuse and adult attachment style on clinical relationships in breast cancer care.

PubMed

Clark, Louise; Beesley, Helen; Holcombe, Christopher; Salmon, Peter

2011-01-01

In a previous report, breast cancer patients reporting a history of childhood abuse were less likely to feel fully supported in their relationships with clinical staff than were patients who did not report an abuse history. Our aims were to replicate this effect, to test whether surgeons' difficulties in these relationships mediated the relationship of abuse to patients feeling less supported, and to test whether patients' attachment style mediates the influence of abuse on patients' or surgeons' experience of the relationship. Women with primary breast cancer (N = 100) completed self-report questionnaires around the time of surgery to assess: emotional distress; adult attachment (models of self and other); sexual, physical and emotional abuse before age 16; and childhood parental care. After consultation three weeks post-operatively patients and surgeons completed self-report questionnaires to measure, respectively, patients' perceptions of support from the surgeon, and surgeons' perceptions of difficulty in their relationship with the patient. Patients recalling abuse were more than seven times more likely to feel incompletely supported by the surgeon than those not recalling abuse, after controlling for emotional distress. Surgeons reported greater difficulty in relationships with patients recalling abuse than with non-abused patients. Attachment (poor model of self) mediated the relationship of abuse with patient perceptions of incomplete support, but not the relationship with surgeon ratings of difficulty. The damaging effects of childhood abuse on adult relationships extend to relationships with surgeons in cancer care. While effects of abuse on attachment can explain the damage that patients experience, mediators of the difficulty that surgeons experience need further research. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anger and hostility in adolescents: relationships with self-reported attachment style and perceived parental rearing styles.

PubMed

Muris, Peter; Meesters, Cor; Morren, Mattijn; Moorman, Lidwine

2004-09-01

To examine relationships between self-reported attachment style and parental rearing behaviors, on the one hand, and anger/hostility, on the other hand, in a sample of nonclinical adolescents (N=441). Participants completed (a) a single-item measure of attachment style; (b) a questionnaire measuring perceptions of parental rearing behaviors; and (c) two scales assessing anger and hostility. Self-reported attachment style was related to anger/hostility. That is, adolescents who defined themselves as avoidantly or ambivalently attached displayed higher levels of anger/hostility than adolescents who classified themselves as securely attached. Furthermore, perceived parental rearing was also related to anger/hostility. More specifically, low levels of emotional warmth and high levels of rejection, control, and inconsistency were accompanied by high levels of anger/hostility. Finally, regression analyses showed that both attachment status and parental rearing behaviors accounted for a unique and significant proportion of the variance in anger/hostility. These findings are in keeping with the notion that family environment factors such as attachment style and parental rearing are involved in the development of anger/hostility in youths.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: parenting during adolescence, attachment styles, and romantic narratives in emerging adulthood.

PubMed

Nosko, Amanda; Tieu, Thanh-Thanh; Lawford, Heather; Pratt, Michael W

2011-05-01

In this longitudinal study, a quantitative and qualitative examination of the associations among parent-child relations, adult attachment styles, and relationship quality and theme in romantic narratives was conducted. Parenting and adult attachment style were assessed through questionnaires, whereas overall quality of romantic relationships (regard and importance), intimacy, and romantic story theme were examined with a life story approach (McAdams, 1993). At ages 17 and 26 years, 100 participants completed a series of questionnaires and also, at age 26, told a story about a "relationship-defining moment" with a romantic partner. Parent-child relations when participants were 17 years old were related predictably to all three attachment styles. About 70% of the sample told romantic stories with a "true love" type of theme. Associations between parent-child relations when the child was 17 and this type of theme in the story told when the participant was 26 were mediated by a more secure (and a less avoidant) attachment style when the participant was 26, as predicted. The implications of these findings for links between attachment models and the life story are discussed. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Adult Attachment and Parental Bonding: Correlations between Perceived Relationship Qualities and Self-Reported Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambruster, Ellen W.; Witherington, David C.

2016-01-01

Adult attachment and parental bonding have been linked to anxiety disorders, but rarely have these associations been demonstrated in the same study. To fill this gap in the research literature, we utilized several different self-report measures to examine the relationships among adult attachment style, memories of early bonding experiences, and…

Attachment styles of nursing students: a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Kaya, Nurten

2010-10-01

This research included two consecutive studies, the first of which aimed to examine university nursing students' attachment styles and to study a set of variables that affect their attachment styles, while the second study aimed to identify the effect of nursing education on nursing students' attachment styles. This research was conducted as a cross-sectional survey with nursing students from a school of nursing in Turkey. The research also included a longitudinal follow-up of first year students, to evaluate the effect of nursing education on attachment styles. Data were collected by using a "Personal Information Form" and "Relationship Scales Questionnaire". Nursing students' personal characteristics of age, longest place of residence, and economic status; family characteristics of number of siblings and families' longest place of residence; and romantic characteristics of any current romantic relationships and the number of past romantic relationships were found to be the factors that were influential in attachment styles. In addition, the nursing students had a statistically significant decrease in their insecure attachment style mean scores at the end of nursing education. Assessing attachment styles may be a potentially useful way to understand and counsel nursing students. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attachment styles in maltreated children: a comparative study.

PubMed

Finzi, R; Cohen, O; Sapir, Y; Weizman, A

2000-01-01

The study compares the emotional impact of maltreatment on the attachment styles in three groups of children aged 6-12 years: children of drug-user fathers (n = 76), physically abused children (n = 41), neglected children (n = 38); non-abused/non-neglected children (n = 35)--control group. The secure style characterized 52% of the children of drug-user fathers and the insecure style characterized the other 48% (anxious/ambivalent or avoidant); physically abused children were characterized mainly by the avoidant attachment style, and neglected children by the anxious/ambivalent style. The conclusion is that physically abused children are at risk of antisocial behavior and sustained suspicion towards others; neglected children are at risk of social withdrawal, social rejection and feelings of incompetence, and children of drug-user fathers may be at risk of behavioral problems and drug use in adolescence.

Attachment anxiety and avoidance as mediators of the association between childhood maltreatment and adult personality dysfunction.

PubMed

Cohen, Lisa J; Ardalan, Firouz; Tanis, Thachell; Halmi, Winter; Galynker, Igor; Von Wyl, Agnes; Hengartner, Michael P

2017-02-01

This paper tests the hypothesis that the association between childhood maltreatment and adult personality dysfunction is at least partially attributable to insecure attachment, that is that attachment style mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and adult personality dysfunction. Associations between childhood trauma, as measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), anxious and avoidant attachment in romantic relationships, as measured by the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R), and five personality domains, as measured by the Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP-118), were examined in a sample of 72 psychiatric inpatients. The SIPP-118 domains included relational capacities, identity integration, self-control, responsibility, and social concordance. The direct effect of childhood trauma on all SIPP-118 domains was not significant after controlling for the indirect effect of attachment. In regression modeling, a significant indirect effect of childhood trauma via adult attachment style was found for SIPP-118 relational capacities, identity integration, self-control, and social concordance. Specifically, anxious attachment was a significant mediator of the effect of childhood trauma on self-control, identity integration, and relational domains. These results suggest that childhood trauma impacts a broad range of personality domains and does so in large part through the pathway of anxious romantic attachment style.

Interview Investigation of Insecure Attachment Styles as Mediators between Poor Childhood Care and Schizophrenia-Spectrum Phenomenology.

PubMed

Sheinbaum, Tamara; Bifulco, Antonia; Ballespí, Sergi; Mitjavila, Mercè; Kwapil, Thomas R; Barrantes-Vidal, Neus

2015-01-01

Insecure attachment styles have received theoretical attention and some initial empirical support as mediators between childhood adverse experiences and psychotic phenomena; however, further specificity needs investigating. The present interview study aimed to examine (i) whether two forms of poor childhood care, namely parental antipathy and role reversal, were associated with subclinical positive and negative symptoms and schizophrenia-spectrum personality disorder (PD) traits, and (ii) whether such associations were mediated by specific insecure attachment styles. A total of 214 nonclinical young adults were interviewed for subclinical symptoms (Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States), schizophrenia-spectrum PDs (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders), poor childhood care (Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Interview), and attachment style (Attachment Style Interview). Participants also completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II and all the analyses were conducted partialling out the effects of depressive symptoms. Both parental antipathy and role reversal were associated with subclinical positive symptoms and with paranoid and schizotypal PD traits. Role reversal was also associated with subclinical negative symptoms. Angry-dismissive attachment mediated associations between antipathy and subclinical positive symptoms and both angry-dismissive and enmeshed attachment mediated associations of antipathy with paranoid and schizotypal PD traits. Enmeshed attachment mediated associations of role reversal with paranoid and schizotypal PD traits. Attachment theory can inform lifespan models of how adverse developmental environments may increase the risk for psychosis. Insecure attachment provides a promising mechanism for understanding the development of schizophrenia-spectrum phenomenology and may offer a useful target for prophylactic intervention.

The DSM-5 alternative model of personality disorders from the perspective of adult attachment: a study in community-dwelling adults.

PubMed

Fossati, Andrea; Krueger, Robert F; Markon, Kristian E; Borroni, Serena; Maffei, Cesare; Somma, Antonella

2015-04-01

To assess how the maladaptive personality domains and facets that were included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) Alternative Model of Personality Disorders relate to adult attachment styles, 480 Italian nonclinical adults were administered the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ). To evaluate the uniqueness of the associations between the PID-5 scales and the ASQ scales, the participants were also administered the Big Five Inventory (BFI). Multiple regression analyses showed that the ASQ scales significantly predicted both PID-5 domain scales and BFI scales; however, the relationships were different both qualitatively and quantitatively. With the exception of the PID-5 risk taking scale (adjusted R(2) = 0.02), all other PID-5 trait scales were significantly predicted by the ASQ scales, median adjusted R(2) value = 0.25, all ps < 0.001. Our findings suggest that the maladaptive personality domains and traits listed in the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders show meaningful associations with adult attachment styles.

Relationship of negative self-schemas and attachment styles with appearance schemas.

PubMed

Ledoux, Tracey; Winterowd, Carrie; Richardson, Tamara; Clark, Julie Dorton

2010-06-01

The purpose was to test, among women, the relationship between negative self-schemas and styles of attachment with men and women and two types of appearance investment (Self-evaluative and Motivational Salience). Predominantly Caucasian undergraduate women (N=194) completed a modified version of the Relationship Questionnaire, the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form, and the Appearance Schemas Inventory-Revised. Linear multiple regression analyses were conducted with Motivational Salience and Self-evaluative Salience of appearance serving as dependent variables and relevant demographic variables, negative self-schemas, and styles of attachment to men serving as independent variables. Styles of attachment to women were not entered into these regression models because Pearson correlations indicated they were not related to either dependent variable. Self-evaluative Salience of appearance was related to impaired autonomy and performance negative self-schema and the preoccupation style of attachment with men, while Motivational Salience of appearance was related only to the preoccupation style of attachment with men. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attachment style and suicide behaviors in high risk psychiatric inpatients following hospital discharge: The mediating role of entrapment.

PubMed

Li, Shuang; Galynker, Igor I; Briggs, Jessica; Duffy, Molly; Frechette-Hagan, Anna; Kim, Hae-Joon; Cohen, Lisa J; Yaseen, Zimri S

2017-11-01

Insecure attachment is associated with suicidal behavior. This relationship and its possible mediators have not been examined in high-risk psychiatric inpatients with respect to the critical high-risk period following hospital discharge. Attachment styles and perception of entrapment were assessed in 200 high-risk adult psychiatric inpatients hospitalized following suicidal ideation or suicide attempt. Suicidal behaviors were evaluated with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale at 1-2 months post-discharge. Associations between different attachment styles and suicidal behaviors were assessed and mediation of attachment effects by entrapment was modeled. Fearful attachment was associated with post-discharge suicidal behavior and there was a trend-level negative association for secure attachment. In addition, entrapment mediated the relationship between fearful attachment and suicidal behavior. The current study highlights the mediating role of perceptions of entrapment in the contribution of fearful attachment to suicidal behavior in high-risk patients, suggesting entrapment as potential therapeutic target to prevent suicidal behavior in these individuals. Further research is warranted to establish the mechanisms by which entrapment experiences emerge in patients with insecure attachment styles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attachment in psychosis: A latent profile analysis of attachment styles and association with symptoms in a large psychosis cohort.

PubMed

Bucci, Sandra; Emsley, Richard; Berry, Katherine

2017-01-01

Attachment has been identified as one of various possible mechanisms involved in understanding models of psychosis, but measures that reliably and validly assess attachment styles in psychosis are limited. The aim of this study was to identify attachment patterns in psychosis and examine demographic and clinical correlates across attachment groups. Latent profile analysis on attachment data from 588 participants who met criteria for non-affective psychosis was used to classify people into attachment classes. Four latent classes of attachment were identified: secure, insecure-anxious, insecure-avoidant and disorganised. Secure attachment was the most common attachment style, suggesting that a significant number of clients with psychosis are inherently resilient. Disorganised attachment was associated with a higher proportion of sexual and physical abuse and more severe positive symptoms compared to other attachment classes. This is not only the largest study to examine attachment styles, their demographic and clinical profile, and the clinical profile of disorganised attachment more specifically, in psychosis, but also the first study to use a validated self-report measure of attachment in psychosis to identify four classes of attachment style. Findings advance developmental models of attachment and psychosis; participants with disorganised attachment report more frequent trauma history and more severe psychotic symptoms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attachment in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: Preliminary Investigation of the Psychometric Properties of the Manchester Attachment Scale-Third Party Observational Measure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penketh, Victoria; Hare, Dougal Julian; Flood, Andrea; Walker, Samantha

2014-01-01

Background: The Manchester Attachment Scale-Third party observational measure (MAST) was developed to assess secure attachment style for adults with intellectual disabilities. The psychometric properties of the MAST were examined. Materials and Methods: Professional carers (N = 40) completed the MAST and measures related to the construct of…

Relations between attachment styles, ageism and quality of life in late life.

PubMed

Bodner, Ehud; Cohen-Fridel, Sara

2010-12-01

This study is the first to explore the relations between attachment styles, ageism, and quality of life (QoL) among elderly people. The attachment theory describes how human beings relate to each other, according to their attachment style. Previous studies have examined the connection between attachment styles and prejudice toward distinctive social groups and minorities. Ageism as a form of prejudice is a way of relating negatively to people because they are old. QoL among the elderly was found to be associated with negative age-perceptions. It was therefore hypothesized that QoL, attachments styles, and demographic characteristics can explain ageism among the elderly. Four questionnaires were administered: Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA), which comprises four scales (separation, affective, stereotype, and intergeneration); Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, which measures four attachment styles (secure, dismissive, fearful, and preoccupied); SF-36 health status inventory (eight scales); and sociodemographic questions. Ninety-four elderly men and women aged 64-85 years living in the community completed the questionnaires. MANCOVAS indicated that securely attached individuals score lower [corrected] than fearfully attached individuals, and that securely and dismissively attached individuals score higher than fearful and preoccupied individuals on seven QoL scales. Multiple regression analyses showed that attachment styles, age, gender, and some QoL scales contribute to the explained variance of ageism. Secure attachment in late life seems to be related to less ageism and a better QoL. The enhancement of a secure attachment base in elderly people may assist in moderating ageism and improving older people's QoL.

Good partner, good parent: responsiveness mediates the link between romantic attachment and parenting style.

PubMed

Millings, Abigail; Walsh, Judi; Hepper, Erica; O'Brien, Margaret

2013-02-01

This cross-sectional, dyadic questionnaire study examined the contribution of romantic attachment and responsive caregiving to parenting style, investigating both gender and partner effects. One hundred and twenty-five couples with children aged 7 to 8 years completed measures of attachment styles, responsive caregiving toward partner, and parenting styles. Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine the intra- and interpersonal associations between romantic attachment, caregiving responsiveness, and parenting styles. Attachment avoidance and anxiety were both negatively associated with responsive caregiving to partner, which in turn was positively associated with authoritative (optimal) parenting styles and negatively associated with authoritarian and permissive (nonoptimal) parenting styles. Responsive caregiving mediated all links between attachment and parenting, with an additional direct association between attachment anxiety and nonoptimal parenting styles that was not explained by caregiving responsiveness. Findings are discussed with reference to attachment theory.

An Investigation of Decision Making Styles and the Five-Factor Personality Traits with Respect to Attachment Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deniz, M. Engin

2011-01-01

The aim of this research is to investigate if the attachment styles significantly predict the decision self-esteem, decision making styles and five-factor personality traits. Subjects of the study were 567 students in total from different faculties of Selcuk University. The results of the study showed that the attachment styles of the students…

Anxiety and hospitalization in adolescence: relations to attachment style and parental support.

PubMed

Vulliez-Coady, Lauriane; Vidal, Chrystelle; Vivot, Aurore; Monnin, Julie; Nezelof, Sylvie; Bifulco, Antonia

2013-09-01

This exploratory study examined attachment style and state/trait anxiety in adolescents - 30 recently hospitalized psychiatric patients, and 49 school controls. All were aged 13-18, with the majority (67%) female. The attachment style interview (ASI, Bifulco et al. 2002) was administered, together with the Recent Life Events questionnaire (Brugha & Cragg 1990) and the STAI anxiety questionnaire (Spielberger et al. 1983). Results showed the hospitalised group to have significantly more negative interactions with parents and poorer support than the comparison group. They had significantly more insecure attachment style (96% s 37%). Among the hospitalized adolescents, both the Anxious and the Avoidant attachment style group had higher anxiety scores on the STAI-trait scores than on the STAI-state scores assessed during the first days of hospitalisation. This suggests adolescents, even those with Avoidant attachment feel less anxious after admission. Implications for assessing attachment style in adolescent patients to aid with care planning is discussed.

Differentiating Between Attachment Styles and Behaviors and their Association with Marital Quality.

PubMed

Sandberg, Jonathan G; Bradford, Angela B; Brown, Andrew P

2017-06-01

The purpose of this study was to distinguish between the influence of attachment styles and behaviors on marital quality for couples. Data were gathered from 680 couples in a married relationship. Results showed attachment style and behaviors predicted marital quality for both men and women, with higher levels of attachment related to greater quality. Attachment behaviors predicted more of the variance in quality than did styles. Specific implications regarding how therapists may wish to foster behaviors that promote attachment security in marriages are discussed. © 2015 Family Process Institute.

Problem partners and parenting: exploring linkages with maternal insecure attachment style and adolescent offspring internalizing disorder.

PubMed

Bifulco, Antonia; Moran, Patricia; Jacobs, Catherine; Bunn, Amanda

2009-01-01

An intergenerational study examined mothers' insecure attachment style using the Attachment Style Interview (ASI; Bifulco et al., 2002a) in relation to her history of partner relationships, her parenting competence, and depression or anxiety disorder in her offspring. The sample comprised 146 high-risk, mother-adolescent offspring pairs in London, who were recruited on the basis of the mothers' psychosocial vulnerability for depression. Retrospective, biographical, and clinical interviews were undertaken independently with mother and offspring. A path model was developed, which showed that mothers' insecure attachment style had no direct link to either recalled child neglect/abuse or currently assessed disorder in their adolescent and young adult offspring. The connections appeared to be indirect, through the quality of relationships in the family system: mothers' insecure attachment and their partners' problem behavior accounted for variance in mothers' incompetent parenting as rated by interviewers. These variables predicted her neglect/abuse of the child, which was the only variable directly associated with internalizing disorder in her offspring. Mother's lifetime depression did not add to the model. It is argued that an ecological approach (emphasizing social adversity and different role domains) and a lifespan approach (emphasizing a history of adverse relationships a different life stages) is important in understanding the mechanisms by which parental insecure attachment style influences transmission of risk to the next generation.

Maternal Attachment Style and Responses to Adolescents’ Negative Emotions: The Mediating Role of Maternal Emotion Regulation

PubMed Central

Jones, Jason D.; Brett, Bonnie E.; Ehrlich, Katherine B.; Lejuez, Carl W.; Cassidy, Jude

2014-01-01

SYNOPSIS Objective Previous research has examined the developmental consequences, particularly in early childhood, of parents’ supportive and unsupportive responses to children’s negative emotions. Much less is known about factors that explain why parents respond in ways that may support or undermine their children’s emotions, and even less is known about how these parenting processes unfold with adolescents. We examined the associations between mothers’ attachment styles and their distress, harsh, and supportive responses to their adolescents’ negative emotions two years later and whether these links were mediated by maternal emotion regulation difficulties. Design Mothers in a longitudinal study (n = 230) reported on their attachment style, difficulties regulating their emotions, and their hypothetical responses to their adolescents’ negative emotions, respectively, at consecutive laboratory visits one year apart. Results Mothers who reported greater attachment-related avoidance and anxiety reported having greater difficulties with emotion regulation one year later. Emotion dysregulation, in turn, predicted more distressed, harsher, and less supportive maternal responses to adolescents’ negative emotions the following year. In addition, greater avoidance directly predicted harsher maternal responses two years later. Conclusions These findings extend previous research by identifying maternal attachment style as a predictor of responses to adolescent distress and by documenting the underlying role of emotion dysregulation in the link between adult attachment style and parenting. PMID:25568638

The influence of women's attachment style on the chronobiology of labour pain, analgesic consumption and pharmacological effect.

PubMed

Costa-Martins, José Manuel; Pereira, Marco; Martins, Henriqueta; Moura-Ramos, Mariana; Coelho, Rui; Tavares, Jorge

2014-07-01

Circadian variation in biological rhythms has been identified as affecting both labour pain and the pharmacological properties of analgesics. In the context of pain, there is also a growing body of evidence suggesting the importance of adult attachment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether labour pain, analgesic consumption and pharmacological effect are significantly affected by the time of day and to analyse whether this circadian variation is influenced by women's attachment style. This prospective observational study included a sample of 81 pregnant women receiving patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA). Attachment was assessed with the Adult Attachment Scale - Revised. The perceived intensity of labour pain in the early stage of labour (3 cm of cervical dilatation and before the administration of PCEA) was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Pain was also indirectly assessed by measuring the consumption of anaesthetics. The latency period and the duration of effect were recorded for a chronopharmacology characterisation. Pain, as assessed with the VAS, was significantly higher in the night-time group than in the daytime group. An insecure attachment style was significantly associated with greater labour pain at 3 cm of cervical dilatation (p < 0.001) and before the beginning of analgesia (p < 0.001) as well as with higher analgesic consumption and lower pharmacological efficacy (p < 0.05). The time of day was significantly associated with the pharmacological effect: the latency period was longer at night, and the duration of the pharmacological effect was longer during the daytime. The interaction between time of day and attachment style was not significant for any of the study variables. Our results provide evidence of the importance of circadian variation in studying labour pain and the pharmacological effect of labour analgesia involving epidural blockage with a PCEA regimen. Moreover, although there was no

Attachment Style, Perceived Loneliness, and Psychological Well-Being in Smoking and Non-Smoking University Students.

PubMed

Habibi, Mojtaba; Hosseini, Farhad; Darharaj, Mohammad; Moghadamzadeh, Ali; Radfar, Farhad; Ghaffari, Yasaman

2018-05-19

The growing rate of smoking cigarettes among the youths necessitates examining its contributing factors. Accordingly, we aimed to compare smoking and nonsmoking university students in their attachment styles, perceived loneliness, and psychological well-being. To this end, we recruited 100 current smokers and 100 nonsmoking students by using a convenience sampling method from Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. All participants completed the Adult Attachment Scale, Loneliness Scale, and General Health Questionnaire. Data analysis indicated that compared to nonsmokers, smokers had a more anxious attachment style and they felt lonelier. Moreover, current results showed that smokers suffered from higher rates of psychological problems than nonsmokers. These results suggest that smoking is influenced by a set of psychological factors and therefore, prevention and treatment programs targeting these factors may be effective in reducing the rate of smoking cigarettes among university students.

A Study of Students' Loneliness Levels and Their Attachment Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahin Kiralp, F. Sülen; Serin, Nergüz B.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between loneliness levels and attachment styles of university students. In this research, it was investigated whether the attachment styles differed in terms of variables such as gender, class, place of stay, socio-economic level of their family, parental education levels, counterpart…

The associations between adult attachment, posttraumatic symptoms, and posttraumatic growth.

PubMed

Arikan, Gizem; Stopa, Lusia; Carnelley, Katherine B; Karl, Anke

2016-01-01

Individual differences after trauma vary considerably and can range from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to posttraumatic growth (PTG). Current theoretical models cannot fully explain this variability. Therefore, we integrated attachment theory with Ehlers and Clark's model of PTSD to understand whether attachment style is associated with negative appraisals of a traumatic event(s), posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS), and PTG. Our aim was to test this integrated model PTSD in an analog sample who had experienced at least one traumatic event. We used structural equation modeling to test the association of adult attachment and posttraumatic cognitions (self and world/others) with PTS and PTG using a cross-sectional, correlational design. The sample comprised 393 university staff and students (RangeAge= 18-49, 85% females) who completed online measures. Attachment anxiety and negative posttraumatic self-cognitions were positively associated. Negative posttraumatic self-cognitions were positively associated with PTS. Attachment anxiety had an indirect effect (via negative posttraumatic self-cognitions) on PTS, whereas attachment avoidance predicted more negative posttraumatic world cognitions and lower perceived PTG. The study highlights the importance of considering how attachment styles influence posttraumatic emotion regulation and cognitive processing of the trauma to determine posttraumatic mental health.

Retrospective reports of parenting received in their families of origin: relationships to adult attachment in adult children of alcoholics.

PubMed

Kelley, Michelle L; Nair, Veena; Rawlings, Tanaya; Cash, Thomas F; Steer, Kate; Fals-Stewart, William

2005-09-01

The present study examined general and romantic attachment and parenting students received in their families of origin among 401 college students who resided with an alcohol-abusing parent prior to age 16 years as compared to those who did not reside with alcohol-abusing parents. Participants completed the Children's Report of Parent Behavior Instrument [Schludermann, E. and Schludermann, S. (1970). Children's Report of Parent Behavior Inventory (CRPBI). Canada: University of Manitoba], Experiences in Close Relationships--Revised [Fraley, R. C., Waller, N. G., and Brennan, K. G. (2000). An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 350-365], Relationship Scale Questionnaire [Griffin, D. W. and Bartholomew, K. (1994). Models of the self and other: Fundamental dimensions underlying measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 430-445], and the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test [Jones, J. W. (1983). The Children of Alcoholics Screening Test: Test manual. Chicago: Camelot]. Young adults who met criteria for ACOAs reported more anxious and avoidant behavior in romantic relationships and a more fearful style of general adult attachment. Parenting behavior in one's family of origin predicted anxious behavior in romantic relationships and a fearful overall style of attachment, whereas being an ACOA and parenting in one's family of origin predicted avoidant behavior in romantic relationships.

Psychological Distress, Physical Symptoms, and the Role of Attachment Style in Acupuncture.

PubMed

Sochos, Antigonos; Bennett, Ashley

2016-03-01

Context • Attachment research has contributed significantly to the understanding of the origins as well as the treatment of psychological and somatic distress; however, no study so far has explored the role of attachment in acupuncture. The effects on endogenous opioids of both acupuncture and intimate interpersonal bonding as well as clients' reliance on a practitioner's care may suggest that individual differences in attachment style could be linked to individual differences in responses to acupuncture. Objective • The study intended to investigate the role of attachment style in determining outcomes in acupuncture. Design • A pre- and postintervention, single group, quasiexperimental design was used. Setting • Treatment and data collection took place in an acupuncture clinic in London, England, United Kingdom. Eighty-two acupuncture clients with a mean age of 46 ± 14.53 took part in the study. Participants suffered from a variety of somatic and psychological complaints. Intervention • Traditional Chinese acupuncture was administered to all participants in weekly sessions, with the mean number of sessions that participants received being 5 ± 3.5. Outcome Measures • Psychological distress and somatic symptoms were measured using the General Heath Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Bradford Somatic Inventory (BSI), respectively. The Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) was used to assess attachment style, with the 4 styles being secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful. Results • After treatment, both somatic and nonsomatic distress were reduced (P < .001), whereas pretreatment associations between attachment insecurity and symptom severity ceased to exist. The strength rather than the quality of the attachment style moderated the reduction in somatic distress, whereas the preoccupied style of attachment moderated the effects of medically unexplained symptoms on distress. Conclusions • Attachment style may have an impact on acupuncture outcomes by

Attachment Style, Leadership Behavior, and Perceptions of Leader Effectiveness in Academic Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Underwood, Rehema; Mohr, David; Ross, Michelle

2016-01-01

The quality of organizational leadership can have a significant impact on organizational success and employee well-being. Some research has shown that leaders with secure attachment styles are more effective leaders, but the connection between different attachment styles and different leadership styles is unclear. Relationships between attachment…

Adult Attachment Affects Neural Response to Preference-Inferring in Ambiguous Scenarios: Evidence From an fMRI Study

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xing; Ran, Guangming; Xu, Wenjian; Ma, Yuanxiao; Chen, Xu

2018-01-01

Humans are highly social animals, and the ability to cater to the preferences of other individuals is encouraged by society. Preference-inferring is an important aspect of the theory of mind (TOM). Many previous studies have shown that attachment style is closely related to TOM ability. However, little is known about the effects of adult attachment style on preferences inferring under different levels of certainty. Here, we investigated how adult attachment style affects neural activity underlying preferences inferred under different levels of certainty by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The fMRI results demonstrated that adult attachment influenced the activation of anterior insula (AI) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in response to ambiguous preference-inferring. More specifically, in the ambiguous preference condition, the avoidant attached groups exhibited a significantly enhanced activation than secure and anxious attached groups in left IPL; the anxious attached groups exhibited a significantly reduced activation secure attached group in left IPL. In addition, the anxious attached groups exhibited a significantly reduced activation than secure and avoidant attached groups in left AI. These results were also further confirmed by the subsequent PPI analysis. The results from current study suggest that, under ambiguous situations, the avoidant attached individuals show lower sensitivity to the preference of other individuals and need to invest more cognitive resources for preference-reasoning; while compared with avoidant attached group, the anxious attached individuals express high tolerance for uncertainty and a higher ToM proficiency. Results from the current study imply that differences in preference-inferring under ambiguous conditions associated with different levels of individual attachment may explain the differences in interpersonal interaction. PMID:29559932

The role of child maltreatment and attachment style in adolescent relationship violence.

PubMed

Wekerle, C; Wolfe, D A

1998-01-01

Utilizing attachment theory as a basis for conceptualizing close relationships among adolescents, this study investigated two important relationship risk factors (child maltreatment, and adolescent self-perceived insecure attachment style) as predictors of "offender" and "victim" experiences in youth relationships. In addition to considering the influence of these risk factors, we further considered their interaction in predicting conflict in close relationships. Of interest was the extent to which attachment styles may function as a moderator of the relationship between childhood abuse and current abuse in teen close relationships. High school students (N = 321) in grades 9 and 10 completed questionnaires tapping their histories of maltreatment, currently viewed styles of attachment, and conflict in close relationships over the past 6 months. Maltreatment alone emerged as the most consistent predictor, accounting for 13-18% of the variance in male's physically, sexually, and verbally abusive behaviors; in contrast, it was not highly predictive of female's abusive behaviors. Maltreatment was predictive of victimization experiences for both males and females. Attachment style did not substantially add to the prediction of relationship conflict beyond maltreatment; however, avoidant attachment style emerged repeatedly as a significant predictor of female abusiveness and victimization. Attachment self-ratings were found to function as a moderator of child maltreatment in predicting primarily male coercive behavior towards a relationship partner as well as predicting male's experience of coercion from a partner. Thus, the presence of childhood maltreatment and adolescent self-perceived insecure attachment style applies predominantly to male youth. The implication of these gender differences for understanding relationship violence is discussed.

Adult attachment and psychotic phenomenology in clinical and non-clinical samples: a systematic review.

PubMed

Korver-Nieberg, Nikie; Berry, Katherine; Meijer, Carin J; de Haan, Lieuwe

2014-06-01

It has been argued that attachment theory could enhance our knowledge and understanding of psychotic phenomenology. We systematically reviewed and critically appraised research investigating attachment and psychotic phenomenology in clinical and non-clinical samples. We searched databases Pub Med, PsycINFO, Medline and Web of Science using the keywords. Attachment, Adult Attachment, Psychosis, Schizotypy and Schizophrenia and identified 29 studies assessing adult attachment in combination with psychotic phenomenology. The findings indicated that both insecure anxious and insecure avoidant attachment are associated with psychotic phenomenology. Insecurely attached individuals are more vulnerable to developing maladaptive coping strategies in recovering from psychosis. The importance of attachment experiences for processing social information, mentalization skills and developing social relationships, including therapeutic relationships, in samples with psychosis is also highlighted. Attachment style is a clinically relevant construct in relation to development, course and treatment of psychosis. Understanding the role of attachment in symptoms may help to gain insight into the development or persistence of symptoms. Associations between attachment and recovery style suggest that it may be helpful to improve attachment security in a context of therapeutic relationships or other social relationships before encouraging people to explore their experiences of psychosis. Associations between insecure attachment and impaired mentalization skills may help in understanding interpersonal difficulties and this knowledge can be used to improve recovery. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Attachment Style and Dysfunctional Career Thoughts: How Attachment Style Can Affect the Career Counseling Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Ecke, Yolanda

2007-01-01

This article examines the relationship between attachment style, measured by Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (R C. Fraley, N. G. Waller, & K. A. Brennan, 2000), and dysfunctional career thoughts, measured by the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI; J. P. J. Sampson, G. W. Peterson, J. G. Lenz, R. C. Reardon, & D. E. Saunders, 1994a).…

Attachment styles and demographic factors as predictors of sociocultural and psychological adjustment of Eastern European immigrants in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Polek, Elżbieta; van Oudenhoven, Jan Pieter; Ten Berge, Jos M F

2008-10-01

The present study examined the relationship between adult attachment styles and psychological and sociocultural adjustment of Polish, Russian, and Hungarian immigrants (N = 631) to Dutch society. In addition, it also examined the relationship between demographic factors and adjustment and compared the predictive value of attachment styles and demographic factors for immigrants' adjustment. The Attachment Style Questionnaire was used to assess respondents' attachment. Psychological adjustment was measured with the Psychological Health Scale and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Sociocultural adjustment was measured with the Social Support List - Interactions scale. Two scales for measuring identification and contact with the native and with the Dutch culture were developed and used as indicators of cultural adjustment. We found relations between attachment styles and psychological and sociocultural adjustment. Secure attachment was positively related (p<.01) to psychological and sociocultural adjustment, fearful attachment was negatively (p<.01) associated with psychological adjustment, and more negatively with identification with the Dutch culture than with identification with the native culture. Preoccupied attachment was negatively related (p<.01) to psychological adjustment and to identification with the Dutch culture. Dismissing attachment was weakly negatively related (p<.01) to sociocultural adjustment. Correlation patterns across the three immigrants' samples indicate that dismissing individuals remain relatively indifferent towards their native and the Dutch culture. Regarding demographic factors we found that education and age at immigration were positively associated with psychological and sociocultural adjustment, and length of residence appeared to be positively related to sociocultural adjustment. In general, demographic factors showed a stronger association with sociocultural than with psychological adjustment. Regression analysis revealed that

Influence of Owners’ Attachment Style and Personality on Their Dogs’ (Canis familiaris) Separation-Related Disorder

PubMed Central

Konok, Veronika; Kosztolányi, András; Rainer, Wohlfarth; Mutschler, Bettina; Halsband, Ulrike; Miklósi, Ádám

2015-01-01

Previous research has suggested that owners’ attitude to their family dogs may contribute to a variety of behaviour problems in the dog, and authors assume that dogs with separation-related disorder (SRD) attach differently to the owner than typical dogs do. Our previous research suggested that these dogs may have an insecure attachment style. In the present study we have investigated whether owners’ attachment style, personality traits and the personality of the dog influence the occurrence of SRD in the dog. In an internet-based survey 1508 (1185 German and 323 Hungarian) dog-owners filled in five questionnaires: Demographic questions, Separation Behaviour Questionnaire (to determine SRD), Human and Dog Big Five Inventory and Adult Attachment Scale. We found that with owners’ higher score on attachment avoidance the occurrence of SRD in the dog increases. Dogs scoring higher on the neuroticism scale were more prone to develop SRD. Our results suggest that owners’ attachment avoidance may facilitate the development of SRD in dogs. We assume that avoidant owners are less responsive to the dog’s needs and do not provide a secure base for the dog when needed. As a result dogs form an insecure attachment and may develop SRD. However, there may be alternative explanations of our findings that we also discuss. PMID:25706147

Antecedents of maternal parenting stress: the role of attachment style, prenatal attachment, and dyadic adjustment in first-time mothers

PubMed Central

Mazzeschi, Claudia; Pazzagli, Chiara; Radi, Giulia; Raspa, Veronica; Buratta, Livia

2015-01-01

The transition to parenthood is widely considered a period of increased vulnerability often accompanied by stress. Abidin conceived parenting stress as referring to specific difficulties in adjusting to the parenting role. Most studies of psychological distress arising from the demands of parenting have investigated the impact of stress on the development of dysfunctional parent–child relationships and on adult and child psychopathology. Studies have largely focused on mothers’ postnatal experience; less attention has been devoted to maternal prenatal characteristics associated with subsequent parental stress and studies of maternal prenatal predictors are few. Furthermore, no studies have examined that association exclusively with samples of first-time mothers. With an observational prospective study design with two time periods, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of mothers’ attachment style, maternal prenatal attachment to the fetus and dyadic adjustment during pregnancy (7th months of gestation) and their potential unique contribution to parenting stress 3 months after childbirth in a sample of nulliparous women. Results showed significant correlations between antenatal measures. Maternal attachment style (especially relationship anxiety) was negatively correlated with prenatal attachment and with dyadic adjustment; positive correlations resulted between prenatal attachment and dyadic adjustment. Each of the investigated variables was also good predictor of parenting stress 3 months after childbirth. Findings suggested how these dimensions could be considered as risk factors in the transition to motherhood and in the very beginning of the emergence of the caregiving system, especially with first-time mothers. PMID:26441808

Antecedents of maternal parenting stress: the role of attachment style, prenatal attachment, and dyadic adjustment in first-time mothers.

PubMed

Mazzeschi, Claudia; Pazzagli, Chiara; Radi, Giulia; Raspa, Veronica; Buratta, Livia

2015-01-01

The transition to parenthood is widely considered a period of increased vulnerability often accompanied by stress. Abidin conceived parenting stress as referring to specific difficulties in adjusting to the parenting role. Most studies of psychological distress arising from the demands of parenting have investigated the impact of stress on the development of dysfunctional parent-child relationships and on adult and child psychopathology. Studies have largely focused on mothers' postnatal experience; less attention has been devoted to maternal prenatal characteristics associated with subsequent parental stress and studies of maternal prenatal predictors are few. Furthermore, no studies have examined that association exclusively with samples of first-time mothers. With an observational prospective study design with two time periods, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of mothers' attachment style, maternal prenatal attachment to the fetus and dyadic adjustment during pregnancy (7th months of gestation) and their potential unique contribution to parenting stress 3 months after childbirth in a sample of nulliparous women. Results showed significant correlations between antenatal measures. Maternal attachment style (especially relationship anxiety) was negatively correlated with prenatal attachment and with dyadic adjustment; positive correlations resulted between prenatal attachment and dyadic adjustment. Each of the investigated variables was also good predictor of parenting stress 3 months after childbirth. Findings suggested how these dimensions could be considered as risk factors in the transition to motherhood and in the very beginning of the emergence of the caregiving system, especially with first-time mothers.

The relationship between attachment styles and childhood trauma: a transgenerational perspective - a controlled study of patients with psychiatric disorders.

PubMed

Özcan, Neslihan K; Boyacioğlu, Nur E; Enginkaya, Semra; Bilgin, Hülya; Tomruk, Nesrin B

2016-08-01

This study had two aims. The first aim was to compare attachment styles and traumatic childhood experiences of women with psychiatric disorders and their children to a control group. The second aim was to determine the relationship between attachment styles and traumatic childhood experiences both in mothers and their children. According to attachment theories, trauma in an early relationship initiates a developmental cascade in which insecure attachments may occur. A cross-sectional, descriptive study which, employed a case-control design, was performed between May 2013-March 2014. This study was conducted in 63 women with psychiatric disorders and their children. The control group consisted of 63 women without any psychiatric disorders and their children. Data were collected using questionnaire forms, including the Adult Attachment Style Scale and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire for both mothers and children. Descriptive statistics, a Pearson correlation and comparative statistics were used to analyse data. The childhood trauma scores of both the women with psychiatric disorders and their children were higher than the control group scores. Compared to the control group, the mothers with psychiatric disorders and their children were found to have less secure attachment styles. It was determined that the mothers and children with insecure attachment were more likely to have been abused. These results point to a relationship between trauma in childhood and attachment style. They also suggest that this relationship may undergo intergenerational transfer. This study contributes to the existing literature on the relationship between childhood traumas and attachment. Psychiatric nurses should focus not only on psychiatric disorders but also on the difficulties a patient faces regarding being a parent. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and coping with stress by attachment styles in Turkish students.

PubMed

Deniz, M Engin; Işik, Erkan

2010-10-01

The purpose was to investigate positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and coping with stress in relation to attachment styles. Undergraduate students (N=421) completed the Relationship Scales Questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and the Coping with Stress Scale. Results indicated that secure attachment style was the unique predictor of positive affect while fearful and preoccupied attachment styles significantly predicted negative affect. Regarding life satisfaction, a positive correlation with secure attachment style and a negative correlation with fearful and preoccupied styles were seen. However, the unique predictor of life satisfaction was preoccupied attachment style. In terms of coping with stress, there was no significant association between attachment variables and avoidance coping style, but significant links were observed between problem-focused coping and dismissing, and fearful and preoccupied attachment styles.

Relation of attachment style to family history of alcoholism and alcohol use disorders in early adulthood.

PubMed

Vungkhanching, Martha; Sher, Kenneth J; Jackson, Kristina M; Parra, Gilbert R

2004-07-15

The present study examined the association between paternal alcoholism and attachment style in early adulthood and sought to determine whether attachment style might, at least partially, mediate intergenerational risk for alcoholism. The current report focuses on the cross-sectional relation between family history (FH) of alcoholism, attachment styles, and alcohol use disorders (AUD) when cohort members were, on average, 29 years old (N = 369; 46% male; 51% FH+). Results indicated that FH+ participants were more likely to have insecure attachment, characterized by fearful-avoidant and dismissed-avoidant styles. Additionally, fearful-avoidant and dismissed-avoidant attachment styles were related to the presence of an AUD even after controlling for sex and FH (P < 0.05). There was little evidence, however, that attachment style mediated the relation between paternal alcoholism and AUD in offspring; the FH-AUD association was only negligibly reduced when the effect of attachment style was controlled. Our findings suggest that insecure attachment style is a risk factor for AUD, independent of familial risk for alcoholism.

Adult attachment as mediator between recollections of childhood and satisfaction with life.

PubMed

Hinnen, Chris; Sanderman, Robbert; Sprangers, Mirjam A G

2009-01-01

In accordance with attachment theory, the present study investigates whether internal working models of attachment mediated the association between childhood memories and satisfaction about life in adulthood. A convenient sample of 437 participants completed questionnaires assessing a broad range of childhood memories, working models of attachment and life satisfaction. After controlling for demographics, relational status and living condition, Baron and Kenny's mediation criteria were met for the association between memories about childhood, adult attachment and life satisfaction. That is, family warmth and harmony and parental support were associated with attachment security while parental rejection and adverse childhood events (e.g., abuse, parental psychopathology) were associated with an insecure attachment style. More securely attached individuals were in turn more satisfied about their current life than insecurely attached individuals. Sobel test confirmed these findings. These finding are in accordance with attachment theory and highlight the importance of this theory for understanding how early childhood experiences may impact adult life.

A systematic review of adult attachment and social anxiety.

PubMed

Manning, Ray P C; Dickson, Joanne M; Palmier-Claus, Jasper; Cunliffe, Alexandra; Taylor, Peter J

2017-03-15

Attachment has been implicated in the development of social anxiety. Our aim was to synthesise the extant literature exploring the role of adult attachment in these disorders. Search terms relating to social anxiety and attachment were entered into MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Risk of bias of included studies was assessed using and adapted version of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality assessment tool. Eligible studies employed validated social anxiety and attachment assessments in adult clinical and analogue samples. The review included cross sectional, interventional and longitudinal research. Of the 30 identified studies, 28 showed a positive association between attachment insecurity and social anxiety. This association was particularly strong when considering attachment anxiety. Cognitive variables and evolutionary behaviours were identified as potential mediators, concordant with psychological theory. Due to a lack of longitudinal research, the direction of effect between attachment and social anxiety variables could not be inferred. There was substantial heterogeneity in the way that attachment was conceptualised and assessed across studies. The literature indicates that attachment style is associated with social anxiety. Clinicians may wish to consider attachment theory when working clinically with this population. In the future, it may be useful to target the processes that mediate the relationship between attachment and social anxiety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Facing danger: how do people behave in times of need? The case of adult attachment styles.

PubMed

Ein-Dor, Tsachi

2014-01-01

Bowlby's (1982) attachment theory has generated an enormous body of research and conceptual elaborations. Although attachment theory and research propose that attachment security provides a person with many adaptive advantages, during all phases of the life cycle, numerous studies indicate that almost half of the human species can be classified as insecurely attached or insecure with respect to attachment. It seems odd that evolution left humans in this vulnerable position, unless there are some advantages to individuals or groups, under at least some conditions, of anxious and avoidant attachment styles. I argue that a social group containing members with different attachment patterns may be more conducive to survival than a homogeneous group of securely attached individuals because each attachment disposition has specific adaptive advantages that promote the survival of the individual and people around him or her when facing threats and perils. In making this argument, I extend the scope of attachment theory and research by considering a broader range of adaptive functions of insecure attachment strategies, and present data to support my argument.

Contributions of attachment style and perceived social support to lifetime use of illicit substances.

PubMed

Caspers, Kristin M; Cadoret, Remi J; Langbehn, Douglas; Yucuis, Rebecca; Troutman, Beth

2005-06-01

Research has shown insecure attachment style is associated with ineffective emotional regulation leading to maladaptive behaviors in adulthood. In the present study, we examined the association between attachment style and illicit substance use within a sample of adoptees (n=148). It was predicted that insecure attachment style would be associated with a higher incidence of lifetime illicit substance use and that perceived social support would mediate this association. Logistic regression analyses showed higher prevalence of illicit substance use among both insecure attachment groups as compared to the secure group. No difference was found between the two insecure types. Perceived social support was found to mediate the association between attachment style and illicit substance use for the insecure-preoccupied group only. The findings from the present study further implicate attachment style in the risk for illicit substance use, as well as preventions designed to identify those at risk for use.

Attachment Style Is Related to Quality of Life for Assistance Dog Owners.

PubMed

White, Naomi; Mills, Daniel; Hall, Sophie

2017-06-19

Attachment styles have been shown to affect quality of life. Growing interest in the value of companion animals highlights that owning a dog can also affect quality of life, yet little research has explored the role of the attachment bond in affecting the relationship between dog ownership and quality of life. Given that the impact of dog ownership on quality of life may be greater for assistance dog owners than pet dog owners, we explored how anxious attachment and avoidance attachment styles to an assistance dog affected owner quality of life ( n = 73). Regression analysis revealed that higher anxious attachment to the dog predicted enhanced quality of life. It is suggested that the unique, interdependent relationship between an individual and their assistance dog may mean that an anxious attachment style is not necessarily detrimental. Feelings that indicate attachment insecurity in other relationships may reflect more positive aspects of the assistance dog owner relationship, such as the level of support that the dog provides its owner.

Attachment and exploration in adulthood: the mediating effect of social support.

PubMed

Wu, Chia-huei; Yang, Cheng-Ta

2012-01-01

Research examining the relationship between adult attachment styles and exploratory behavior has shown that anxious and avoidant attachment styles are negatively related to exploration. However, little research has been conducted on the mediation process between adult attachment styles and exploration. Given that perceived social support has been shown to be the basis for secure attachment and may be related to exploration behavior, the current study examines whether perceived social support mediates the relationship between adult attachment and exploration. University students in Taiwan (N = 168) completed questionnaires that assessed attachment styles; perceived social support from their father, mother, and best friend; and their intellectual, social, and environmental exploration. Our results revealed that perceived social support mediates the relationship between avoidant attachment and exploration behavior.

Alcohol addiction and the attachment system: an empirical study of attachment style, alexithymia, and psychiatric disorders in alcoholic inpatients.

PubMed

De Rick, Ann; Vanheule, Stijn; Verhaeghe, Paul

2009-01-01

This study aims at investigating alcoholic inpatients' attachment system by combining a measurement of adult attachment style (AAQ, Hazan and Shaver, 1987. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3): 511-524) and the degree of alexithymia (BVAQ, Bermond and Vorst, 1998. Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire, Unpublished data). Data were collected from 101 patients (71 men, 30 women) admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Belgium for alcohol use-related problems, between September 2003 and December 2004. To investigate the research question, cluster analyses and regression analyses are performed. We found that it makes sense to distinguish three subgroups of alcoholic inpatients with different degrees of impairment of the attachment system. Our results also reveal a pattern of correspondence between the severity of psychiatric symptoms-personality disorder traits (ADP-IV), anxiety (STAI), and depression (BDI-II-Nl)-and the severity of the attachment system's impairment. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are highlighted and implications for diagnosis and treatment are discussed.

Attachment style moderates theory of mind abilities in depression.

PubMed

Koelkebeck, Katja; Liedtke, Carla; Kohl, Waldemar; Alferink, Judith; Kret, Mariska Esther

2017-04-15

Being able to understand other people's emotions and intentions is crucial for social interactions and well-being. Deficits in theory of mind (ToM) functioning hamper this ability and have been observed in depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders. However, results of previous research in depression have been inconclusive, possibly due to the presence of comorbid disorders and the disregarding of other modulating factors. Thirty-eight patients with a major depressive disorder (MDD) and forty healthy matched controls were assessed with a ToM task using animated triangles. Results were correlated with attachment styles, empathy abilities and neurocognitive performance. Our findings show that 1) healthy female controls performed significantly stronger on the ToM task than female MDD patients, 2) these performance differences were driven by attachment styles and 3) depression severity did not impact task performance. The pharmacological treatment of the majority of patients might limit the generalizability of this study. Results indicate a gender-specific impact of attachment styles on ToM performance. Future studies should investigate whether impairments in social cognitive tasks pose a risk factor for depression and/or interactional styles or vice versa. Moreover, with regard to remediation programs gender-specific needs should be taken into account. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Relationship history and relationship attitudes in gay males and lesbians: attachment style and gender differences.

PubMed

Ridge, S R; Feeney, J A

1998-12-01

The objective of the present study was to assess the applicability of attachment theory to the relationships of gay males and lesbians, with particular emphasis on parental relationships, relationship satisfaction, sexual attitudes and 'coming out' as being homosexual. Gay males (n = 77) and lesbians (n = 100) completed questionnaires assessing attachment style, working models of attachment, early relationships with parents and relationship history, status and functioning. A comparison sample of heterosexual participants completed measures of attachment style and relationship history. Relative frequencies of attachment styles were similar for homosexual and heterosexual samples. Contrary to previous research using largely heterosexual respondents, no link between early parenting and attachment style was found. However, homosexual males reported more positive early relationships with mothers than did females. Associations of attachment style with working models, relationship variables and sexual attitudes largely supported those based on heterosexual samples. Gender and attachment style differences were found in reported effects of 'coming out' on relationships with parents. Overall, the results suggest that insecure attachment may not be over-represented in gay and lesbian samples, but that insecurity is associated with less relationship satisfaction and with problems related to the disclosure of sexual orientation. The implications of these findings for research and clinical practice are addressed.

Attachment Styles, Abuse Experiences and Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunduz, Bulent; Capri, Burhan; Akbay, Sinem Evin; Tunc, Aygul

2013-01-01

This study aims to examine the relationship between abuse experiences, depression and attachment styles. The data for this study was collected from 251 students (123 females and 128 males) who attend Mersin University. As a part of the data collection, students completed the Experiences in Affiliation Inventory, Childhood Trauma Scale and Brief…

Antecedents of Looming Cognitive Style: Associations With Reported Perceived Parenting and Attachment.

PubMed

Altan-Atalay, Ayşe; Ayvaşık, Halise Belgin

2018-01-01

Looming Cognitive Style, which was proposed as cognitive vulnerability model specific for anxiety disorders, suggests that anxiety-prone individuals have a tendency to perceive threats and dangers as getting closer, becoming larger, and more agonizing every passing minute. Yet, very few studies focused on the family-related variables that are associated with development of Looming Cognitive Style. This study aims to investigate the relationship of Looming Cognitive Style with measures perceived parenting and attachment. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 389 university students aged between 18 and 35 as participants. The participants were assessed through Looming Cognitive Style, perceived parenting, attachment anxiety, and avoidance. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated Looming Cognitive Style to be significantly predicted by maternal overprotection and anxiety dimension of attachment. The results are important in understanding how parenting-related variables are related to development of cognitive vulnerabilities specific to anxiety disorders.

Association of Home Visitors' and Mothers' Attachment Style with Family Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McFarlane, Elizabeth; Burrell, Lori; Fuddy, Loretta; Tandon, Darius; Derauf, D. Christian; Leaf, Philip; Duggan, Anne

2010-01-01

Family engagement in home visiting (HV) is challenging. This study related attachment security of home visitors (n=48) and mothers (n=328) to family engagement in an HV program to prevent child maltreatment. Attachment security was assessed by using the Attachment Style Questionnaire to measure attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance. Family…

Relations among perceived parental rearing behaviors, attachment style, and worry in anxious children.

PubMed

Brown, Amy M; Whiteside, Stephen P

2008-01-01

The present study extended the findings of Muris et al. [Muris, P., Meesters, C., Merckelbach, H., & Hulsenbeck, P. (2000). Worry in children is related to perceived parental rearing and attachment. Behavior Research and Therapy, 38, 487-497] regarding the relations between perceived parental rearing behaviors, self-reported attachment style, and worry in a community sample to a clinical sample of anxious children. Sixty-four children and adolescents, aged 7-18 years, with a primary anxiety disorder completed (a) the EMBU-C, a questionnaire measuring perceptions of parental rearing behaviors, (b) a single-item measure of attachment style, and (c) an index of worry severity. Findings revealed that child rated parental rearing behaviors, particularly parental rejection, were positively related to child worry. Self-reported attachment style was also related to worry, such that children who classified themselves as ambivalently attached reported higher levels of worry than did children who classified themselves as securely attached. Parenting style and attachment were found to make independent contributions to worry. The results are compared to those from Muris et al.'s community study, and implications for future research are discussed.

Interdependence of attachment styles and relationship quality in parent-adolescent dyads.

PubMed

Chow, Chong Man; Hart, Ellen; Ellis, Lillian; Tan, Cin Cin

2017-12-01

The current study examined how attachment styles of parents and adolescents may jointly influence the quality of their relationship. Parent-adolescent (N dyads  = 77) pairs were recruited from a Midwestern town in the United States. The mean of adolescents' age was 16.25. Both members reported their attachment styles, relationship closeness, and relationship discord. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) showed that both members' attachment avoidance was associated with self-report lower levels of closeness. Parents' attachment anxiety was related to relationship discord. Parents with higher avoidant attachment reported lower closeness when adolescents were higher in avoidant attachment. Higher parents' anxious attachment was related to higher relationship closeness when adolescents were higher on anxious attachment. Such an association was negative when adolescents had lower anxious attachment. Higher parents' anxious attachment was related to greater discord when adolescents were lower on anxiety attachment. This study reveals the complex dyadic dynamics of relationship quality in parent-adolescent pairs. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experiential avoidance mediates the link between maternal attachment style and theory of mind.

PubMed

Vanwoerden, Salome; Kalpakci, Allison H; Sharp, Carla

2015-02-01

Theoretical and empirical models suggest a relation between attachment style and theory of mind (ToM) in childhood and adulthood; however, this link has not been evaluated to the same extent in adolescence. Additionally, these models typically fail to consider mechanisms by which attachment style affects ToM abilities. The present study sought to test a mediational model in which experiential avoidance mediates the relation between maternal attachment style and ToM. A sample of 282 adolescents (Mage=15.42years, SD=1.44, 62.8% female) was recruited from an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Findings revealed that maternal attachment style in females was related to ToM, through experiential avoidance. Specifically, those with a disorganized maternal attachment were most likely to engage in experiential avoidant cognitive and emotional strategies, which in turn related to lower levels of ToM ability. Implications and areas for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attachment style and treatment completion among psychiatric inpatients with substance use disorders.

PubMed

Fowler, James Christopher; Groat, Michael; Ulanday, Mike

2013-01-01

A strong dose-response relationship exists for psychosocial treatments for co-morbid substance abuse disorders; yet rates of attrition are exceedingly high for those seeking treatment in residential and hospital settings. This study examined patient characteristics, including attachment style as predictors of completing 42 contiguous days of inpatient dual-diagnosis treatment among patients with substance use disorders. Baseline characteristics were assessed in 187 consecutively admitted patients with research diagnosis of substance use disorders. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was used to examine predictors of treatment retention. Results indicated a two-variable model consisting of total number of co-occurring Axis I and II disorders, and pre-occupied attachment style, accounting for 17% of the variance. Attachment status predicted retention above and beyond psychiatric co-morbid disorders, demonstrating incremental predictive validity. Moderator analyses failed to detect an interaction. Among inpatients with substance abuse disorders, anxious-preoccupied attachment style predicted treatment retention, reflecting the importance of interpersonal components of treatment relationships in completing treatment. This study adds to a growing body of evidence linking attachment style with treatment adherence. Further research is needed to examine possible mechanisms associated with this relationship. Copyright © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Similarities and differences regarding changes in attachment preferences and attachment styles in relation to romantic relationship length: longitudinal and concurrent analyses.

PubMed

Umemura, Tomotaka; Lacinová, Lenka; Kotrčová, Kristína; Fraley, R Chris

2018-04-01

This study examines whether attachment preferences and attachment styles with different figures (mother, father, romantic partner, and friends) change over the course of a romantic relationship. Study 1 employed a three-wave longitudinal sample of Czech young adults who were currently in a romantic relationship (N = 870; mean age = 21.57; SD = 1.51; 81% females). Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that, as romantic relationships progressed, attachment preferences for romantic partners increased and preferences for friends decreased. However, preferences for the mother or for the father did not change over time. The parallel pattern was found for attachment avoidance; as romantic relationships progressed, attachment avoidance with romantic partners decreased and avoidance with the best friend increased. Avoidance with mother or with father, however, did not change over time. Study 2 employed a cross-sectional international sample (n = 2,593; mean age = 31.99; SD = 12.13; 79% females). Multiple regression analyses replicated the findings of attachment avoidance in the longitudinal data.

Attachment Style with Mother, Father, Best Friend, and Romantic Partner during Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doyle, Anna Beth; Lawford, Heather; Markiewicz, Dorothy

2009-01-01

Self-reported attachment styles with mother, father, best friend, and romantic partner were assessed longitudinally across adolescence. Three cohorts (ages 13, 16, and 19 years; N = 373) from a community sample were followed across 2 years. There was only one change in attachment styles with age: the oldest adolescents were more dismissive than…

Childhood adversity, attachment and personality styles as predictors of anxiety among elderly caregivers.

PubMed

Prigerson, H G; Shear, M K; Bierhals, A J; Zonarich, D L; Reynolds, C F

1996-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which childhood adversity, attachment and personality styles influenced the likelihood of having an anxiety disorder among aged caregivers for terminally ill spouses. We also sought to determine how childhood adversity and attachment/personality styles jointly influenced the likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder among aged caregivers. Data were derived from semistructured interviews with 50 spouses (aged 60 and above) of terminally ill patients. The Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA) record provided retrospective, behaviorally based information on childhood adversity. Measures of attachment and personality styles were obtained from self-report questionnaires, and the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-III-R (SCID) was used to determine diagnoses for anxiety disorders. Logistic regression models estimated the effects of childhood adversity, attachment/personality disturbances, and the interaction between the two on the likelihood of having an anxiety disorder. Results indicated that childhood adversity and paranoid, histrionic and self-defeating styles all directly increase the odds of having an anxiety disorder as an elderly spousal caregiver. In addition, childhood adversity in conjunction with borderline, antisocial and excessively dependent styles increased the likelihood of having an anxiety disorder. The results indicate the need to investigate further the interaction between childhood experiences and current attachment/personality styles in their effects on the development of anxiety disorders.

Romantic Attachment, Conflict Resolution Styles, and Teen Dating Violence Victimization.

PubMed

Bonache, Helena; Gonzalez-Mendez, Rosaura; Krahé, Barbara

2017-09-01

Although research on dating violence has increased in the last decades, little is known about the role of romantic attachment and conflict resolution in understanding victimization by an intimate partner among adolescents. This study examined the relationships between insecure attachment styles, destructive conflict resolution strategies, self-reported and perceived in the partner, and psychological and physical victimization by a dating partner in 1298 adolescents (49% girls). Anxious attachment was related to both forms of victimization via self-reported conflict engagement and conflict engagement attributed to the partner among boys and girls. Moreover, both insecure attachment styles were also indirectly linked to victimization via self-reported withdrawal and conflict engagement perceived in the partner, but only among boys. The implications of the findings for promoting constructive communication patterns among adolescents for handling their relationship conflicts are discussed.

Links between Adolescents’ Closeness to Adoptive Parents and Attachment Style in Young Adulthood

PubMed Central

Grant-Marsney, Holly A.; Grotevant, Harold D.; Sayer, Aline G.

2014-01-01

This study examined whether adolescents’ closeness to adoptive parents (APs) predicted attachment styles in close relationships outside their family during young adulthood. In a longitudinal study of domestic infant adoptions, closeness to adoptive mother and adoptive father was assessed in 156 adolescents (M = 15.7 years). Approximately nine years later (M = 25.0 years), closeness to parents was assessed again as well as attachment style in their close relationships. Multilevel modeling was used to predict attachment style in young adulthood from the average and discrepancy of closeness to adolescents’ adoptive mothers and fathers and the change over time in closeness to APs. Less avoidant attachment style was predicted by stronger closeness to both APs during adolescence. Increased closeness to APs over time was related to less anxiety in close relationships. Higher closeness over time to either AP was related to less avoidance and anxiety in close relationships. PMID:25859067

Links between Adolescents' Closeness to Adoptive Parents and Attachment Style in Young Adulthood.

PubMed

Grant-Marsney, Holly A; Grotevant, Harold D; Sayer, Aline G

2015-04-01

This study examined whether adolescents' closeness to adoptive parents (APs) predicted attachment styles in close relationships outside their family during young adulthood. In a longitudinal study of domestic infant adoptions, closeness to adoptive mother and adoptive father was assessed in 156 adolescents ( M = 15.7 years). Approximately nine years later ( M = 25.0 years), closeness to parents was assessed again as well as attachment style in their close relationships. Multilevel modeling was used to predict attachment style in young adulthood from the average and discrepancy of closeness to adolescents' adoptive mothers and fathers and the change over time in closeness to APs. Less avoidant attachment style was predicted by stronger closeness to both APs during adolescence. Increased closeness to APs over time was related to less anxiety in close relationships. Higher closeness over time to either AP was related to less avoidance and anxiety in close relationships.

The interrelationship between orthorexia nervosa, perfectionism, body image and attachment style.

PubMed

Barnes, Marta A; Caltabiano, Marie L

2017-03-01

We investigated whether perfectionism, body image, attachment style, and self-esteem are predictors of orthorexia nervosa. A cohort of 220 participants completed a self-administered, online questionnaire consisting of five measures: ORTO-15, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scale (MBSRQ-AS), the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ), and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Correlation analysis revealed that higher orthorexic tendencies significantly correlated with higher scores for perfectionism (self-oriented, others-oriented and socially prescribed), appearance orientation, overweight preoccupation, self-classified weight, and fearful and dismissing attachment styles. Higher orthorexic tendencies also correlated with lower scores for body areas satisfaction and a secure attachment style. There was no significant correlation between orthorexia nervosa and self-esteem. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that overweight preoccupation, appearance orientation and the presence of an eating disorder history were significant predictors of orthorexia nervosa with a history of an eating disorder being the strongest predictor. Orthorexia nervosa shares similarities with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa with regards to perfectionism, body image attitudes, and attachment style. In addition, a history of an eating disorder strongly predicts orthorexia nervosa. These findings suggest that these disorders might be on the same spectrum of disordered eating.

Do automatic reactions elicited by thoughts of romantic partner, mother, and self relate to adult romantic attachment?

PubMed

Zayas, Vivian; Shoda, Yuichi

2005-08-01

Three studies tested the expectation that automatic reactions elicited by the mental representation of one's current romantic partner, mother, and self relate to adult romantic attachment. Adult romantic attachment was assessed using multiple measures, and individual differences in automatic reactions were assessed by the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Studies 1 and 2 showed that automatic reactions elicited by thoughts of current romantic partner, but not by thoughts of self, were related to adult romantic attachment assessed at a specific (i.e., within one's current romantic relationship) and general level (i.e., across all romantic relationships). The pattern of results was stronger among individuals identified as attachment-schematic. Studies 2 and 3 showed that automatic reactions elicited by thoughts of one's mother were related to adult romantic attachment assessed at a general level. In all three studies, results did not differ depending on how adult romantic attachment was conceptualized (four styles vs. two dimensions).

Adult attachment as a moderator of the association between childhood traumatic experiences and depression symptoms among young Black gay and bisexual men.

PubMed

Cook, Stephanie H; Valera, Pamela; Calebs, Benjamin J; Wilson, Patrick A

2017-07-01

The present study examined the moderating effect of adult attachment on the association between childhood traumatic experiences, (i.e., physical abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and being bullied), age of childhood traumatic experience, and young adult depression symptoms among young Black gay and bisexual men (YBGBM). Self-report measures of attachment, childhood traumatic experiences, and depression symptoms were collected from a community-based sample of YBGBM living in New York City (n = 228). Regression analyses were conducted to address the study goals. Findings indicated that YBGBM who were more anxious in their adult attachment style and experienced being bullied or physically abused by a non-family member during childhood experienced greater depression in young adulthood than YBGBM who were less anxious in their adult attachment style. In addition, we found that being bullied later in childhood was associated with greater depression symptoms than being bullied earlier. Lastly, we found that YBGBM who were more avoidant and bullied later in adolescence reported more depression symptoms in young adulthood than YBGBM who were less avoidant in their attachment style. The findings suggest that it may be important to utilize an attachment perspective that is sensitive to age of traumatic experience when creating mental health and trauma interventions for YBGBM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Poor Parenting, Attachment Style, and Dating Violence Perpetration Among College Students.

PubMed

Tussey, Brian Ermon; Tyler, Kimberly A; Simons, Leslie Gordon

2018-02-01

Although dating violence is prevalent among college students, little is known about how both attachment style and participation in risky behaviors contribute to this pattern of violence. To address this literature gap, we examine the role of poor parenting, child abuse, attachment style, and risky sexual and drug use behaviors on dating violence perpetration among 1,432 college students (51% female). Path analysis results revealed that females were more likely to report greater attachment anxiety but lower attachment avoidance compared with males. Correlates of attachment anxiety included child physical abuse, witnessing parental violence, and poorer maternal relationship quality whereas attachment avoidant behavior was linked to more physical abuse and poorer maternal relationship quality. Females were more likely to perpetrate dating violence as were those with greater attachment anxiety and lower attachment avoidance. Other correlates of dating violence perpetration included sexual and drug risk behaviors. Finally, distal factors (i.e., more child physical abuse and poorer maternal relationship quality) also were associated with dating violence perpetration. Study implications are also discussed.

Intimate partner violence: relationships between alexithymia, depression, attachment styles, and coping strategies of battered women.

PubMed

Craparo, Giuseppe; Gori, Alessio; Petruccelli, Irene; Cannella, Vincenza; Simonelli, Chiara

2014-06-01

One of the most common forms of violence against women is the intimate partner violence (IPV). This term includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and controlling behaviors by an intimate partner. This exploratory study investigates the relationship between alexithymia, adult attachment styles, depression, and coping strategies in a group of female victims of IPV and a control group. Participants were 80 female victims of IPV with an age range from 18 years to 54 years (mean 31.62; standard deviation 9.81). The control group included 80 women with no history of IPV with an age range from 19 years to 37 years (mean 25.05; standard deviation 3.67). We administered the following self-report questionnaires: (i) 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20); (ii) Coping Orientation Problems Experienced; (iii) Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-II; and (iv) Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ). Compared with control group, the IPV group showed higher mean scores on TAS-20 (52.9 vs. 41.1, P < 0.001) and BDI-II (19.50 vs. 9.95, P < 0.001). In both groups, we found significant correlations between BDI-II and TAS-20 total scores (P < 0.001) and between BDI-II and the following dimensions of ASQ: confidence (P < 0.001), discomfort with closeness (P = 0.002), relationships as secondary (P < 0.001), need for approval (P < 0.001), and preoccupation with relationships (P < 0.001). Differently from the control group, in the IPV group, social support correlated significantly and positively (P < 0.001) with the dimension preoccupation with relationships on ASQ, but not with the secure attachment style. In comparison to the control group, alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and an insecure attachment style were negatively correlated with the ability to cope with stress for women in the IPV group. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Understanding the relationship between attachment style, pain appraisal and illness behavior in women.

PubMed

Martínez, M Pilar; Miró, Elena; Sánchez, Ana I; Mundo, Antonio; Martínez, Elena

2012-02-01

Insecure attachment has been hypothesized to be an important factor for understanding the experience of pain. Considering the Attachment-Diathesis Model of Chronic Pain developed by Meredith, Ownsworth, and Strong (2008), this cross-sectional study examines the relationship between attachment style, pain appraisal, and illness behavior. Two hundred healthy women recruited from community contexts completed a battery of self-report measures including the Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale-20, Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire, Illness Attitude Scales, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire-Revised. The results showed that attachment anxiety was significantly correlated with pain catastrophizing, pain-related fear, depression, and illness behavior. However, attachment anxiety and avoidance were not associated with pain intensity. Attachment anxiety moderated the relationship between pain catastrophizing and illness behavior, and between pain hypervigilance and illness behavior. Pain catastrophizing and pain-related fear partially mediated the effect of attachment anxiety on illness behavior. The findings highlight potential contributions of attachment style and pain appraisal for explaining illness behavior. This study supports earlier reports and suggests the usefulness of assessing attachment style for early identification of people who might exhibit a high risk of dysfunctional responses to pain. Our findings also suggest that increasing people's insight about their attachment style and modifying some associated dysfunctional responses may be important in the treatment of chronic pain. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

[Do Attachment Styles of Mentally Ill Parents Impact on the Health-related Quality of Life of their Children?].

PubMed

Wiegand-Grefe, Silke; Bomba, Franziska; Tönnies, Sven; Bullinger, Monika; Plass, Angela

2016-01-01

Do Attachment Styles of Mentally Ill Parents Impact on the Health-related Quality of Life of their Children? Parents with a mental disorder often display a problematic attachment style which may impact on their children's health related quality of life (HrQoL). The current study cross-sectionally examines attachment styles (BEPE) in mentally ill parents with underage children (n = 62) and the effect of attachment on their children's HrQoL (KINDL-R). Results show that secure attachment is less represented in parents with a mental health condition than in a healthy reference group. Within the clinical sample, children of mentally ill parents with a secure attachment style exhibit a higher HrQoL than children of mentally ill parents with ambivalent or avoidant attachment styles. These findings indicate not only that problematic attachment styles frequently occur in families with a mentally ill parent, but also suggest that this negatively affects the children's HrQoL. Appropriate interventions should include attachment oriented concepts.

Comparison between Couple Attachment Styles, Stress Coping Styles and Self-Esteem Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Çolakkadioglu, Oguzhan; Akbas, Turan; Uslu, Sevcan Karabulut

2017-01-01

Data were acquired from a total of 422 university students with 216 female and 206 male students via Couple Attachment Scale, Stress Coping Styles Scale and Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. Positive and statistically significant relationships were determined between self-confident approach, optimistic approach and social support approach…

Childhood Abuse and Attachment Styles of Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karakus, Ozlem

2012-01-01

Introduction: The fact that emotional and social experiences in early childhood period within the family influence the experiences in adolescence and adulthood (communication skills, interpersonal relations) is not a new case. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the relationship between childhood abuse and attachment styles. Method: The…

Parental knowledge of adolescent activities: links with parental attachment style and adolescent substance use.

PubMed

Jones, Jason D; Ehrlich, Katherine B; Lejuez, C W; Cassidy, Jude

2015-04-01

Parents' knowledge of their adolescents' whereabouts and activities is a robust predictor of adolescent risk behavior, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Surprisingly few studies have attempted to identify parental characteristics that are associated with the degree of parental knowledge. The present study is the first to examine how parental attachment style relates to mother, father, and adolescent reports of parental knowledge. Further, we used structural equation modeling to test the associations among parents' attachment styles, reports of parental knowledge, and adolescents' alcohol and marijuana use. Participants included 203 adolescents (M age = 14.02, SD = .91) living in 2-parent households and their parent(s). As predicted, mothers' and fathers' insecure attachment styles were negatively associated with self-reported and adolescent-reported parental knowledge, and all 3 reports of parental knowledge were negatively related to adolescent substance use. Mothers' and fathers' attachment styles were unrelated to adolescent substance use. However, evidence emerged for indirect effects of parental attachment style on adolescent substance use through reports of parental knowledge. Implications for prevention efforts and the importance of multiple reporters within the family are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental Knowledge of Adolescent Activities: Links with Parental Attachment Style and Adolescent Substance Use

PubMed Central

Jones, Jason D.; Ehrlich, Katherine B.; Lejuez, C. W.; Cassidy, Jude

2015-01-01

Parents’ knowledge of their adolescents’ whereabouts and activities is a robust predictor of adolescent risk behavior, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Surprisingly few studies have attempted to identify parental characteristics that are associated with the degree of parental knowledge. The present study is the first to examine how parental attachment style relates to mother, father, and adolescent reports of parental knowledge. Further, we used structural equation modeling to test the associations among parents’ attachment styles, reports of parental knowledge, and adolescents’ alcohol and marijuana use. Participants included 203 adolescents (mean age = 14.02, SD = .91) living in two-parent households and their parent(s). As predicted, mothers’ and fathers’ insecure attachment styles were negatively associated with self-reported and adolescent-reported parental knowledge, and all three reports of parental knowledge were negatively related to adolescent substance use. Mothers’ and fathers’ attachment styles were unrelated to adolescent substance use. However, evidence emerged for indirect effects of parental attachment style on adolescent substance use through reports of parental knowledge. Implications for prevention efforts and the importance of multiple reporters within the family are discussed. PMID:25730406

Attachment style as a mediator between childhood maltreatment and the experience of betrayal trauma as an adult.

PubMed

Hocking, Elise C; Simons, Raluca M; Surette, Renata J

2016-02-01

Previous research has demonstrated a positive association between child maltreatment and adult interpersonal trauma (Arata, 2000; Crawford & Wright, 2007). From a betrayal trauma theory perspective, evidence suggests that the experience of trauma high in betrayal (e.g., child maltreatment by parents or guardians) increases ones risk of betrayal trauma as an adult (Gobin & Freyd, 2009). However, the mechanisms explaining these associations are not well understood; attachment theory could provide further insight. Child maltreatment is associated with insecure attachment (Baer & Martinez, 2006; Muller et al., 2000). Insecure attachment is also associated with deficits in interpersonal functioning and risk for intimate partner violence, suggesting insecure attachment may mediate the relationship between child maltreatment and the experience of betrayal trauma as an adult. The current study tested this hypothesis in a sample of 601 college students. Participants completed online questionnaires including the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (CATS), the Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised (ECR-R) and the Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey (BBTS). Results indicated that child maltreatment is associated with adult betrayal trauma and anxious attachment partially mediates this relationship. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How the interpersonal and attachment styles of therapists impact upon the therapeutic alliance and therapeutic outcomes.

PubMed

Wongpakaran, Tinakon; Wongpakaran, Nahathai

2012-12-01

Explore how therapist's interpersonal and attachment styles have an impact upon both the therapeutic alliance formed and therapy outcomes. One hundred twenty one outpatients attending for routine psychiatric services were monitored for symptom outcomes, comprising depression, anxiety, and interpersonal problems. Patients were also asked about the level of therapeutic alliance that had been formed, covering goals, tasks, and the bond developed, using the working alliance inventory (WAI). At the same time, the participating therapists reported upon their interpersonal styles by categorizing them into domineering or submissive styles using the IIP-32 questionnaire and their attachment styles by categorizing them into secure or preoccupied styles using the ECR-R. To explore therapist factors such as interpersonal and attachment styles, as well as to establish the presence of gender matching, the working alliance was used as a dependent variable. Multivariate analysis revealed that neither the gender of the therapist nor the gender of the patient, or the therapists' styles, had an effect on the Working alliance or working outcomes. The multivariate test for WAI-goal (Wilks' Lambda F (3, 134) = 4.24, p = 0.007), interpersonal style (Wilks 'Lambda F (3, 134) = 2.77, p = 0.044), attachment style (Wilks' LambdaF (3, 134) = 2. 76, p = 0.045) and IIP-Style*Attachment Style (Wilks' Lambda F (3, 134) = 3.13, p = 0.028) produced statistically significant results, while working alliance-goal was the only predictor of the level of anxiety and depression in patients (p = 0.014 and p = 0.002, respectively). Submissive style was positively correlated to anxiety (p = 0.011) and interpersonal difficulties (p = 0.006), whilst surprisingly, a secure attachment style was found to have a positive correlation with anxiety and depression. However when both styles were combined, the resulting style negatively predicted anxiety (p = 0.002). Therapist factors were found to have no effect on

Shame, internalized homophobia, identity formation, attachment style, and the connection to relationship status in gay men.

PubMed

Brown, Jac; Trevethan, Robert

2010-09-01

This study reports on a survey of 166 gay men in Sydney, Australia, that explores the links between internalized shame, internalized homophobia, and attachment style. These variables were linked to the age of coming out, family and peer acceptance of their sexuality, relationship status, and previous marriage. Findings suggest a strong relationship between shame, internalized homophobia, and anxious and avoidant attachment style. Shame was predicted by internalized homophobia and anxious and avoidant attachment style. A significant proportion of gay men reported that they were not easily accepted when they first came out. There was a significant relationship between coming out and internalized homophobia but not with shame and attachment style. Furthermore, men who had never come out to family and friends reported higher levels of internalized homophobia but not higher levels of shame and attachment style. Of particular significance was the connection between previous marriage and higher levels of shame and internalized homophobia. Finally, gay men who were not currently in a relationship reported higher levels of shame anxious and avoidant attachment style. These findings are related to therapeutic work with gay men who have previously been married and those who are concerned with their current single status.

Attachment style impacts behavior and early oculomotor response to positive, but not negative, pictures.

PubMed

Silva, Catarina; Chaminade, Thierry; David, Da Fonseca; Santos, Andreia; Esteves, Francisco; Soares, Isabel; Deruelle, Christine

2015-06-01

The present study investigated whether oculomotor behavior is influenced by attachment styles. The Relationship Scales Questionnaire was used to assess attachment styles of forty-eight voluntary university students and to classify them into attachment groups (secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing). Eye-tracking was recorded while participants engaged in a 3-seconds free visual exploration of stimuli presenting either a positive or a negative picture together with a neutral picture, all depicting social interactions. The task consisted in identifying whether the two pictures depicted the same emotion. Results showed that the processing of negative pictures was impermeable to attachment style, while the processing of positive pictures was significantly influenced by individual differences in insecure attachment. The groups highly avoidant regarding to attachment (dismissing and fearful) showed reduced accuracy, suggesting a higher threshold for recognizing positive emotions compared to the secure group. The groups with higher attachment anxiety (preoccupied and fearful) showed differences in automatic capture of attention, in particular an increased delay preceding the first fixation to a picture of positive emotional valence. Despite lenient statistical thresholds induced by the limited sample size of some groups (p < 0.05 uncorrected for multiple comparisons), the current findings suggest that the processing of positive emotions is affected by attachment styles. These results are discussed within a broader evolutionary framework. © 2015 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Attachment-informed therapy for adults: Towards a unifying perspective on practice.

PubMed

Berry, Katherine; Danquah, Adam

2016-03-01

We aimed to provide an integrated overview of the key goals and strategies of an attachment-informed psychotherapy by summarizing the literature describing the clinical implications of attachment theory for psychological therapy for adults. We carried out a narrative thematic review of 58 texts from a diverse range of therapeutic schools, until we agreed that we had reached a saturation of themes. We identified six key themes: Changing internal working models; the therapeutic relationship and creating a secure base; formulating and processing relationship experiences; countertransference; separation, termination and boundary issues; and working with different attachment styles or patterns. We discuss empirical evidence in relation to each theme and highlight areas for research. Attachment theory provides a useful framework to inform psychological therapy with adults, but there is a pressing need for further research to empirically demonstrate the 'added value' of an attachment perspective. Attachment theory should be used to inform individual psychological therapy in adulthood. From the outset of their careers, therapists should receive training and supervision to enhance their awareness of their own and their clients' attachment experiences and how these play out during therapy. There is a need for greater empirical research to investigate whether the degree to which therapists formulate and meet clients' attachment needs influences outcomes. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Depressive symptoms in mothers and daughters: Attachment style moderates reporter agreement

PubMed Central

Milan, Stephanie; Wortel, Sanne; Ramirez, Jenna; Oshin, Linda

2016-01-01

Parents and adolescents show only modest agreement when reporting on depressive symptoms. Drawing from attachment theory and previous research on informant discrepancies, we tested hypotheses about how adolescent attachment style may impact reporting agreement in a sample of 184 low-income mother-adolescent daughter dyads (adolescent mean age = 15.4 (SD = 1.05), maternal mean age = 41.4 (SD = 7.60); 58% Latina, 26% African-American/Black, 16% as non-Hispanic, White). Mothers and adolescents reported on their own and each others’ depressive symptoms and adolescents reported on attachment style. Using a moderated Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to calculate reporter bias and accuracy estimates, we tested whether attachment style moderated maternal and adolescent accuracy in theoretically consistent ways. Mothers and adolescents showed similar levels of accuracy and bias when reporting on each other. Consistent with hypotheses, we found that adolescents who reported high levels of preoccupation were less accurate when reporting on their mothers because they tended to observe symptoms that their mothers did not endorse. Conversely, mothers were the most accurate in these dyads, potentially because preoccupied adolescents tend to elevate displays of emotional distress. Reporting accuracy was not affected by a dismissive style. These results add to literature indicating that parent-child reporting discrepancies often reflect meaningful information about relationships, and highlight the need to consider different sources of reporting bias and accuracy in assessment and treatment. PMID:27130142

The mediating role of social environmental factors in the associations between attachment styles and basic needs satisfaction.

PubMed

Felton, Luke; Jowett, Sophia

2013-01-01

The present study aimed to explore the mediating role of social factors on the associations between attachment styles and basic psychological needs satisfaction within two relational contexts. Athletes (N = 215) completed a multi-section questionnaire pertaining to attachment styles, basic needs satisfied within the coaching and the parental relational context, and such social factors as social support, interpersonal conflict, autonomy and controlling behaviours. Bootstrap mediation analysis revealed that the association between avoidant attachment style and basic needs satisfaction with the coach was mediated by social support and autonomy-related behaviours from the coach. The association between avoidant attachment style and basic needs satisfaction with the parent on the other hand was mediated by all social factors investigated. Finally, the association between anxious attachment style and basic needs satisfaction from the parent was mediated by conflict and controlling behaviours. Overall, the findings of the current study suggest that social factors play an important role in explaining the associations between attachment styles and basic needs satisfaction within two central relational contexts athletes operate in, and thus should be targeted in future interventions.

Adult Attachment, Social Adjustment, and Well-Being in Drug-Addicted Inpatients.

PubMed

Delvecchio, Elisa; Di Riso, Daniela; Lis, Adriana; Salcuni, Silvia

2016-04-01

In recent years, attachment studies have gathered overwhelming evidence for a relation between insecure attachment and drug addiction. The existing literature predominantly addresses attachment styles and little attention is given to attachment-pattern-oriented studies. The current study explored how attachment, social adjustment, and well-being interact in 40 (28 men, 12 women; ages 20-52 years, M = 32.3, SD = 9.4) inpatients with drug addiction. The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP), the Social Adjustment Scale-Self-report (SAS-SR), and the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) were administered. Descriptive statistics were computed as well as differences between patterns of attachment in all variables were measured. None of the inpatients showed a secure attachment pattern: 7 scored as dismissing (18%), 5 preoccupied (12%) and 28 unresolved (70%). AAP stories were mainly connected with themes of danger, lack of protection, and helplessness. Inpatients classified as unresolved reported significantly higher maladjustment on the SAS-SR and GHQ-28 than those with resolved attachment patterns. Implications for clinicians and researchers are presented. © The Author(s) 2016.

EXAMINING PARENTS' ROMANTIC ATTACHMENT STYLES AND DEPRESSIVE AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AS PREDICTORS OF CAREGIVING EXPERIENCES.

PubMed

River, Laura M; Borelli, Jessica L; Nelson-Coffey, S Katherine

2016-09-01

Evidence has suggested that parental romantic attachment style and depressive and anxiety symptoms are related to experiences of caregiving (Creswell, Apetroaia, Murray, & Cooper, 2013; Jones, Cassidy, & Shaver, 2014; Lovejoy, Graczyk, O'Hare, & Neuman, 2000), but more research is necessary to clarify the nature of these relations, particularly in the context of attachment-salient events such as reunions. In a cross-sectional study of 150 parents of children ages 1 to 3 years, we assessed participants' attachment styles (self-reported anxiety and avoidance) and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Participants generated a narrative describing their most recent reunion with their child, which we coded for caregiving outcomes of negative emotion and secure base script content. Attachment style and depressive and anxiety symptoms separately predicted each caregiving outcome. Depressive and anxiety symptoms mediated the associations between attachment style and caregiving outcomes. These results suggest that parental attachment insecurity and depressive and anxiety symptoms contribute to negative emotion and reduced secure base script content. Further, depressive and anxiety symptomatology partially accounts for the relation between attachment insecurity and caregiving outcomes, suggesting that parental mental health is a critical point for intervention. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

A Qualitative Exploration of the Use of Attachment Theory in Adult Psychological Therapy.

PubMed

Burke, Eilish; Danquah, Adam; Berry, Katherine

2016-01-01

There is a growing interest into how attachment theory can inform psychotherapeutic practice with adults. This study aimed to explore how a group of therapists with an interest in attachment theory use it in their work with adult clients. A cross-sectional qualitative design was adopted. Sampling, data collection and analysis procedures were guided by grounded theory principles. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 12 therapists from a variety of training backgrounds. Data were coded and developed into thematic categories. Six primary themes were identified to describe how attachment theory influenced the clinical practice of the sample through the following: (i) complementing other therapeutic models; (ii) providing a framework to understand the development of clients' mental health problems; (iii) working with different attachment styles; (iv) thinking about the therapeutic relationship as an attachment relationship; (iv) influencing the different stages of the therapeutic process; and (vi) influencing clinical service design and delivery. It is concluded that attachment theory can play a significant role in influencing the practice of therapists and can be usefully adopted to complement therapeutic processes irrespective of the therapist's dominant clinical orientation. Further research is needed to explore the views of clinicians from different theoretical orientations and to investigate the security of the client-therapist attachment within the context of therapeutic change processes. Attachment theory may have implications for practice across a range of different types of therapy and may help therapists to bridge apparent differences between modality-specific formulation and techniques. Attachment theory can be used to understand the development of mental health problems. Therapists should assess and formulate clients' attachment styles, and these formulations should guide therapeutic approaches. Attachment theory provides a comprehensive

Dating couples' attachment styles and patterns of cortisol reactivity and recovery in response to a relationship conflict.

PubMed

Powers, Sally I; Pietromonaco, Paula R; Gunlicks, Meredith; Sayer, Aline

2006-04-01

This study investigated theoretically predicted links between attachment style and a physiological indicator of stress, salivary cortisol levels, in 124 heterosexual dating couples. Cortisol was assessed at 7 points before and after an experimental conflict negotiation task, creating a trajectory of stress reactivity and recovery for each participant. Growth modeling of cortisol data tested hypotheses that (a) insecurely attached individuals show patterns of greater physiological stress reactions to interpersonal conflict than do securely attached individuals and (b) people with insecurely attached partners show patterns of greater stress in reaction to relationship conflict than those with securely attached partners. Hypothesis 1 was supported, but men and women differed in the type of insecure attachment that predicted stress trajectories. Hypothesis 2 was supported for men, but not for women. The discussion emphasizes the role of gender role norms and partner characteristics in understanding connections between adult attachment and patterns of cortisol responses to interpersonal stress.

Attachment Styles and Acculturation of Christian Asian Indians: Impact on Life Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isaac, Sherin K.

2008-01-01

Introduced by Jonathan Bowlby in the early 1960s, attachment theory seeks to explain an individual's depth of bonding with others throughout one's life. Attachment styles can affect family life, life interactions, career choices, friendships, relationships, marriage, and parenting (Turner, 2005). Attachment theory is composed of four different…

Clinical supervision and nursing students' professional competence: support-seeking behaviour and the attachment styles of students and mentors.

PubMed

Moked, Zahava; Drach-Zahavy, Anat

2016-02-01

To examine whether the interdependent attachment style of students is positively related to their support-seeking behaviour during supervision and whether their over-dependent and counter-dependent attachment styles are negatively related to it. Second, to determine whether the mentors' attachment styles moderate the relationship between the students' support-seeking behaviours and their professional competence, such that this relationship is stronger when supervisors are characterized by higher independent attachment style. The mentor-student encounter during nursing clinical supervision is expected to create a supportive environment aimed at promoting support-seeking behaviours and subsequent positive supervision outcomes. Bowlby's attachment theory suggests that the three attachment styles - independent, counter-dependent and over-dependent - may have implications for clinical supervision. A correlative-prospective study. One hundred and seventy-eight students and 66 clinical mentors completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of a clinical supervision session during 2012-2013. Results demonstrated that high compared with low independent nursing students tended to seek less support. Second, students who seek less support evaluated their professional competence as higher than students who seek more support. Third, mentor's counter-dependent attachment style moderated the relationship between students' support-seeking behaviour and their professional competencies. The results allude to the detrimental meaning of support-seeking in the eyes of nursing students. Results can guide administrators in promoting supervision processes that are compatible with the students' independent learning style, while also preventing the negative implications of autonomic learning. Furthermore, as mentors' counter-dependent attachment style can hinder students' support-seeking, attachment styles should be considered in the selection of mentors. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A cross-cultural investigation of attachment style, catastrophizing, negative pain beliefs, and symptom severity in irritable bowel syndrome.

PubMed

Gerson, C D; Gerson, M-J; Chang, L; Corazziari, E S; Dumitrascu, D; Ghoshal, U C; Porcelli, P; Schmulson, M; Wang, W-A; Zali, M

2015-04-01

Little information exists regarding whether psychosocial variables in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) vary by geographic location. Adult attachment is an important psychological concept rooted in childhood relationship experience that has not been previously studied in IBS. Catastrophizing and negative pain beliefs have been described in IBS and may be affected by attachment. In this cross-cultural study, we determined: (i) whether attachment differs between IBS patients and controls, (ii) whether geographic location has a significant effect on attachment style, catastrophizing and negative pain beliefs, and (iii) how all three variables correlate with IBS symptom severity. 463 IBS patients, with moderate to severe symptom scores, and 192 healthy controls completed validated questionnaires about attachment, catastrophizing, negative pain beliefs and IBS-SSS in nine locations, USA (New York, Los Angeles), Mexico, Italy (Rome, Bari), Romania, Iran, India, and China. Attachment anxiety and avoidance scores were significantly higher in IBS patients than in controls (p < 0.001). This was particularly true for the fearful-avoidant attachment category, especially in China and Romania. Path analysis showed that attachment anxiety and avoidance had indirect effects on IBS-SSS through catastrophizing (p < 0.0001) and negative pain beliefs (p = 0.005). All three psychosocial measures varied significantly depending on location. In the IBS population studied, attachment style was significantly different in IBS compared to a control population. Geographic differences in attachment, catastrophizing and negative pain beliefs were documented and their correlation with symptom severity and thus, research of psychosocial variables in IBS should take into account the location of the population studied. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Continuing Bonds, Attachment Style, and Adjustment in the Conjugal Bereavement among Hong Kong Chinese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ho, Samuel M. Y.; Chan, Ide S. F.; Ma, Ernie P. W.; Field, Nigel P.

2013-01-01

The present study examined the effects of attachment style and continuing bonds, defined as the extent to which a bereaved individual feels that the deceased remains a part of his/her life, on post bereavement adjustment among 71 conjugally bereaved individuals. It was shown that bereaved individuals with an anxious attachment style tended to show…

Attachment style, childhood adversity, and behavioral risk among young men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Gwadz, Marya Viorst; Clatts, Michael C; Leonard, Noelle R; Goldsamt, Lloyd

2004-05-01

To examine relationships among childhood adversity, attachment style (one's core beliefs regarding the self and others), and the following risk behaviors and contexts among young men who have sex with men (YMSM): homelessness, daily substance use, participation in sex work, involvement in the criminal justice system, and being out of school or work. Using a targeted sampling approach, we recruited 569 YMSM aged 17-28 years from natural venues in New York City including bars, clubs, parks, and bus stations. Youth completed a structured interview assessing lifetime and current risk and protective contexts and behavior. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical methods, including hierarchical logistic regression. After controlling for demographic characteristics and childhood adversity, YMSM with a fearful attachment style were more likely to have been homeless (OR 2.93, 95% CI 1.65-5.18), to have participated in sex work (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.44-3.85), to use substances daily (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.29-6.03), to have been involved in the criminal justice system (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.38-3.01), and to be out of school/work (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.47-4.15). Three subgroups were particularly vulnerable: YMSM who identified as heterosexual, or bisexual, and/or transgender. A fearful attachment style contributes to some YMSM remaining outside of the protective systems of family, school, and work, and is associated with risky contexts where they are less likely to encounter prosocial peers and adults. Further, it is associated with risk behavior. Although gay-identified youth are generally found to have poor outcomes when compared with the general population of adolescents, in the present report, YMSM who identified as heterosexual were at particular risk. Attachment theory can guide interventions by informing how individuals experience relationships and manage developmental transitions.

Relationships between Maternal Adult Attachment Security, Child Perceptions of Maternal Support, and Maternal Perceptions of Child Responses to Sexual Abuse.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leifer, Myra; Kilbane, Teresa; Skolnick, Linda I.

2002-01-01

Study assessed the relationships between maternal adult attachment style, children's perceptions of maternal support following disclosure of sexual abuse, and maternal perceptions of children's behavioral and emotional responses to sexual abuse. Findings indicate that fostering parent-child attachment is important in order to decrease the risk for…

Attachment, Coping, and Attributional Style in Late Adolescence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberger, Ellen; McLaughlin, Caitlin

This study examined the relationships of early and current attachment styles to the coping strategies late adolescents employ when faced with problems and to the attributions they make concerning their successes and failures. Subjects were 157 late adolescents, ages 18 to 22, taken from an ethnically diverse sample of university students. Subjects…

Attachment styles and psychopathology among adolescent children of parents with bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Erkan, Mustafa; Gencoglan, Salih; Akguc, Leyla; Ozatalay, Esin; Fettahoglu, Emine Cigil

2015-04-16

The aim of this study was to compare attachment styles and psychopathology in adolescent children of parents with bipolar disorder (BD) with a healthy control group. We studied 25 adolescents who had at least 1 parent with BD (BD group) and 28 adolescents who had no parents with BD (control group). The adolescent participants were between the ages of 12 and 17 years. We used the Adolescent Relationship Scales Questionnaire (A-RSQ) for the adolescents in the BD vs. control groups, and we used the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children - present and lifetime version (K-SADS-PL). We used the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), Clinician Version for each parent of adolescents in the BD and control groups to rule out psychopathologies. Attachment styles of participants were assessed according to A-RSQ, dismissing attachment style scores of adolescents in BD group were found significantly higher compared to the healthy control group (p<0.05). As a result of the assessments, 12 adolescents (48%) out of 25 in the BD group and 5 adolescents (18%) out of 28 in the control group were given DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis, which is a statistically significant result (p<0.05). However, when psychiatric diagnoses were assessed separately, the difference was not statistically significant. We found that the adolescent children of parents with BD have increased risk of developing mental illnesses, and that these adolescents adopt dismissing attachment styles.

Caregiving Antecedents of Secure Base Script Knowledge: A Comparative Analysis of Young Adult Attachment Representations

PubMed Central

Steele, Ryan D.; Waters, Theodore E. A.; Bost, Kelly K.; Vaughn, Brian E.; Truitt, Warren; Waters, Harriet S.; Booth-LaForce, Cathryn; Roisman, Glenn I.

2015-01-01

Based on a sub-sample (N = 673) of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) cohort, this paper reports data from a follow-up assessment at age 18 years on the antecedents of secure base script knowledge, as reflected in the ability to generate narratives in which attachment-related difficulties are recognized, competent help is provided, and the problem is resolved. Secure base script knowledge was (a) modestly to moderately correlated with more well established assessments of adult attachment, (b) associated with mother-child attachment in the first three years of life and with observations of maternal and paternal sensitivity from childhood to adolescence, and (c) partially accounted for associations previously documented in the SECCYD cohort between early caregiving experiences and Adult Attachment Interview states of mind (Booth-LaForce & Roisman, 2014) as well as self-reported attachment styles (Fraley, Roisman, Booth-LaForce, Owen, & Holland, 2013). PMID:25264703

The relationship between vulnerable attachment style, psychopathology, drug abuse, and retention in treatment among methadone maintenance treatment patients.

PubMed

Potik, David; Peles, Einat; Abramsohn, Yahli; Adelson, Miriam; Schreiber, Shaul

2014-01-01

The relationship between vulnerable attachment style, psychopathology, drug abuse, and retention in treatment among patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) was examined by the Vulnerable Attachment Style Questionnaire (VASQ), the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), and drug abuse urine tests. After six years, retention in treatment and repeated urine test results were studied. Patients with vulnerable attachment style (a high VASQ score) had higher rates of drug abuse and higher psychopathology levels compared to patients with secure attachment style, especially on the interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, and paranoid ideation scales. Drug abstinence at baseline was related to retention in treatment and to higher rates of drug abstinence after six years in MMT, whereas a vulnerable attachment style could not predict drug abstinence and retention in treatment. Clinical Implications concerning treatment of drug abusing populations and methodological issues concerning the VASQ's subscales are also discussed.

The role of attachment styles in regulating the effects of dopamine on the behavior of salespersons

PubMed Central

Verbeke, Willem; Bagozzi, Richard P.; van den Berg, Wouter E.

2014-01-01

Two classic strategic orientations have been found to pervade the behavior of modern salespersons: a sales orientation (SO) where salespersons use deception or guile to get customers to buy even if they do not need a product, and a customer orientation (CO) where salespersons first attempt to discover the customer's needs and adjust their product and selling approach to meet those needs. Study 1 replicates recent research and finds that the Taq A1 variant of the DRD2 gene is not related to either sales or CO, whereas the 7-repeat variant of the DRD4 gene is related to CO but not SO. Study 2 investigates gene × phenotype explanations of orientation of salespersons, drawing upon recent research in molecular genetics and biological/psychological attachment theory. The findings show that attachment style regulates the effects of DRD2 on CO, such that greater avoidant attachment styles lead to higher CO for persons with the A2/A2 variant but neither the A1/A2 nor A1/A1 variants. Likewise, attachment style regulates the effects of DRD4 on CO, such that greater avoidant attachment styles lead to higher CO for persons with the 7-repeat variant but not other variants. No effects were found on a SO, and secure and anxious attachment styles did not function as moderators. PMID:24550811

Attachment Style and Less Severe Forms of Sexual Coercion: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Karantzas, Gery C; McCabe, Marita P; Karantzas, Kellie M; Pizzirani, Bengianni; Campbell, Hilary; Mullins, Ellie R

2016-07-01

Few studies have examined how attachment insecurity (i.e., attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance) is associated with the more subtle and less severe forms of sexual coercion, such as verbal threats and partner manipulation. This is despite the fact that past research has indicated some of the relationship behaviors exhibited by insecurely attached individuals represent behaviors indicative of either the perpetration or victimization of less severe forms of sexual coercion. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review on the association between attachment style and less severe forms of sexual coercion. Our search, which included published journal papers, book chapters, and theses published between January 1970 and October 2014, yielded 1091 records. Examination of these records against exclusion criteria yielded 11 studies that focused on the associations between attachment orientation and perpetration of sexual coercion (n = 3), sexual coercion victimization (n = 3), or both perpetration and victimization (n = 5). Findings revealed that attachment anxiety appeared to be more consistently associated with being the victim of sexual coercion than attachment avoidance. In terms of perpetration, attachment avoidance was more consistently associated with sexual coercion. These findings were observed when examining the association between attachment dimensions and motives for sexual coercion. The findings also revealed gender to be a moderator for victimization. This review provides insights into how attachment style may influence the perpetration and victimization of sexual coercion.

Motherhood in adolescent mothers: maternal attachment, mother-infant styles of interaction and emotion regulation at three months.

PubMed

Riva Crugnola, Cristina; Ierardi, Elena; Gazzotti, Simona; Albizzati, Alessandro

2014-02-01

Early motherhood is considered a risk factor for an adequate relationship between mother and infant and for the subsequent development of the infant. The principal aim of the study is to analyze micro-analytically the effect of motherhood in adolescence on the quality of mother-infant interaction and emotion regulation at three months, considering at the same time the effect of maternal attachment on these variables. Participants were 30 adolescent mother-infant dyads compared to 30 adult mother-infant dyads. At infant 3 months, mother-infant interaction was video-recorded and coded with a modified version of the Infant Caregiver Engagement Phases and the Adult Attachment Interview was administered to the mother. Analysis showed that adolescent mothers (vs. adult mothers) spent more time in negative engagement and their infants spent less time in positive engagement and more time in negative engagement. Adolescent mothers are also less involved in play with their infants than adult mothers. Adolescent mother-infant dyads (vs. adult mother-infant dyads) showed a greater duration of negative matches and spent less time in positive matches. Insecure adolescent mother-infant dyads (vs. insecure adult mother-infant dyads) demonstrated less involvement in play with objects and spent less time in positive matches. To sum up adolescent mother-infant dyads adopt styles of emotion regulation and interaction with objects which are less adequate than those of dyads with adult mothers. Insecure maternal attachment in dyads with adolescent mothers (vs. adult mother infant dyads) is more influential as risk factor. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attachment Styles and Psychopathology among Adolescent Children of Parents with Bipolar Disorder

PubMed Central

Erkan, Mustafa; Gencoglan, Salih; Akguc, Leyla; Ozatalay, Esin; Fettahoglu, Emine Cigil

2015-01-01

Background The aim of this study was to compare attachment styles and psychopathology in adolescent children of parents with bipolar disorder (BD) with a healthy control group. Material/Methods We studied 25 adolescents who had at least 1 parent with BD (BD group) and 28 adolescents who had no parents with BD (control group). The adolescent participants were between the ages of 12 and 17 years. We used the Adolescent Relationship Scales Questionnaire (A-RSQ) for the adolescents in the BD vs. control groups, and we used the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children – present and lifetime version (K-SADS-PL). We used the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), Clinician Version for each parent of adolescents in the BD and control groups to rule out psychopathologies. Results Attachment styles of participants were assessed according to A-RSQ, dismissing attachment style scores of adolescents in BD group were found significantly higher compared to the healthy control group (p<0.05). As a result of the assessments, 12 adolescents (48%) out of 25 in the BD group and 5 adolescents (18%) out of 28 in the control group were given DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis, which is a statistically significant result (p<0.05). However, when psychiatric diagnoses were assessed separately, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions We found that the adolescent children of parents with BD have increased risk of developing mental illnesses, and that these adolescents adopt dismissing attachment styles. PMID:25877235

Maternal Emotional Availability and Its Association with Maternal Psychopathology, Attachment Style Insecurity and Theory of Mind.

PubMed

Licata, Maria; Zietlow, Anna-Lena; Träuble, Birgit; Sodian, Beate; Reck, Corinna

High maternal emotional availability (EA) positively affects various domains of child development. However, the question of which factors promote or hinder maternal EA has not been investigated systematically. The present study investigated several maternal characteristics, namely maternal psychopathology, maternal attachment style insecurity, and theory of mind (ToM) as possible factors that influence maternal EA. The sample was comprised of 56 mothers and their preschool-aged children. Half of the mothers were diagnosed with postpartum depression and or anxiety disorders according to DSM-IV, and the other half were healthy controls. The results showed that both low maternal attachment style insecurity and high ToM skills significantly predicted maternal EA sensitivity, independently from maternal postpartum and concurrent psychopathology and education. Moreover, maternal attachment style insecurity fully mediated the link between maternal postpartum psychopathology and sensitivity. The findings suggest that maternal attachment style security can buffer negative effects of maternal psychopathology on maternal sensitivity in the mother-child interaction. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Attachment Styles as a Predictor of Relational-Self Construal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eroglu, Yüksel

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine relationships between attachment styles and relational self-construal. The study was carried out with 376 students (223 male, 153 female) enrolled in different faculties of Bayburt University. The data was collected using the Relationship Scales Questionnaire and Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal…

Avoidance of the Real and Anxiety about the Unreal: Attachment Style and Video-Gaming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coulson, Mark; Oskis, Andrea; Gould, Rebecca L

2017-01-01

In this article, the authors discuss the light and dark side of attachments and attachment style in physical and digital worlds. They argue that many games offer opportunities for the generation of new and meaningful attachments to both physical and digital others. They discuss two "fundamental attachment errors" and show how these can…

Perceived Parental Styles and Adult Separation Anxiety.

PubMed

Başbuğ, Sezin; Cesur, Gizem; Durak Batıgün, Ayşegül

2017-01-01

The Mediating Role of Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions OBJECTIVE: This study primarily aimed to determine whether perceived parental styles and interpersonal cognitive distortions are predictors of adult separation anxiety. Further, this study aimed to examine the mediating role of interpersonal cognitive distortions in the relationship between perceived over-permissive/boundless parental styles and adult separation anxiety in university students. This study included 444 university students (281 female (63,3%) and 163 male (36,7%) with a mean age of sample 21,02 years (SS = 1,70). The Demographic Information Form, Young Parenting Inventory, Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions Scale, and Adult Separation Anxiety Questionnaire were used. The regression analyses revealed that the age of the participants and their percieved controlling/shaping father parenting style negatively predicted adult separation anxiety, while percieved over-permissive/boundless mother parenting style, exploitative/abusive and overprotective/anxious father parenting styles and the subscales of the interpersonal cognitive distortions scale positively predicted adult separation anxiety. As hypothesized, data from this study reveal that subscales of the interpersonal cognitive distortions scale play a full mediating role in the relationship between over-permissive/boundless parenting styles and adult separation anxiety. Results indicate that the perceived over-permissive/boundless parenting style positively predicts adult separation anxiety symptoms by distorting interpersonal cognitions. Furthermore, the over-permissive parenting style and lack of boundaries and/or discipline lead to similar adverse effects as do authoritarian and normative parenting. To our knowledge, there are very few studies investigating adult separation anxiety symptoms in Turkey. Therefore, our current study provides practical information to mental health professionals regarding adult separation anxiety symptoms, which

Suicidality, problem-solving skills, attachment style, and hopelessness in Turkish students.

PubMed

Zeyrek, Emek Yüce; Gençöz, Faruk; Bergman, Yoav; Lester, David

2009-09-01

Among 180 Turkish university students, the probability of suicide was strongly predicted by both hopelessness and deficiencies in problem solving. In addition, for women, unhealthy attachment styles (preoccupied and dismissing) also predicted suicidality. The clinical implications of these findings are that psychotherapists should focus on helping suicidal adolescents improve their problem solving skills and decreasing their hopelessness and, for women, assisting them to develop healthier relationship styles.

Attachment Styles, Social Skills, and Depression in College Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooley, Eileen L.; Van Buren, Amy; Cole, Steven P.

2010-01-01

Attachment styles, social skills, and depression were studied in 3 college women using the Relationship Questionnaire (K. Bartholomew & L. M. Horowitz, 1991), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996), and the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (D. Buhrmester, W. Furman, M. T. Wittenberg, & H.…

Male partners' attachment styles as predictors of women's coerced first sexual intercourse in Chinese college students' dating relationships.

PubMed

He, Shanshan; Tsang, Sandra

2014-01-01

Attachment theory has great potential to help our understanding of the apparent contradiction between violence and intimacy. Yet very few studies applied this theory to explain or predict sexual coercion in the context of intimate relationships. This study examined the relation between male partners' attachment styles and women's coerced first sexual intercourse in dating relationships. There were 927 valid questionnaires collected by purposive snowball sampling in five main cities in China to college students who were currently in a romantic relationship. Results showed that in both male and female samples, male partners' anxious attachment style were significantly and positively predicted emotional manipulation coercive tactics. In the female sample, male partners' two attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) positively predicted violence threat tactics, and male partners' avoidant attachment style positively predicted defection threat tactics. The research hypothesis of this study has been successfully supported, and implications and limitations were discussed.

Attachment-related psychodynamics.

PubMed

Shaver, Phillip R; Mikulincer, Mario

2002-09-01

Because there has been relatively little communication and cross-fertilization between the two major lines of research on adult attachment, one based on coded narrative assessments of defensive processes, the other on simple self-reports of 'attachment style' in close relationships, we here explain and review recent work based on a combination of self-report and other kinds of method, including behavioral observations and unconscious priming techniques. The review indicates that considerable progress has been made in testing central hypotheses derived from attachment theory and in exploring unconscious, psychodynamic processes related to affect-regulation and attachment-system activation. The combination of self-report assessment of attachment style and experimental manipulation of other theoretically pertinent variables allows researchers to test causal hypotheses. We present a model of normative and individual-difference processes related to attachment and identify areas in which further research is needed and likely to be successful. One long-range goal is to create a more complete theory of personality built on attachment theory and other object relations theories.

Dissociative Experiences and Anger Proneness in Late Adolescent Females with Different Attachment Styles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calamari, Elena; Pini, Mauro

2003-01-01

Study investigated the relationships between dissociative experiences, anger proneness, and attachment styles in a nonclinical sample of late adolescent females. Found a connection between anger proneness and dissociation. Insecurely attached females showed more anger proneness. Results confirm the importance of psychological intervention for…

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): attachment styles and parental bonding.

PubMed

Ercolani, Mauro; Farinelli, Marina; Agostini, Alessandro; Baldoni, Franco; Baracchini, Federica; Ravegnani, Gianni; Bortolotti, Mauro

2010-10-01

The attachment styles and parental bonding by 64 patients (M age = 43.2 yr., SD = 13.3) with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) were compared with those of 64 patients (M age = 42.2 yr., SD = 13.5) with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and 126 Healthy participants (M age = 42.2 yr., SD = 12.1). Analysis of scores on the Attachment Style Questionnaire indicated insecure attachment in both the patient and control groups. The Parental Bonding scores indicated perceptions of Affectionless Control by parents in both patient groups. In particular, the mean Father-Protection subscale scores were significantly higher for in the GERD group than in the Healthy and IBD groups.

The Intergeneration Transmission of Attachment: How Do We Account for the "Transmission Gap?"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Verneuil, Ann Marie

This doctoral research paper reviews the empirical literature examining intergenerational transmission of attachment styles. The relationship between adult caregivers' internal representations of attachment as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview and their infants' attachment status as measured by the Strange Situation procedure has been…

Putting up emotional (Facebook) walls? Attachment status and emerging adults' experiences of social networking sites.

PubMed

Nitzburg, George C; Farber, Barry A

2013-11-01

Social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook can increase interpersonal connections but also intensify jealousy, envy, and surveillance behaviors. Attachment styles may help explain differences in experiencing SNS. This study investigated the role of attachment in influencing emerging adults' perceptions and feelings about SNS and their disclosures on SNS. Disorganized and anxious attachment predicted subjects' use of SNS to avoid more personal face-to-face communication, suggesting individuals with these tendencies use SNS to hold relationships at a psychological arm's distance. Anxious attachment also predicted feelings of intimacy when using SNS, perhaps reflecting online needs for comfort from others. A case narrative is presented to show how those with insecure attachment patterns may struggle to avoid interpersonal conflict when being continuously presented with ambiguous social information. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Partners' Empathy Increases Pain Ratings: Effects of Perceived Empathy and Attachment Style on Pain Report and Display

PubMed Central

Hurter, Sarah; Paloyelis, Yannis; de C. Williams, Amanda C.; Fotopoulou, Aikaterini

2014-01-01

Pain can be influenced by its social context. We aimed to examine under controlled experimental conditions how empathy from a partner and personal attachment style affect pain report, tolerance, and facial expressions of pain. Fifty-four participants, divided into secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment style groups, underwent a cold pressor task with their partners present. We manipulated how much empathy the participants perceived that their partners had for them. We observed a significant main effect of perceived empathy on pain report, with greater pain reported in the high perceived empathy condition. No such effects were found for pain tolerance or facial display. We also found a significant interaction of empathy with attachment style group, with the avoidant group reporting and displaying less pain than the secure and the anxious groups in the high perceived empathy condition. No such findings were observed in the low empathy condition. These results suggest that empathy from one's partner may influence pain report beyond behavioral reactions. In addition, the amount of pain report and expression that people show in high empathy conditions depends on their attachment style. Perspective Believing that one's partner feels high empathy for one's pain may lead individuals to rate the intensity of pain as higher. Individual differences in attachment style moderate this empathy effect. PMID:24953886

Adult attachment and early parental experiences in patients with Crohn's disease.

PubMed

Agostini, Alessandro; Rizzello, Fernando; Ravegnani, Gianni; Gionchetti, Paolo; Tambasco, Rosy; Straforini, Giulia; Ercolani, Mauro; Campieri, Massimo

2010-01-01

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, relapsing and remitting inflammatory bowel disease. The relationship of attachment to the illness is considered to be bidirectional. The authors investigated aspects of this bidirectional relationship. A group of 102 patients with CD and 306 healthy subjects filled out the Attachment Style Questionnaire and the Parental Bonding Instrument. Patients with CD exhibit a predominantly insecure attachment and perceived their parents' behaviors as characterized by low maternal care and high paternal overprotection. The evaluation of attachment style and early parental experiences in patients with CD may shed light on the bidirectional relationship between attachment and illness. These findings may confirm the bidirectional relationship between insecure attachment and chronic illness.

The Predictive Strength of Perceived Parenting and Parental Attachment Styles on Psychological Symptoms among Turkish University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Körük, Serdar; Öztürk, Abdülkadir; Kara, Ahmet

2016-01-01

This study aims to investigate the relationships between perceived parenting, parental attachment styles and psychological symptoms among Turkish university students and it also aims to find out which perceived parenting and parental attachment styles predict psychological symptoms which were measured. This study is a quantitative research and…

Does attachment style influence social support or the other way around? A longitudinal study of Early Head Start mothers.

PubMed

Green, Beth L; Furrer, Carrie J; McAllister, Carol L

2011-01-01

Understanding the association between attachment style and social support is important for informing programs that seek to improve outcomes for families by intervening with either or both of these systems. The present study examines whether increasing levels of social support among 181 low-income, primarily African American mothers leads to changes in their self-reported attachment style, or whether attachment style influences the extent to which they perceive others as supportive. Results suggest that whereas scores on the avoidant attachment dimension were relatively stable and led to decreasing perceptions of social support over time, scores on the anxious dimension were more malleable, at least under conditions of low stress. For mothers who experienced fewer stressful life events, increasing social support led to decreased attachment anxiety over time. However, when life stress was high, social support had no such positive influence. Implications for the need to attend to mothers' attachment styles in providing appropriate and effective intervention are discussed.

Social feedback processing from early to late adolescence: influence of sex, age, and attachment style

PubMed Central

Vrtička, Pascal; Sander, David; Anderson, Brittany; Badoud, Deborah; Eliez, Stephan; Debbané, Martin

2014-01-01

Objective The establishment of an accurate understanding of one's social context is a central developmental task during adolescence. A critical component of such development is to learn how to integrate the objective evaluation of one's behavior with the social response to the latter—here referred to as social feedback processing. Case report We measured brain activity by means of fMRI in 33 healthy adolescents (12–19 years old, 14 females). Participants played a difficult perceptual game with integrated verbal and visual feedback. Verbal feedback provided the participants with objective performance evaluation (won vs. lost). Visual feedback consisted of either smiling or angry faces, representing positive or negative social evaluations. Together, the combination of verbal and visual feedback gave rise to congruent versus incongruent social feedback combinations. In addition to assessing sex differences, we further tested for the effects of age and attachment style on social feedback processing. Results revealed that brain activity during social feedback processing was significantly modulated by sex, age, and attachment style in prefrontal cortical areas, ventral anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula, caudate, and amygdala/hippocampus. We found indication for heightened activity during incongruent social feedback processing in females, older participants, and individuals with an anxious attachment style. Conversely, we observed stronger activity during processing of congruent social feedback in males and participants with an avoidant attachment style. Conclusion Our findings not only extend knowledge on the typical development of socio-emotional brain function during adolescence, but also provide first clues on how attachment insecurities, and particularly attachment avoidance, could interfere with the latter mechanisms. PMID:25328847

Emotional functioning, attachment style, and attributions as predictors of child abuse potential in domestic violence victims.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Christina M

2006-04-01

To explore cognitive and emotional factors that may exacerbate child-abuse potential among domestic violence victims, 80 participants reported on their depression, hopelessness, anxiety, and anger as well as their attachment style and attributional style. Increased emotional difficulties as well as insecure attachment styles were significantly positively correlated with child abuse potential, although depression and anxiety were the strongest predictors. Externalizing blame for the spousal abuse was not associated with abuse risk. Women residing in shelters demonstrated significantly greater abuse risk than those in transitional housing programs, suggesting that greater temporal proximity to the spousal abuse may in part account for the increased abuse potential. Depression and hopelessness, however, appeared particularly relevant to increased abuse risk in domestic violence victims in the transitional housing system. Implications of these findings for working with battered women in terms of their emotional functioning and attachment style are discussed.

The influence of leadership style on subordinates' attachment to the leader.

PubMed

Molero, Fernando; Moriano, Juan A; Shaver, Phillip R

2013-01-01

The aim of this research is to explore the extent to which employees establish attachment bonds with their leaders and the effects these bonds have on organizational outcomes. A sample of 225 participants reported on their supervisor's leadership style (transformational, transactional, or passive-avoidant), their attachment bonds to this supervisor (anxious or avoidant), and four organizational variables (subordinate's satisfaction, identification with the organization, extra effort, and perceived leadership effectiveness). Results, analyzed using a Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach, indicated that (a) transformational leadership was negatively associated with employees' insecure (anxious or avoidant) attachment to their leader; (b) passive/avoidant leadership was positively associated with subordinates' insecure attachment to their leader; (c) transactional leadership was positively associated with employee's anxious attachment but not with their avoidant attachment; (d) avoidant, but not anxious, attachment to the leader was negatively associated with employee satisfaction, perceived leader effectiveness, employee's extra effort, and organizational identification.

Contribution of parents' adult attachment and separation attitudes to parent-adolescent conflict resolution.

PubMed

García-Ruiz, Marta; Rodrigo, María José; Hernández-Cabrera, Juan A; Máiquez, María Luisa

2013-12-01

This study examined the contribution to parent-adolescent conflict resolution of parental adult attachment styles and attitudes toward adolescent separation. Questionnaires were completed by 295 couples with early to late adolescent children. Structural equation models were used to test self and partner influences on conflict resolution for three attachment orientations: confidence (model A), anxiety (model B) and avoidance (model C). Model A showed self influences between parents' confidence orientation and negotiation and also via positive attitudes towards separation. Also, the fathers' use of negotiation was facilitated by the mothers' confidence orientation and vice versa, indicating partner influences as well. Model B showed self influences between parents' anxiety orientation and the use of dominance and withdrawal and also via negative attitudes towards separation. Model C showed self influences between parents' avoidance orientation and dominance and withdrawal, and a partner influence between fathers' avoidance and mothers' use of dominance. The results indicated that the parents' adult attachment system and the parenting system were related in the area of conflict resolution, and that self influences were stronger than partner influences. © 2013 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Attachment styles, relationship satisfaction, and well-being in working women.

PubMed

Towler, Annette J; Stuhlmacher, Alice F

2013-01-01

We propose and test a model connecting women's attachment styles, intimate relationship quality, workplace supervisor relationships, and well-being. The factors that lead to women's successful interaction patterns at home with a partner are suggested to be similar to successful interactions at work and are suggested to be related to well-being. A model was tested with data from 209 working women across various U.S. organizations. Women with an avoidance attachment style tended to have intimate relationships that were low in satisfaction and cohesion as well as low-quality relationships with their supervisors. Women in cohesive intimate relationships were likely to be satisfied with their job, experience low conflict at work, and report few physical symptoms. Women who had quality relationships with their superiors also had low conflict at work and were satisfied with their jobs. Results show important associations among social relationships at home and work related to quality of life.

Communicating Love or Fear: The Role of Attachment Styles in Pathways to Giftedness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wellisch, Mimi

2010-01-01

Although both giftedness and secure attachment are associated with advanced language and good socioemotional adjustment, not all gifted children are well adjusted. This article explores the consequences of attachment style on gifted development and examines whether early trauma can be rectified. The dearth of research on giftedness and attachment…

Childhood sexual and physical abuse and adult vulnerability to PTSD: the mediating effects of attachment and dissociation.

PubMed

Twaite, James A; Rodriguez-Srednicki, Ofelia

2004-01-01

Two hundred and eighty-four adults from the metropolitan New York area reported on their history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), childhood physical abuse (CPA), and on the nature of their exposure to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The respondents also completed the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). Those reporting histories of CSA and/or CPA were found to endorse more serious symptoms of PTSD, as did those who witnessed the terrorist attack live. The presence of secure attachments and dissociative symptoms were related significantly to both CSA and CPA, and to scores on the IES-R. Adult attachment and dissociation were found to mediate the relationship between childhood abuse and severity of PTSD.

Insecure Attachment Styles and Increased Borderline Personality Organization in Substance Use Disorders.

PubMed

Hiebler-Ragger, Michaela; Unterrainer, Human-Friedrich; Rinner, Anita; Kapfhammer, Hans-Peter

Previous research has linked insecure attachment styles and borderline personality organization to substance use disorder (SUD). However, it still remains unclear whether those impairments apply to different kinds of SUDs to the same extent. Therefore, in this study we sought to investigate potential differences regarding attachment deficits and borderline personality organization in two different SUD inpatient groups and furthermore in comparison to healthy controls. A total of 66 (24 female) inpatients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD), 57 (10 female) inpatients diagnosed with polydrug use disorder (PUD), and 114 (51 female) healthy controls completed the Borderline Personality Inventory and the Attachment Style Questionnaire. Compared to healthy controls, AUD and PUD inpatients showed significant deficits in all attachment parameters (p < 0.01) as well as a significantly increased amount of borderline personality organization (p < 0.01). No differences between AUD and PUD inpatients were observed (p > 0.05). Our results indicate that the drug(s) of choice cannot be regarded as an indicator for the extent of attachment deficits or personality pathology. These initial findings are mainly limited by the rather small sample size as well as just a single point of measurement. Future research might also consider further covariates such as comorbidity or psychotropic medication. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

A longitudinal study of maternal attachment and infant developmental outcomes.

PubMed

Alhusen, Jeanne L; Hayat, Matthew J; Gross, Deborah

2013-12-01

Extant research has demonstrated that compared to adults with insecure attachment styles, more securely attached parents tend to be more responsive, sensitive, and involved parents, resulting in improved outcomes for their children. Less studied is the influence of a mother's attachment style on her attachment to her unborn child during pregnancy and the consequent developmental outcomes of the child during early childhood. Thus, the aim of this prospective longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) during pregnancy and infant and toddler outcomes and the role of mothers' attachment style on early childhood developmental outcomes in an economically disadvantaged sample of women and their children. Gamma regression modeling demonstrated that an avoidant maternal attachment style (b = .98, 95 % CI [.97, .98], p < 0.001) and post-partum depressive symptomatology (b = .97, 95 % CI [.96-.99], p = 0.03) were significant predictors of early childhood development. Women demonstrating higher avoidant attachment styles and greater depressive symptomatology were more likely to have children demonstrating early childhood developmental delays than those women with less avoidant attachment styles and less depressive symptomatology. Furthermore, women reporting higher MFA during pregnancy had more secure attachment styles, and their children had more optimal early childhood development than those women reporting lower MFA and less secure attachment styles. Findings have implications for enhancing early intervention programs aimed at improving maternal and childhood outcomes. An earlier identification of disruptions in attachment may be beneficial in tailoring interventions focused on the mother-child dyad.

The Rorschach texture response: a construct validation study using attachment theory.

PubMed

Cassella, Michael J; Viglione, Donald J

2009-11-01

Using attachment theory, in this research, we explored the construct validity of the Rorschach (Exner, 1974) Texture (T) response as a measure of interpersonal closeness and contact. A total of 40 men and 39 women completed the Rorschach and 2 attachment inventories. Their romantic partners also completed an informant version of the attachment measures. Attachment styles were measured by factor scores involving both self-report and partner report. Results indicate that attachment theory, as a broad conceptual framework, is associated with T. Specifically, T = 1 is most closely associated with a secure attachment style, T > 1 with aspects of the preoccupied style, and T = 0 with aspects of the avoidant style and an absence of secure attachment. Needs for closeness and contact associated with T can be couched within an adult attachment theory, but in this study, we did not test for problematic aspects of insecure attachment. Gender is a complicating factor and deserves more study.

Parenting Styles and Attachment in School-Aged Children Who Stutter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lau, Su Re; Beilby, Janet M.; Byrnes, Michelle L.; Hennessey, Neville W.

2012-01-01

Parental input has been described as influential in early childhood stuttering yet the exact nature of this influence remains equivocal. The present study aimed to examine whether quantitative measures of parenting styles, parent and peer attachment patterns, and parent- and self-reported child behaviour could differentiate between school-aged…

Paternal Attachment, Parenting Beliefs and Children's Attachment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Kimberly S.

2010-01-01

Relationships between fathers' romantic attachment style, parenting beliefs and father-child attachment security and dependence were examined in a diverse sample of 72 fathers of young children. Paternal romantic attachment style was coded based on fathers' endorsement of a particular style represented in the Hazan and Shaver Three-Category…

Cosa Nostra and the Camorra: Assessment of personality, alexithymic traits, and attachment styles.

PubMed

Craparo, Giuseppe; David, Vincenzo; Costanzo, Giulia; Gori, Alessio

The Mafia (Cosa Nostra) and the Camorra are criminal organizations deeply rooted in an immoral familyism in which group interests are protected to the detriment of the individual. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of personality disorders, alexithymic traits and specific attachment styles in a sample of members belonging to these two different organized crime groups. We carried out two studies adopting two different perspectives. In the first study, we recruited 20 participants (10 members of Cosa Nostra and 10 members of the Camorra) who were serving time in the Augusta (Sicily) prison for crimes they had committed as members of the two Mafia-type organizations. The age of the Cosa Nostra members ranged from 28 to 62 years (M = 47.40, SD = 10.25); the age of the Camorra members ranged from 45 to 68 (M = 55.30, SD = 7.06). We tested personality profiles, attachment styles, alexithymia, and psychopathy and compared the results between the two groups. In this study while we did not find significant differences between the two groups, we were able to identify some discrepancies in a few of the variables analysed. In the second study, we used the Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO) to analyse the personality organization of 10 of 20 participants (5 members of Cosa Nostra and 5 members of Camorra). Analysing the results at the STIPO we found a significant presence of borderline personality organization in both groups. As regards attachment style, we found that Camorra-members' scores high (75°) on the Discomfort with Closeness (related to Avoidant Attachment Style) and Relationship as Secondary factors of the Attachment Style Questionnaire. The Data collected in our study were not sufficient to identify a specific personality disorder or a specific serious psychological condition in the two groups of participants. Nonetheless, thanks to use of the STIPO we were able to determine that in the sample analysed

Effects of Adult Romantic Attachment and Social Support on Resilience and Depression in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries

PubMed Central

Dodd, Zane; Warren, Ann Marie; Riggs, Shelley; Clark, Mike

2015-01-01

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause psychological consequences that negatively affect quality of life. It is increasingly recognized that factors such as resilience and social support may produce a buffering effect and are associated with improved health outcomes. However the influence of adult attachment style on an individual’s ability to utilize social support after SCI has not been examined. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between adult romantic attachment perceived social support depression and resilience in individuals with SCI. In addition we evaluated potential mediating effects of social support and adult attachment on resilience and depression. Methods: Participants included 106 adults with SCI undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. Individuals completed measures of adult attachment (avoidance and anxiety) social support resilience and depression. Path analysis was performed to assess for presence of mediation effects. Results: When accounting for the smaller sample size support was found for the model (comparative fit index = .927 chi square = 7.86 P = .01 β = -0.25 standard error [SE] = -2.93 P < .05). The mediating effect of social support on the association between attachment avoidance and resilience was the only hypothesized mediating effect found to be significant (β = -0.25 SE = -2.93 P < .05). Conclusion: Results suggest that individuals with SCI with higher levels of attachment avoidance have lower perceived social support which relates to lower perceived resilience. Assessing attachment patterns during inpatient rehabilitation may allow therapists to intervene to provide greater support. PMID:26364285

The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System: integrating attachment into clinical assessment.

PubMed

George, Carol; West, Malcolm

2011-01-01

This article summarizes the development and validation of the Adult Attachment Projective System (AAP), a measure we developed from the Bowlby-Ainsworth developmental tradition to assess adult attachment status. The AAP has demonstrated excellent concurrent validity with the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1984/1985/1996; Main & Goldwyn, 1985-1994; Main, Goldwyn, & Hesse, 2003), interjudge reliability, and test-retest reliability, with no effects of verbal intelligence or social desirability. The AAP coding and classification system and application in clinical and community samples are summarized. Finally, we introduce the 3 other articles that are part of this Special Section and discuss the use of the AAP in therapeutic assessment and treatment.

Examining Relations among Attachment, Religiosity, and New Age Spirituality Using the Adult Attachment Interview

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Granqvist, Pehr; Ivarsson, Tord; Broberg, Anders G.; Hagekull, Berit

2007-01-01

This study was the first to examine relations between attachment and religion-spirituality in adults using a developmentally validated attachment assessment, the Adult Attachment Interview. Security of attachment was expected to be linked to a religiosity-spirituality that is socially based on the parental relationships and reflects extrapolation…

Infant attachment, adult attachment, and maternal sensitivity: revisiting the intergenerational transmission gap.

PubMed

Behrens, Kazuko Y; Haltigan, John D; Bahm, Naomi I Gribneau

2016-08-01

This study investigated the intergenerational transmission of attachment, utilizing the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), and the Maternal Behavioral Q-Set (MBQS). We revisited fundamental questions in attachment theory and research by examining: (1) the level of intergenerational agreement between maternal attachment representations and infant attachment security, and (2) whether maternal sensitivity serves as an intergenerational mediator between adult and infant attachment security. Significant categorical matches between the AAI and the SSP as well as mean differences for MBQS scores between adult attachment secure-insecure groups were found. Consistent with earlier intergenerational research, maternal sensitivity only partially mediated the AAI-SSP link, indicating the transmission gap remains. Consistent with recent mediation studies, using more contemporary analytical techniques, it was confirmed that maternal sensitivity did mediate the direct pathway between AAI security and SSP security. Thus, the transmission gap appears somewhat different depending on the statistical method used to measure mediation. Post hoc analyses considered mothers' childhood experiences of separation/divorce and this helped make sense of intergenerational mismatches.

“Love Hurts”: Romantic Attachment and Depressive Symptoms in Pregnant Adolescent and Young Adult Couples

PubMed Central

Desrosiers, Alethea; Sipsma, Heather; Callands, Tamora; Hansen, Nathan; Divney, Anna; Magriples, Urania; Kershaw, Trace

2014-01-01

Objective The current study investigates the relationship between romantic attachment style and depressive symptoms between both members of pregnant adolescent and young adult couples. Method Participants were 296 pregnant young females (mean age = 18.7) and their male partners (mean age = 21.3; 592 total participants) who were recruited from obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Connecticut. The dimensions of avoidant and anxious romantic attachment were assessed using the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale. Results Results showed that avoidant attachment and anxious attachment were significantly positively related to depressive symptoms. Multilevel modeling for partner effects revealed that anxious attachment and depressive symptoms in partners were significantly positively associated with depressive symptoms Conclusion Findings underscore the importance of considering couples-based approaches to supporting the transition to parenthood and developing the necessary self and relationship skills to manage attachment needs and relationship challenges. PMID:23794358

Depression, patient characteristics, and attachment style: correlates and mediators of medication treatment adherence in a racially diverse primary care sample.

PubMed

Hooper, Lisa M; Tomek, Sara; Roter, Debra; Carson, Kathryn A; Mugoya, George; Cooper, Lisa A

2016-03-01

The depth and breadth of problems related to depressive symptomatology and optimal treatment outcomes, including medication treatment adherence, have long been documented in the literature. Missing are clear explanations as to what factors and patient characteristics may account for lack of medication treatment adherence. The two objectives of the current study were to examine the predictive strength of depression, patient characteristics, and patient attachment style regarding medication treatment adherence and to consider the extent to which attachment styles mediate the relation between depression and medication treatment adherence. Participants in the present study were 237 racially diverse American primary care patients with a diagnosis of hypertension who were participants in a clinical trial. Depression, patient characteristics, attachment style, and medication treatment adherence were assessed. Partly consistent with our four hypotheses, the following results were found: (a) Black American, younger, never married, and poorer patients had lower medication treatment adherence (b) depression was significantly associated with lower self-reported medication adherence; (c) insecure-dismissing attachment style was related to lower medication adherence; and (d) insecure-dismissing attachment style mediates the relation between depression and medication treatment adherence by exacerbating the negative association. Physicians and other primary care providers should consider how depressive symptomatology, patient characteristics, and attachment style may inform the treatment plans they put forward and the extent to which patients may adhere to those treatment plans.

Attachment theory and group processes: the association between attachment style and group-related representations, goals, memories, and functioning.

PubMed

Rom, Eldad; Mikulincer, Mario

2003-06-01

Four studies examined attachment-style differences in group-related cognitions and behaviors. In Studies 1-2, participants completed scales on group-related cognitions and emotions. In Studies 3-4, participants were divided into small groups, and their performance in group tasks as well as the cohesion of their group were assessed. Both attachment anxiety and avoidance in close relationships were associated with negative group-related cognitions and emotions. Anxiety was also related to the pursuit of closeness goals and impaired instrumental performance in group tasks. Avoidance was related to the pursuit of distance goals and deficits in socioemotional and instrumental performance. Group cohesion significantly moderated the effects of attachment anxiety. The discussion emphasizes the relevance of attachment theory within group contexts.

[Stress in Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Relevance of Attachment Style and Structural Integration].

PubMed

Bugaj, Till Johannes; Müksch, Christine; Ehrenthal, Johannes C; Köhl-Hackert, Nadja; Schauenburg, Henning; Huber, Julia; Schmid, Carolin; Erschens, Rebecca; Junne, Florian; Herzog, Wolfgang; Nikendei, Christoph

2016-02-01

From year one of studying medicine an increase of psychological stress is found. The relationship between the occurrence of this stress and attachment patterns or structural personality functions remains unclear. The present study aimed at investigating whether a relationship between the enduring personality variables, attachment style and level of structural integration of the personality, and acute stress experience at the beginning of medical students' studies exists. In this study, all students in the first semester of medicine were invited to participate in a study to identify stress factors via questionnaire (MBI-SS, PSQ, PHQ-9, GAD-7) in the WS 2013/2014. Simultaneously, the predominant attachment style (RQ-2) and structural abilities (OPD-SFK) were evaluated. The study included 293 students (return: 91.3%). Securely attached students experienced significantly less stress than insecurely attached students (p=0.019). Students with a high level of structural integration showed significantly less stress burden (p<0.001) and lower exhaustion- (p<0.001) and cynicism values (p<0.001), while showing a higher experience of self-efficacy (p<0.001). The influence of attachment behavior on stress experience is mediated by the level of the structural integration of the personality. Significant correlations exist between attachment style and the level of structural integration of the personality, and burnout risk as well as stress burden. The level of structural integration of the personality mediates the relationship between the attachment-related "model of self" and stress experience, i. e. a positive "model of self" can have a stress-protective effect when good structural abilities are present. Practical implication: An insecure attachment style and a low level of structural integration may be associated with higher stress experience when transitioning to study. The results suggest that the enduring personality variable attachment style, mediated by the level of

Self-reports of faulty parental attachments in childhood and criminal psychopathy in an adult-incarcerated population: an integrative literature review.

PubMed

Bailey, C; Shelton, D

2014-05-01

This study examined self-reports of psychopathic offenders' childhood interactions with their parents to better understand what variables influence adult criminal psychopathy. The findings showed that childhood separations, physical abuse and indifferent parenting styles were more prominent in self-reports of incarcerated male psychopaths than with incarcerated males who were not psychopathic. To better understand the worldview of the criminal psychopath, and the trajectory of psychopathy, there is a need for more studies that examine childhood interactions with parental figures as reported by the adult criminal psychopath. Despite the high percentage of incarcerated psychopaths, few studies attempt to assess the past parent-child bonds of these individuals by asking them to report childhood attachments with their parents. Currently, there is limited data regarding common variables that contribute to a break in parent-child attachment and later adult criminal psychopathy. The data that presently exist concentrate on juvenile or community samples and do not explore the attachment variables that continue into adult criminal psychopathy. This paper presents the current literature regarding self-reports of childhood attachment to parents as indicated by male-incarcerated adult psychopaths compared with self-reports of childhood attachment to parents as indicated by male-incarcerated adult non-psychopaths. Variables that influence a break in attachment between the offenders and their parents and suggestions for future clinical research are provided. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Attachment Styles and Aggression in Physically Abused and Neglected Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finzi, Ricky; Ram, Anca; Har-Even, Dov; Shnit, Dan; Weizman, Abraham

2001-01-01

Compared physically abused (n=41) and neglected (n=38) children with nonabused, nonneglected children (n=35) aged 6 to 12 years in terms of their attachment styles and their levels of aggression. Findings show that physically abused children are at risk of antisocial behavior and suspicion toward others, and neglected children are at risk of…

Do doctors' attachment styles and emotional intelligence influence patients' emotional expressions in primary care consultations? An exploratory study using multilevel analysis.

PubMed

Cherry, M Gemma; Fletcher, Ian; Berridge, Damon; O'Sullivan, Helen

2018-04-01

To investigate whether and how doctors' attachment styles and emotional intelligence (EI) might influence patients' emotional expressions in general practice consultations. Video recordings of 26 junior doctors consulting with 173 patients were coded using the Verona Coding Definition of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES). Doctors' attachment style was scored across two dimensions, avoidance and anxiety, using the Experiences in Close Relationships: Short Form questionnaire. EI was assessed with the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test. Multilevel Poisson regressions modelled the probability of patients' expressing emotional distress, considering doctors' attachment styles and EI and demographic and contextual factors. Both attachment styles and EI were significantly associated with frequency of patients' cues, with patient- and doctor-level explanatory variables accounting for 42% of the variance in patients' cues. The relative contribution of attachment styles and EI varied depending on whether patients' presenting complaints were physical or psychosocial in nature. Doctors' attachment styles and levels of EI are associated with patients' emotional expressions in primary care consultations. Further research is needed to investigate how these two variables interact and influence provider responses and patient outcomes. Understanding how doctors' psychological characteristics influence PPC may help to optimise undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adolescent survivors of childhood sexual abuse: the mediating role of attachment style and coping in psychological and interpersonal functioning.

PubMed

Shapiro, D L; Levendosky, A A

1999-11-01

To examine attachment style and coping strategies as potential mediating variables between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and psychological and interpersonal functioning in an attempt to explain variability in extent of disorder and level of functioning. Eighty adolescent females, aged 14-16 years, answered questions regarding abuse history, attachment style, coping with an interpersonal stressor, depression and trauma symptomatology, and conflict with a best friend. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that attachment style mediates the effects of CSA and child abuse and neglect on coping and psychological distress. The indirect effects of CSA and other abuse through attachment accounted for most of the effects on coping and psychological distress. Avoidant and cognitive coping strategies also served as mediators in the models, accounting for most of the effects of the other variables on interpersonal conflict. The findings indicate that attachment style and coping strategies influence psychological and interpersonal functioning, mediating the direct effects of CSA and other types of child abuse and neglect. These results have implications for therapeutic intervention with children and adolescents who have experienced child abuse.

Attachment style and emotional eating in bariatric surgery candidates: The mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation.

PubMed

Taube-Schiff, Marlene; Van Exan, Jessica; Tanaka, Rika; Wnuk, Susan; Hawa, Raed; Sockalingam, Sanjeev

2015-08-01

Difficulties with emotion regulation is a hypothesized mechanism through which attachment insecurity may affect emotional eating. No studies have yet investigated this effect in the bariatric population. Because many obese individuals engage in emotional eating, difficulty regulating emotion may be an important underlying mechanism through which attachment insecurity is linked to emotional eating in bariatric surgery candidates. In this cross-sectional study, 1393 adult bariatric surgery candidates from the Toronto Western Hospital were recruited to complete the Emotional Eating Scale (EES), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD7), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), and the Experiences for Close Relationships 16-item Scale (ECR-16) in order to explore the mediating role of emotion regulation on the relationship between attachment insecurity and emotional eating. Path analysis within a structural equation modeling framework examined direct and indirect effects of attachment insecurity on emotional eating. The indices of this overall model indicated that the specified set of direct and indirect pathways and corresponding correlations were a good fit with the data (RMSEA<.06, CFI=1.00; SRMR<.08). Moreover, tests of all of the possible indirect pathways between attachment style and emotional eating were significant. Findings suggest that difficulties in emotion regulation may be an important mechanism to consider when examining the association between attachment insecurity and emotional eating in adult bariatric surgery candidates. Although causality cannot be concluded, these results shed light on the important role that emotion regulation may have in predicting problematic eating in bariatric patients. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Attachment Styles and Suicide-Related Behaviors in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Self-Criticism and Dependency

PubMed Central

Falgares, Giorgio; Marchetti, Daniela; De Santis, Sandro; Carrozzino, Danilo; Kopala-Sibley, Daniel C.; Fulcheri, Mario; Verrocchio, Maria Cristina

2017-01-01

Insecure attachment and the personality dimensions of self-criticism and dependency have been proposed as risk factors for suicide in adolescents. The present study examines whether self-criticism and dependency mediate the relationship between insecure attachment styles and suicidality. A sample of 340 high-school students (73.2% females), ranging in age from 13 to 20 years (M = 16.47, SD = 1.52), completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for Adolescents, the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for Adolescents, the Attachment Style Questionnaire, and the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. The results partially support the expected mediation effects. Self-criticism, but not dependency, mediates the link between insecure attachment (anxiety and avoidance) and suicide-related behaviors. Implications for suicide risk assessment and management are discussed. PMID:28344562

An Examination of Attachment Styles and Social Skills of University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dereli, Esra; Karakus, Ozlem

2011-01-01

Introduction: Attachment organization across the lifespan and across generations, long-term predictions from attachment organization to later psychosocial functioning, and the possibility of altering attachment organization with intervention suggest that attachment theory may potentially shed valuable light on adult social development and deviant…

Using attachment theory in mentoring.

PubMed

Miles, Kerri

Attachment theory is a useful way to understand the bond between children and the people with whom they have emotional ties--usually caregivers. The theory can also help us to understand any adult relationship that provides closeness and a sense of attachment, especially in times of stress or need. Understanding the nature, cause and effect of the role and function of attachment from a training and development perspective, and different styles of attachment, may improve the quality of the mentoring experience for both mentors and mentees.

Strengths and Difficulties as Correlates of Attachment Style in Institutionalized and Non-Institutionalized Children with Below-Average Intellectual Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muris, Peter; Maas, Anneke

2004-01-01

The current study examined attachment style, strengths, and difficulties in institutionalized and non-institutionalized children with below-average intellectual abilities. Parents/caregivers and teachers of the children completed a brief measure of attachment style and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, which assesses the most important…

Attachment styles and sexual dysfunctions: a case-control study of female and male sexuality.

PubMed

Ciocca, G; Limoncin, E; Di Tommaso, S; Mollaioli, D; Gravina, G L; Marcozzi, A; Tullii, A; Carosa, E; Di Sante, S; Gianfrilli, D; Lenzi, A; Jannini, E A

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate attachment styles in a group of women and men with sexual dysfunction. We recruited 44 subjects (21 women and 23 men) with sexual dysfunction and 41 subjects (21 women and 20 men) with healthy sexual function as the control group. Validated instruments for the evaluation of male and female sexual dysfunctions (M/F SD) and a psychometric tool specifically designed to investigate attachment style were administered. In women, significant differences were found between subjects with sexual dysfunction and healthy controls. The scales indicating an insecure attachment showed: discomfort with closeness (FSD = 42.85 ± 11.55 vs CTRL = 37.38 ± 8.54; P < 0.01), relationship as secondary (FSD = 26.76 ± 2.60 vs CTRL = 18.42 ± 7.99; P < 0.01), and need for approval (FSD=26.38 ± 3.61 vs CTRL = 20.76 ± 7.36; P < 0.01). Healthy women also had significantly higher scores in secure attachment (confidence: FSD = 24.57 ± 3.89 vs CTRL = 33.42 ± 5.74; P < 0.01). Men with sexual dysfunctions differed from healthy men in confidence (MSD = 30 ± 6.33 vs CTRL = 36.05 ± 5.26; P < 0.01) and in discomfort with closeness (MSD = 39.08 ± 8 vs CTRL = 34.25 ± 7.54; P < 0.05). These results suggest that particular aspects related to insecure attachment have a determinant role in people with sexual dysfunctions. It is therefore fundamental to identify the attachment styles and relational patterns in patients receiving counselling and psychological treatments focussed on sexual problems.

Attachment Security Balances Perspectives: Effects of Security Priming on Highly Optimistic and Pessimistic Explanatory Styles.

PubMed

Deng, Yanhe; Yan, Mengge; Chen, Henry; Sun, Xin; Zhang, Peng; Zeng, Xianglong; Liu, Xiangping; Lye, Yue

2016-01-01

Highly optimistic explanatory style (HOES) and highly pessimistic explanatory style (HPES) are two maladaptive ways to explain the world and may have roots in attachment insecurity. The current study aims to explore the effects of security priming - activating supportive representations of attachment security - on ameliorating these maladaptive explanatory styles. 57 participants with HOES and 57 participants with HPES were randomized into security priming and control conditions. Their scores of overall optimistic attribution were measured before and after priming. Security priming had a moderating effect: the security primed HOES group exhibited lower optimistic attribution, while the security primed HPES group evinced higher scores of optimistic attribution. Furthermore, the security primed HOES group attributed positive outcomes more externally, while the security primed HPES group attributed successful results more internally. The results support the application of security priming interventions on maladaptive explanatory styles. Its potential mechanism and directions for future study are also discussed.

Attachment style, relationship quality, and psychological distress in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures versus epilepsy.

PubMed

Green, Becky; Norman, Paul; Reuber, Markus

2017-01-01

Psychopathology levels are elevated in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and those with epilepsy. However, patients with PNES report higher rates of trauma and neglect, poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and an increased prevalence of insecure attachment. We examined to what extent attachment style and relationship quality with their main informal carer impact on levels of HRQoL, depression, and anxiety in patients with PNES versus those with epilepsy. Consecutive patients with PNES (N=23) and epilepsy (N=72) completed questionnaires about attachment style, quality of their relationship with their main informal carer, seizure severity, HRQoL, depression, and anxiety. Patients with PNES reported higher levels of anxiety and depression and lower HRQoL than those with epilepsy. PNES: No significant correlations were found with HRQoL but depression correlated positively with attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and relationship conflict. Anxiety correlated positively with attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and relationship conflict, and negatively with relationship depth and support. Epilepsy: HRQoL correlated negatively with seizure severity, depression, anxiety, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety. Depression correlated positively with attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and relationship conflict. Anxiety correlated positively with seizure severity, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety. Correlations between measures of relationship quality and anxiety were stronger in patients with PNES versus those with epilepsy (zs=2.66 to 2.97, ps<0.004). Attachment style and relationship quality explained larger amounts of variance in depression (45%) and anxiety (60%) in the patients with PNES than those with epilepsy (16% and 13%). Levels of anxiety and depression were higher in patients with PNES than those with epilepsy. Interpersonal problems were much more closely associated with anxiety and depression in

Self-Efficacy, Attachment Style and Service Delivery of Elementary School Counseling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ernst, Kimberly; Bardhoshi, Gerta; Lanthier, Richard P.

2017-01-01

This study explored the relationships between demographic variables, self-efficacy and attachment style with a range of performed and preferred school counseling activities in a national sample of elementary school counselors (N = 515). Demographic variables, such as school counselor experience and American School Counselor Association (ASCA)…

Suicidality, Problem-Solving Skills, Attachment Style, and Hopelessness in Turkish Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zeyrek, Emek Yuce; Gencoz, Faruk; Bergman, Yoav; Lester, David

2009-01-01

Among 180 Turkish university students, the probability of suicide was strongly predicted by both hopelessness and deficiencies in problem solving. In addition, for women, unhealthy attachment styles (preoccupied and dismissing) also predicted suicidality. The clinical implications of these findings are that psychotherapists should focus on helping…

Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Parenting Styles.

PubMed

Karbalaei Sabagh, Ali; Khademi, Mojgan; Noorbakhsh, Simasadat; Razjooyan, Katayoon; Arabgol, Fariba

2016-03-01

The aim of the present study was to compare the parenting styles in parents with and without adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who had children with ADHD. It was a case-control study with convenience sampling strategy. Participants were recruited from the parents of previously diagnosed children with ADHD referred to Imam Hossein Hospital, Tehran/ Iran. Ninety parents with adult ADHD and 120 normal parents were chosen by Conner's Adult ADHD Screening Scale (CAARS) and psychiatrist interview. Using Baumrind Parenting Styles Questionnaire and Arnold Parenting Scale, parenting styles were assessed in both the groups. Results from independent samples t-test indicated that Authoritarian parenting style (F = 0.576, p 0.022) and Over reacting style (F = 7.976, p 0.045) were significantly higher in cases. On the other hand, controls were using Permissive style (F = 0.131, p 0.044) more than cases. The results are consistent with prior studies; these findings can improve the content of parent training for children with ADHD, who have adult ADHD themselves.

Affective touch and attachment style modulate pain: a laser-evoked potentials study

PubMed Central

Drabek, Marianne M.; Paloyelis, Yannis; Fotopoulou, Aikaterini

2016-01-01

Affective touch and cutaneous pain are two sub-modalities of interoception with contrasting affective qualities (pleasantness/unpleasantness) and social meanings (care/harm), yet their direct relationship has not been investigated. In 50 women, taking into account individual attachment styles, we assessed the role of affective touch and particularly the contribution of the C tactile (CT) system in subjective and electrophysiological responses to noxious skin stimulation, namely N1 and N2-P2 laser-evoked potentials. When pleasant, slow (versus fast) velocity touch was administered to the (non-CT-containing) palm of the hand, higher attachment anxiety predicted increased subjective pain ratings, in the same direction as changes in N2 amplitude. By contrast, when pleasant touch was administered to CT-containing skin of the arm, higher attachment anxiety predicted attenuated N1 and N2 amplitudes. Higher attachment avoidance predicted opposite results. Thus, CT-based affective touch can modulate pain in early and late processing stages (N1 and N2 components), with the direction of effects depending on attachment style. Affective touch not involving the CT system seems to affect predominately the conscious perception of pain, possibly reflecting socio-cognitive factors further up the neurocognitive hierarchy. Affective touch may thus convey information about available social resources and gate pain responses depending on individual expectations of social support. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Interoception beyond homeostasis: affect, cognition and mental health’. PMID:28080967

Peer Attachment, Perceived Parenting Style, Self-concept, and School Adjustments in Adolescents with Chronic Illness.

PubMed

Ahn, Jeong-Ah; Lee, Sunhee

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to identify how peer attachment and parenting style differentially affect self-concept and school adjustment in adolescents with and without chronic illness. A cross-sectional study using multiple group analysis on the Korean panel data was used. A nationwide stratified multistage cluster sampling method was used and the survey was conducted in 2013 on 2,092 first-year middle school students in Korea. We used standardized instruments by the National Youth Policy Institute to measure peer attachment, parenting style, self-concept, and school adjustment. Multiple-group structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the difference of relations for peer attachment, parenting style, self-concept, and school adjustment variable between adolescents with chronic illness and those without chronic illness. The model fit of a multiple-group structural equation modeling was good. The difference of the path from negative parenting style to self-concept between the two groups was significant, and a significant between-group difference in the overall path was found. This indicated that self-concept in adolescents with chronic illness was more negatively affected by negative parenting style than in adolescents without chronic illness. Healthcare providers can promote the process of school adjustment in several ways, such as discussing this issue directly with adolescent patients, along with their parents and peers, examining how the organization and content of the treatment can be modified according to the adolescents' school life. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Separation from parents during childhood trauma predicts adult attachment security and post-traumatic stress disorder.

PubMed

Bryant, R A; Creamer, M; O'Donnell, M; Forbes, D; Felmingham, K L; Silove, D; Malhi, G; van Hoof, M; McFarlane, A C; Nickerson, A

2017-08-01

Prolonged separation from parental support is a risk factor for psychopathology. This study assessed the impact of brief separation from parents during childhood trauma on adult attachment tendencies and post-traumatic stress. Children (n = 806) exposed to a major Australian bushfire disaster in 1983 and matched controls (n = 725) were assessed in the aftermath of the fires (mean age 7-8 years) via parent reports of trauma exposure and separation from parents during the fires. Participants (n = 500) were subsequently assessed 28 years after initial assessment on the Experiences in Close Relationships scale to assess attachment security, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was assessed using the PTSD checklist. Being separated from parents was significantly related to having an avoidant attachment style as an adult (B = -3.69, s.e. = 1.48, β = -0.23, p = 0.013). Avoidant attachment was associated with re-experiencing (B = 0.03, s.e. = 0.01, β = 0.31, p = 0.045), avoidance (B = 0.03, s.e. = 0.01, β = 0.30, p = 0.001) and numbing (B = 0.03, s.e. = 0.01, β = 0.30, p < 0.001) symptoms. Anxious attachment was associated with re-experiencing (B = 0.03, s.e. = 0.01, β = 0.18, p = 0.001), numbing (B = 0.03, β = 0.30, s.e. = 0.01, p < 0.001) and arousal (B = 0.04, s.e. = 0.01, β = 0.43, p < 0.001) symptoms. These findings demonstrate that brief separation from attachments during childhood trauma can have long-lasting effects on one's attachment security, and that this can be associated with adult post-traumatic psychopathology.

Architectural style and green spaces predict older adults' evaluations of residential facilities.

PubMed

Cerina, Veronica; Fornara, Ferdinando; Manca, Sara

2017-09-01

The purpose of this study was to analyse the effects of residential facilities' design features on older adults' psychosocial responses. Participants ( N  = 192) were over 65-year-old residents who were randomly exposed to different experimental scenarios concerning a hypothetical residential facility for older adults, using a 3 × 2 between-subjects design (i.e. home-like vs. hotel-like vs. usual-standard architectural style; presence vs. absence of green spaces). After the experimental session, participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire that measured their attitudes towards short- and long-term relocation, anticipated residential satisfaction with the facility, and feelings of broken home attachment. The results showed (1) more positive responses to "home-like" and "hotel-like" architectural styles than the usual-standard type and (2) the positive impact of green spaces on the assessment of the facilities. These design features should thus play a role in both reducing the stressful impact of leaving home and promoting beneficial patterns, hence fostering "successful ageing".

Correlates of appearance and weight satisfaction in a U.S. National Sample: Personality, attachment style, television viewing, self-esteem, and life satisfaction.

PubMed

Frederick, David A; Sandhu, Gaganjyot; Morse, Patrick J; Swami, Viren

2016-06-01

We examined the prevalence and correlates of satisfaction with appearance and weight. Participants (N=12,176) completed an online survey posted on the NBCNews.com and Today.com websites. Few men and women were very to extremely dissatisfied with their physical appearances (6%; 9%), but feeling very to extremely dissatisfied with weight was more common (15%; 20%). Only about one-fourth of men and women felt very to extremely satisfied with their appearances (28%; 26%) and weights (24%; 20%). Men and women with higher body masses reported higher appearance and weight dissatisfaction. Dissatisfied people had higher Neuroticism, more preoccupied and fearful attachment styles, and spent more hours watching television. In contrast, satisfied people had higher Openness, Conscientious, and Extraversion, were more secure in attachment style, and had higher self-esteem and life satisfaction. These findings highlight the high prevalence of body dissatisfaction and the factors linked to dissatisfaction among U.S. adults. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parenting, Marital Conflict and Adjustment from Early- To Mid-Adolescence: Mediated by Adolescent Attachment Style?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doyle, Anna Beth; Markiewicz, Dorothy

2005-01-01

Contributions of 3 dimensions of parenting (psychological control, warmth, and behavioural control), marital conflict, and attachment style (anxiety and avoidance) to adjustment from early to middle adolescence were assessed. Mediation of marital conflict effects by parenting, and of parenting effects by attachment were examined. Adolescents (n =…

[Value of the concept of attachment in somatic medicine].

PubMed

Attale, Catherine; M Consoli, Silla

2005-01-15

Since the nineteen nineties, the theory of attachment, initially developed in paedopsychiatry, has increasingly been applied to somatic medicine. The main fields explored have been the links between the individual's attachment style, response to stress and attitude towards health: seeking help from professionals, using health care systems and compliance to treatment. A so-called 'secure" attachment corresponds to an inner resource related to more constructive response to stressful events; an"insecure" attachment (including three categories: preoccupied,detached and fearful) can be considered a risk factor leading to less efficient adaptation to stress or "coping" with it. Attachment styles appear to influence attitudes towards health. Adults with secure attachment have positive expectations with regard to the help that care workers will provide and to the trust they can have in them. Detached-type insecure patients tend to minimize their signs of distress and do not necessarily seek help. Preoccupied-type insecure adults tend to maximize distress signals and excessively appeal to the medical corps. Fearful-type insecure patients only seek help in situations of great distress and rarely have faith in the health professionals.

OBSERVING THE INFLUENCE OF MINDFULNESS AND ATTACHMENT STYLES THROUGH MOTHER AND INFANT INTERACTION: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY.

PubMed

Pickard, Judy A; Townsend, Michelle; Caputi, Peter; Grenyer, Brin F S

2017-05-01

The cross-generational influence of attachment security or insecurity on caregiving is well-established. Recently, research has focused on mindfulness as a potential variable to interrupt the transmission of insecure attachment and disrupt its effect across generations. Thirty-six pregnant female participants completed the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire and Relationship Questionnaire-Clinical Version at 30 weeks' gestation. Following the infant's birth, mothers and their babies participated in a video-recorded feeding session at 7 to 10 weeks' postpartum. It was predicted that a secure attachment style and higher levels of mindfulness measured prenatally would be associated with greater maternal responsiveness postpartum. The hypothesis was supported for both the secure and insecure (fearful and profoundly distrustful) attachment styles. Mindfulness did not mediate the relationship between attachment and maternal distress. The mindfulness subscale Non-Reacting was significantly associated with maternal response to distress. These findings support the role of prenatal mindfulness skills and attachment security for later postnatal maternal sensitivity to baby. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Psychoticism, Immature Defense Mechanisms and a Fearful Attachment Style are Associated with a Higher Homophobic Attitude.

PubMed

Ciocca, Giacomo; Tuziak, Bogdan; Limoncin, Erika; Mollaioli, Daniele; Capuano, Nicolina; Martini, Alessia; Carosa, Eleonora; Fisher, Alessandra D; Maggi, Mario; Niolu, Cinzia; Siracusano, Alberto; Lenzi, Andrea; Jannini, Emmanuele A

2015-09-01

Homophobic behavior and a negative attitude toward homosexuals are prevalent among the population. Despite this, few researches have investigated the psychologic aspects associated with homophobia, as psychopathologic symptoms, the defensive system, and attachment styles. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychologic factors mentioned earlier and their correlation with homophobia. Five hundred fifty-one university students recruited, aged 18-30, were asked to complete several psychometric evaluation. In particular, Homophobia Scale (HS) was used to assess homophobia levels, the Symptoms Check List Revised (SCL-90-R) for the identification of psychopathologic symptoms, the Defence Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) for the evaluation of defense mechanisms and the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) for attachment styles. After a regression analysis, we found a significant predictive value of psychoticism (β = 0.142; P = 0.04) and of immature defense mechanisms (β = 0.257; P < 0.0001) for homophobia, while neurotic defense mechanisms (β = -0.123; P = 0.02) and depressive symptoms (β = -0.152; P = 0.04) have an opposite role. Moreover, categorical constructs of the RQ revealed a significant difference between secure and fearful attachments styles in levels of homophobia (secure = 22.09 ± 17.22 vs. fearful = 31.07 ± 25.09; P < 0.05). Finally, a gender difference to HS scores and a significant influence of male sex was found (β = 0.213; P < 0.0001). We demonstrated the involvement of psychoticism and immature defense mechanisms in homophobic attitudes, while a contrasting role is played by neurotic defense mechanisms and depressive symptoms. Moreover, secure attachment is an indicator of low levels of homophobia compared with the subjects demonstrating a fearful style of attachment. Hence, in the assessment of homophobia and in the relevant programs of prevention, it is necessary to consider the

The role of sexual expectancies of substance use as a mediator between adult attachment and drug use among gay and bisexual men.

PubMed

Starks, Tyrel J; Millar, Brett M; Tuck, Andrew N; Wells, Brooke E

2015-08-01

Research exploring substance use in gay and bisexual men has increasingly paid attention to interpersonal dynamics and relational concerns associated with the use of substances. The current study explored the role of adult attachment style on drug use as well as the potential mediating role of sexual expectancies of substance use among gay and bisexual men. Online survey data were gathered from 122 gay and bisexual men across the U.S., with a mean age of 33 years. All participants were HIV-negative and identified their relationship status as single. Survey measures included attachment style, sexual expectancies of substance use, and recent drug use. While neither anxious or avoidant attachment were directly associated with the odds of recent drug use, they were positively associated with sexual expectancies of substance use (β=0.27, p<0.01, and β=0.21, p<0.05) which, in turn, were positively associated with the odds of drug use (expB=1.09, p<0.01). Bootstrapping tests of indirect effects revealed a significant indirect relationship between anxious attachment and drug use through sexual expectancies of substance use (β=0.11, p<0.05), but not for avoidant attachment. This study highlights the importance of interpersonal expectancies as motivators for drug use among gay and bisexual men. Sexual expectancies of substance use were associated with drug use and anxious adult attachment was associated indirectly with drug use through these sexual expectancies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of sexual expectancies of substance use as a mediator between adult attachment and drug use among gay and bisexual men

PubMed Central

Starks, Tyrel J.; Millar, Brett M.; Tuck, Andrew N.; Wells, Brooke E.

2015-01-01

Background Research exploring substance use in gay and bisexual men has increasingly paid attention to interpersonal dynamics and relational concerns associated with the use of substances. The current study explored the role of adult attachment style on drug use as well as the potential mediating role of sexual expectancies of substance use among gay and bisexual men. Methods Online survey data were gathered from 122 gay and bisexual men across the U.S., with a mean age of 33 years of age. All participants were HIV-negative and identified their relationship status as single. Survey measures included attachment style, sexual expectancies of substance use, and recent drug use. Results While neither anxious or avoidant attachment were directly associated with the odds of recent drug use, they were positively associated with sexual expectancies of substance use (β = .27, p < .01, and β = .21, p < .05) which, in turn, were positively associated with the odds of drug use (expB = 1.09, p < .01). Bootstrapping tests of indirect effects revealed a significant indirect relationship between anxious attachment and drug use through sexual expectancies of substance use (β = .11, p < .05), but not for avoidant attachment. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of interpersonal expectancies as motivators for drug use among gay and bisexual men. Sexual expectancies of substance use were associated with drug use and anxious adult attachment was associated indirectly with drug use through these sexual expectancies. PMID:26051159

Parenting styles and attachment in school-aged children who stutter.

PubMed

Lau, Su Re; Beilby, Janet M; Byrnes, Michelle L; Hennessey, Neville W

2012-01-01

Parental input has been described as influential in early childhood stuttering yet the exact nature of this influence remains equivocal. The present study aimed to examine whether quantitative measures of parenting styles, parent and peer attachment patterns, and parent- and self-reported child behaviour could differentiate between school-aged children who stutter (CWS) (n=10) and their fluent peers (n=10). In addition, qualitative individual semi-structured interviews with all CWS were conducted to gain insight into their life experiences and reflections in relation to stuttering. The interviews were classified into ancillary themes of school, peers and parents. Quantitative findings revealed that CWS perceived their parents with significantly lower attachment, particularly in relation to trust, and parents of CWS perceived their children with significantly higher maladjustments than fluent counterparts. Qualitative themes emerged pertaining to attitudes, perceptions and relationships with teachers, peers and parents, with consistent experiences of teasing and bullying reported as a consequence of the stutter. The majority of participants recounted frustration with the nature in which their parents attempted to remediate their stuttering. Collectively, these findings highlight imperative management considerations for school-aged CWS and their parents. The usefulness of quantitative and qualitative research paradigms is also emphasised. The reader will be able to: (1) identify themes associated with the impact a childhood stutter has on parent and peer relationships; (2) identify how the quality of the parent child relationship is influenced by parenting styles and attachment; and (3) discuss the clinical implications of the results for children who stutter and their families. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attachment typologies and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety: a latent profile analysis approach

PubMed Central

Armour, Cherie; Elklit, Ask; Shevlin, Mark

2011-01-01

Background Bartholomew (1990) proposed a four category adult attachment model based on Bowlby's (1973) proposal that attachment is underpinned by an individual's view of the self and others. Previous cluster analytic techniques have identified four and two attachment styles based on the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS). In addition, attachment styles have been proposed to meditate the association between stressful life events and subsequent psychiatric status. Objective The current study aimed to empirically test the attachment typology proposed by Collins and Read (1990). Specifically, LPA was used to determine if the proposed four styles can be derived from scores on the dimensions of closeness/dependency and anxiety. In addition, we aimed to test if the resultant attachment styles predicted the severity of psychopathology in response to a whiplash trauma. Method A large sample of Danish trauma victims (N=1577) participated. A Latent Profile Analysis was conducted, using Mplus 5.1, on scores from the RAAS scale to ascertain if there were underlying homogeneous attachment classes/subgroups. Class membership was used in a series of one-way ANOVA tests to determine if classes were significantly different in terms of mean scores on measures of psychopathology. Results The three class solution was considered optimal. Class one was termed Fearful (18.6%), Class two Preoccupied (34.5%), and Class three Secure (46.9%). The secure class evidenced significantly lower mean scores on PTSD, depression, and anxiety measures compared to other classes, whereas the fearful class evidenced significantly higher mean scores compared to other classes. Conclusions The results demonstrated evidence of three discrete classes of attachment styles, which were labelled secure, preoccupied, and fearful. This is in contrast to previous cluster analytic techniques which have identified four and two attachment styles based on the RAAS.In addition, Securely attached individuals display

Intergenerational Transmission of Internalizing Behavior: The Role of Maternal Psychopathology, Child Responsiveness and Maternal Attachment Style Insecurity.

PubMed

Reck, Corinna; Nonnenmacher, Nora; Zietlow, Anna-Lena

Maternal depression and anxiety disorders are risk factors for the development of internalizing disorders in offspring. Maternal attachment has been discussed as one factor accounting for transmission. The aim of this study was to investigate child internalizing behavior at preschool age on a symptomatic and behavioral level and possible links to maternal mental health over time and maternal attachment style insecurity in a sample of postpartum depressed and anxious mothers. Child internalizing behavior at preschool age was rated by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF), and during a mother-child free-play situation. We focused on child responsiveness as it has been linked to child internalizing behavior. Maternal attachment style insecurity was tested to mediate the link between maternal mental health (assessed postpartum and at preschool age with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis-I Disorders, SCID-I) and child internalizing behavior/child responsiveness. Of the overall sample (n = 58), 28 women were diagnosed with postpartum depression and/or anxiety disorders according to DSM-IV, and 30 were healthy controls. Data were collected 3-9 months after delivery and at preschool age (mean = 4.6 years). At preschool age, children of postpartum depressed and anxious mothers were rated significantly higher on child internalizing behavior by mothers, fathers, and additional caregivers compared to the control group. Child internalizing behavior rated by mothers was influenced by current psychiatric symptoms; maternal attachment style insecurity did not mediate this link. During interaction, children in the clinical group displayed significantly less child responsiveness compared to the control group. Maternal attachment style insecurity mediated the relationship between maternal mental health over time and child responsiveness. The results emphasize the need for interventions focusing on mother-child interaction and

Secure attachment and eudaimonic well-being in late adulthood: The mediating role of self-compassion.

PubMed

Homan, Kristin J

2018-03-01

Attachment style refers to a systematic pattern of emotions, behaviors, and expectations that people have for how others will respond in relationships. Extensive evidence has documented the importance of attachment security in infants, children, adolescents, and adults, but the effects of attachment among exclusively older adult populations have received less attention. The present study explored the relationships between attachment style in late adulthood and eudaimonic well-being, which refers to a life replete with meaning, productive activity, and striving to reach one's potential. It also explored the mediating role of self-compassion, which can be described as a kind and forgiving attitude toward the self. A sample of 126 community-dwelling older adults (mean age = 70.40 years) completed measures tapping adult attachment, self-compassion, and six theoretically derived markers of eudaimonic well-being. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were inversely related to self-acceptance, personal growth, interpersonal relationship quality, purpose in life, and environmental mastery. Mediation analyses showed that self-compassion mediated each of these relationships. Results support the importance of attachment orientation for psychological well-being in late life and indicate that secure attachment facilitates an attitude of kindness and acceptance toward the self.

An Investigation into the Roles of Theory of Mind, Emotion Regulation, and Attachment Styles in Predicting the Traits of Borderline Personality Disorder

PubMed Central

Ghiasi, Hamed; Mohammadi, Abolalfazl; Zarrinfar, Pouria

2016-01-01

Objective: Borderline personality disorder is one of the most complex and prevalent personality disorders. Many variables have so far been studied in relation to this disorder. This study aimed to investigate the role of emotion regulation, attachment styles, and theory of mind in predicting the traits of borderline personality disorder. Method: In this study, 85 patients with borderline personality disorder were selected using convenience sampling method. To measure the desired variables, the questionnaires of Gross emotion regulation, Collins and Read attachment styles, and Baron Cohen's Reading Mind from Eyes Test were applied. The data were analyzed using multivariate stepwise regression technique. Results: Emotion regulation, attachment styles, and theory of mind predicted 41.2% of the variance criterion altogether; among which, the shares of emotion regulation, attachment styles and theory of mind to the distribution of the traits of borderline personality disorder were 27.5%, 9.8%, and 3.9%, respectively.‎‎ Conclusion: The results of the study revealed that emotion regulation, attachment styles, and theory of mind are important variables in predicting the traits of borderline personality disorder and that these variables can be well applied for both the treatment and identification of this disorder. PMID:28050180

An Investigation into the Roles of Theory of Mind, Emotion Regulation, and Attachment Styles in Predicting the Traits of Borderline Personality Disorder.

PubMed

Ghiasi, Hamed; Mohammadi, Abolalfazl; Zarrinfar, Pouria

2016-10-01

Objective: Borderline personality disorder is one of the most complex and prevalent personality disorders. Many variables have so far been studied in relation to this disorder. This study aimed to investigate the role of emotion regulation, attachment styles, and theory of mind in predicting the traits of borderline personality disorder. Method: In this study, 85 patients with borderline personality disorder were selected using convenience sampling method. To measure the desired variables, the questionnaires of Gross emotion regulation, Collins and Read attachment styles, and Baron Cohen's Reading Mind from Eyes Test were applied. The data were analyzed using multivariate stepwise regression technique. Results: Emotion regulation, attachment styles, and theory of mind predicted 41.2% of the variance criterion altogether; among which, the shares of emotion regulation, attachment styles and theory of mind to the distribution of the traits of borderline personality disorder were 27.5%, 9.8%, and 3.9%, respectively.‎‎ Conclusion : The results of the study revealed that emotion regulation, attachment styles, and theory of mind are important variables in predicting the traits of borderline personality disorder and that these variables can be well applied for both the treatment and identification of this disorder.

How do people with different attachment styles balance work and family? A personality perspective on work-family linkage.

PubMed

Sumer, H C; Knight, P A

2001-08-01

This study explored whether different models of work-family relationship were possible for individuals with different attachment styles. A mail survey was conducted using employees (N = 481) at a midwestern university in the United States. Results suggested that (a) individuals with a preoccupied attachment pattern were more likely to experience negative spillover from the family/home to the work domain than those with a secure or dismissing style, (b) securely attached individuals experienced positive spillover in both work and family domains more than those in the other groups, and (c) preoccupied individuals were much less likely to use a segmentation strategy than the other 3 attachment groups. However, when the conventional job satisfaction life satisfaction relationship was examined, the data provided unique support for the spillover model. Implications of the findings for both attachment and work family relationship literatures are discussed.

Socioemotional development in adolescents at risk for depression: the role of maternal depression and attachment style.

PubMed

Murray, Lynne; Halligan, Sarah L; Adams, Gillian; Patterson, Paul; Goodyer, Ian M

2006-01-01

We examined the impact on adolescent socioemotional functioning of maternal postnatal depression (PND) and attachment style. We also investigated the role of earlier aspects of the child's development-attachment in infancy, and 5-year representations of family relationships. Ninety-one mother-child pairs, recruited in the postnatal period, were followed up at 13 years. Adolescents were interviewed about their friendships, and their level of emotional sensitivity and maturity were rated. Emotional sensitivity was heightened in girls whose mothers experienced PND; notably, its occurrence was also linked to insecure attachment in infancy and raised awareness of emotional components of family relationships at 5 years. High emotional sensitivity was also associated with adolescent depressed mood. Raised social maturity was predicted by a secure maternal attachment style and, for girls, by exposure to maternal PND. Precursors of adolescent social maturity were evident in the narrative coherence of 5-year family representations. Higher social maturity in the friendship interview was also associated with overall good adjustment.

The Systemic Interaction of Attachment on Psychophysiological Arousal in Couple Conflict.

PubMed

Taylor, Nathan C; Seedall, Ryan B; Robinson, W David; Bradford, Kay

2018-01-01

Attachment in adult romantic relationships has long been linked to conflict styles. Psychophysiological measures have provided additional insight into this association by accessing less conscious and controlled responses to conflict. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and the interaction between attachment styles on skin conductance responses during conflict and recovery from conflict. Using dyadic analysis of 50 heterosexual couples, we found evidence of a systemic effect of attachment, where psychophysiological arousal increased when one partner had higher levels of attachment anxiety and the other partner had higher levels of attachment avoidance. Attachment avoidance was also negatively associated with increased levels of arousal. Relationship and clinical implications of these findings are discussed. © 2017 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

ADHD, Temperament, and Parental Style as Predictors of the Child's Attachment Patterns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finzi-Dottan, Ricky; Manor, Iris; Tyano, Sam

2006-01-01

This study investigates the impact of temperament and parenting styles on attachment patterns in children with ADHD. The study included 65 children aged 7-15 and their parents. Children diagnosed as Combined or Predominantly Hyperactive Impulsive Type had significantly higher scores than those diagnosed as Predominantly Inattentive Type in anxious…

Physical, emotional, and behavioral reactions to breaking up: the roles of gender, age, emotional involvement, and attachment style.

PubMed

Davis, Deborah; Shaver, Phillip R; Vernon, Michael L

2003-07-01

Associations between gender, age, emotional involvement, and attachment style and reactions to romantic relationship dissolution were studied in a survey of more than 5,000 Internet respondents. It was hypothesized that individual reactions to breakups would be congruent with characteristic attachment behaviors and affect-regulation strategies generally associated with attachment style. Attachment-related anxiety was associated with greater preoccupation with the lost partner, greater perseveration over the loss, more extreme physical and emotional distress, exaggerated attempts to reestablish the relationship, partner-related sexual motivation, angry and vengeful behavior, interference with exploratory activities, dysfunctional coping strategies, and disordered resolution. Attachment-related avoidance was weakly and negatively associated with most distress/proximity-seeking reactions to breakups and strongly and positively associated with avoidant and self-reliant coping strategies. Security (low scores on the anxiety and avoidance dimensions) was associated with social coping strategies (e.g., using friends and family as "safe havens"). Attachment insecurity, particularly anxiety, was associated with using drugs and alcohol to cope with loss.

Parental divorce and adult children's attachment representations and marital status.

PubMed

Crowell, Judith A; Treboux, Dominique; Brockmeyer, Susan

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore adult attachment as a means of understanding the intergenerational transmission of divorce, that is, the propensity for the children of divorce to end their own marriages. Participants included 157 couples assessed 3 months prior to their weddings and 6 years later. Participants completed the Adult Attachment Interview and questionnaires about their relationships, and were videotaped with their partners in a couple interaction task. Results indicated that, in this sample, adult children of divorce were not more likely to divorce within the first 6 years of marriage. However, parental divorce increased the likelihood of having an insecure adult attachment status. For women, age at the time of their parents' divorce was related to adult attachment status, and the influence on attachment representations may be more enduring. Among adult children of divorce, those who were classified as secure in their attachment representations were less likely to divorce in the early years of marriage than insecure participants.

Trauma, attachment style, and somatization: a study of women with dyspareunia and women survivors of sexual abuse.

PubMed

Granot, Michal; Yovell, Yoram; Somer, Eli; Beny, Ahuva; Sadger, Ronit; Uliel-Mirkin, Ronit; Zisman-Ilani, Yaara

2018-01-30

Evidence points toward shared characteristics between female survivors of sexual abuse and women with dyspareunia. This study explored, for the first time, similarities and differences between women who were exposed to sexual abuse to those with dyspareunia, in order to examine whether insecure attachment styles and high somatization level are associated with trauma among women with dyspareunia. Attachment styles were explored using the Experience in Close Relationships Scale to reflect participants' levels of anxiety and avoidance. Somatization was assessed using the Brief Symptom Inventory focusing on the frequency of painful and non-painful bodily complaints. Trauma was categorized into three levels: sexual trauma, nonsexual trauma, and no trauma. Sexually abused (SA) women (n = 21) compared to women with dyspareunia (dys) (n = 44) exhibited insecure attachment styles, as expressed by high levels of avoidance (SA 4.10 ± 0.99 vs. dys 3.08 ± 1.04, t (61)  = 2.66, p = .01) and anxiety (SA 4.29 ± 1.22 vs. dys 3.49 ± 1.04, t (61)  = 3.61, p = .001), and higher somatization (21.00 ± 8.25 vs. 13.07 ± 7.57, t (59)  = 3.63, p = .001). Attachment and somatization level did not differ significantly between women with dyspareunia without trauma to those with nonsexual trauma. Our findings emphasized the unique role of sexual trauma as a contributing factor to the augmentation of perceived bodily symptoms and to insecure attachment style. This illuminates the importance of disclosing previous sexual abuse history among women with dyspareunia.

The crucial role of the micro caregiving environment: Factors associated with attachment styles in alternative care in Chile.

PubMed

Garcia Quiroga, Manuela; Hamilton-Giachritsis, Catherine

2017-08-01

The distribution of attachment styles has been shown to differ between groups of children living with their parents and children placed in alternative care (AC), defined as residential or foster. However, this is the first study in Latin America to explore possible factors affecting the quality of attachment in children living in both residential and foster care. Two groups of children (N=57) were compared: one group living in Residential Homes (RC) and the other in Foster Care (FC) in Chile. Children's, caregivers' and structural factors (e.g., child: caregiver ratios) and their links with attachment styles were investigated. The micro caregiving environment (i.e., the specific individual child caregiver relationship), especially the caregivers' engagement, sensitivity, disciplinary control and affection, as well as some structural factors (i.e., child: caregiver ratios), were linked to attachment security in children. Specifically, better emotional caregiving and lower child-caregiver ratios were associated with higher rates of secure attachment. The association between quality of care (as measured by the HOME inventory) and attachment styles seems to be influenced by caregiver relationships (as measured by CCSERSS). Caregiver relationship factors (i.e., affection, engagement and sensitivity) directly impact the quality of the attachment children establish with them while living in AC. However, the relationships that caregivers establish with children under their care can be facilitated by good quality structural factors, particularly child-caregiver ratios. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parenting self-efficacy: links with maternal depression, infant behaviour and adult attachment.

PubMed

Kohlhoff, Jane; Barnett, Bryanne

2013-04-01

This study examined predictors of parenting self-efficacy (PSE) in a sample of first-time mothers during the first year after childbirth and evaluated the effect of a brief, intensive, mother-infant residential intervention on PSE and infant behaviour. 83 primiparous women with infants aged 0-12 months admitted to a residential parent-infant program participated in a structured clinical interview for DSM-IV diagnosis of depressive and anxiety disorders and completed questionnaires assessing psychological distress, adult attachment and childhood parenting experiences. During their residential stay, nurses recorded infant behaviour using 24-hour charts. Results showed PSE to be inversely correlated with maternal depression, maternal anxiety and attachment insecurity. Low levels of parental abuse during childhood, avoidant attachment, male infant gender and depressive symptom severity were found to predict low PSE. Major depression mediated the relation between attachment insecurity and PSE, but there were no links between PSE and infant behaviour. After the intervention, there was a significant improvement in PSE, with abusive parenting during childhood and depressive symptom severity being predictive of change. This study highlights the links between maternal psychopathology and maternal background factors such as childhood parenting experiences and attachment style in the development of postnatal PSE. Directions for future research are discussed. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Prediction of Gender and Attachment Styles on Shame, Guilt, and Loneliness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akbag, Muge; Imamoglu, Seval Erden

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the predictive power of attachment styles and gender on negative social emotions such as shame, guilt, and loneliness. The sample consists of 360 (183 female, 177 male) students attending to different departments of Marmara University. The Relationships Questionnaire, Guilt-Shame Scale, and UCLA Loneliness…

Attachment Style, Home-Leaving Age and Behavioral Problems among Residential Care Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shechory, Mally; Sommerfeld, Eliane

2007-01-01

In a prospective study, the attachment style, home-leaving age, length of time in residential care, and behavioral problems among Israeli residential care children (N=68), were studied. Data analyses showed that children removed from their homes at a later age suffered from higher levels of anxiety, depression and social problems compared to…

The insecure psychotherapy base: Using client and therapist attachment styles to understand the early alliance.

PubMed

Marmarosh, Cheri L; Kivlighan, Dennis M; Bieri, Kathryn; LaFauci Schutt, Jean M; Barone, Carrie; Choi, Jaehwa

2014-09-01

The purpose of this study was to test the notion that complementary attachments are best for achieving a secure base in psychotherapy. Specifically, we predicted third to fifth session alliance from client- and therapist-rated attachment style interactions. Using a combined sample of 46 therapy dyads from a community mental health clinic and university counseling center, the client- and therapist-perceived therapy alliance, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance were examined at the beginning of therapy. The results of an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kenny & Cook, 1999, Partner effects in relationship research: Conceptual issues, analytic difficulties, and illustrations. Personal Relationships, 6, 433-448.) indicated that there was no direct effect of either client or therapist attachment style on therapist or client early ratings of the alliance. One significant interaction emerged and indicated that client-perceived alliance was influenced by therapist and client attachment anxiety. The client-perceived early alliance was higher when more anxious therapists worked with clients with decreasing anxiety. The client early alliance was higher when less anxious therapists worked with clients with increasing anxiety. The findings partially support the notion that different attachment configurations between the therapist and client facilitate greater alliance, but this was the case only when assessing client-perceived early alliance and only with regards to the dimension of attachment anxiety. There were no significant main effects or interactions when exploring therapist-perceived alliance. Implications of the findings are discussed along with recommendations for future study and clinical training. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Bullying and Victimization in Early Adolescence: Associations with Attachment Style and Perceived Parenting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kokkinos, Constantinos M.

2013-01-01

The current study examined the relationship between self-reported bullying, victimization, attachment styles and parenting in a nonclinical sample of 601 Greek preadolescents. Results showed that both bullying and victimization were related to perceived parenting (positively with rejection and negatively with emotional warmth). Insecurely attached…

The Multimodal Assessment of Adult Attachment Security: Developing the Biometric Attachment Test

PubMed Central

Miljkovitch, Raphaële; Persiaux, Gwenaelle; Morales, Michelle; Scherer, Stefan

2017-01-01

Background Attachment theory has been proven essential for mental health, including psychopathology, development, and interpersonal relationships. Validated psychometric instruments to measure attachment abound but suffer from shortcomings common to traditional psychometrics. Recent developments in multimodal fusion and machine learning pave the way for new automated and objective psychometric instruments for adult attachment that combine psychophysiological, linguistic, and behavioral analyses in the assessment of the construct. Objective The aim of this study was to present a new exposure-based, automatic, and objective adult-attachment assessment, the Biometric Attachment Test (BAT), which exposes participants to a short standardized set of visual and music stimuli, whereas their immediate reactions and verbal responses, captured by several computer sense modalities, are automatically analyzed for scoring and classification. We also aimed to empirically validate two of its assumptions: its capacity to measure attachment security and the viability of using themes as placeholders for rotating stimuli. Methods A total of 59 French participants from the general population were assessed using the Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ), the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP), and the Attachment Multiple Model Interview (AMMI) as ground truth for attachment security. They were then exposed to three different BAT stimuli sets, whereas their faces, voices, heart rate (HR), and electrodermal activity (EDA) were recorded. Psychophysiological features, such as skin-conductance response (SCR) and Bayevsky stress index; behavioral features, such as gaze and facial expressions; as well as linguistic and paralinguistic features, were automatically extracted. An exploratory analysis was conducted using correlation matrices to uncover the features that are most associated with attachment security. A confirmatory analysis was conducted by creating a single composite

Associations between specific psychotic symptoms and specific childhood adversities are mediated by attachment styles: an analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey.

PubMed

Sitko, Katarzyna; Bentall, Richard P; Shevlin, Mark; O'Sullivan, Noreen; Sellwood, William

2014-07-30

Accumulated evidence over the past decade consistently demonstrates a relationship between childhood adversity and psychosis in adulthood. There is some evidence of specific associations between childhood sexual abuse and hallucinations, and between insecure attachment and paranoia. Data from the National Comorbidity Survey were used in assessing whether current attachment styles influenced the association between adverse childhood experiences and psychotic symptoms in adulthood. Hallucinations and paranoid beliefs were differentially associated with sexual abuse (rape and sexual molestation) and neglect, respectively. Sexual abuse and neglect were also associated with depression. The relationship between neglect and paranoid beliefs was fully mediated via anxious and avoidant attachment. The relationship between sexual molestation and hallucinations was independent of attachment style. The relationship between rape and hallucinations was partially mediated via anxious attachment; however this effect was no longer present when depression was included as a mediating variable. The findings highlight the importance of addressing and understanding childhood experiences within the context of current attachment styles in clinical interventions for patients with psychosis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring attachment and parental bonding in psychosis and its clinical implications.

PubMed

Mathews, S; Onwumere, J; Bissoli, S; Ruggeri, M; Kuipers, E; Valmaggia, L

2016-04-01

Attachment theory proposes that psychological functioning and affect regulations are influenced by the attachment we form with others. Early relationships with parents or caregivers lay the foundations for attachment styles. These styles are proposed to influence how we relate to others during our life can be modified by the relationships and events we experience in our lifespan. A secure attachment style is associated with a capacity to manage distress, comfort with autonomy and the ability to form relationships with others, whereas insecure attachment can lead to dysfunctional relationships, emotional and behaviour avoidance. Attachment theory provides a useful framework to inform our understanding of relationship difficulties in people with psychosis. This paper aims to complement recent systematic reviews by providing an overview of attachment theory, its application to psychosis, including an understanding of measurement issues and the clinical implications offered. A narrative review was completed of the measures of attachment and parental bonding in psychosis. Its clinical implications are also discussed. The paper also explores the link between insecure attachment styles and illness course, social functioning and symptomatology. The following questions are addressed: What are the key attachment measures that have been used within the attachment and psychosis literature? What are the results of studies that have measured attachment or parental bonding in psychosis and what clinical implications can we derive from it? What are some of the key questions for future research from these findings in relation to the onset of psychosis research field? The most commonly used measures of attachment in psychosis research are reviewed. Self-report questionnaires and semi-structured interviews have mainly been used to examine attachment styles in adult samples and in recent years comprise a measure specifically developed for a psychosis group. The review suggests that

Coping styles of Chicago adults: description.

PubMed

Ilfeld, F W

1980-01-01

Drawing upon a sample of 2,299 Chicago adults the author empirically describes the coping styles used to combat stressors in the social roles of marriage, parenting, finances, and job. Factor analyses of coping responses uncovered three major patterns: taking direct action, rationalization avoidance of the stressor, and acceptance of the stressful situation without attempting alteration. Respondents did not consistently utilize one coping style across all role areas, but rather employed a repertoire of responses. Demographic characteristics were found to explain only a small amount of variation in the coping styles.

Depression symptoms and reasons for gambling sequentially mediate the associations between insecure attachment styles and problem gambling.

PubMed

Keough, Matthew T; Penniston, Trinda L; Vilhena-Churchill, Natalie; Michael Bagby, R; Quilty, Lena C

2018-03-01

One of the central pathways to problem gambling (PG) is gambling to cope with negative moods, which is a cardinal feature of depression. Insecure attachment styles are also etiologically related to depression; and, therefore, by extension, those who are insecurely attached may engage in excessive gambling behaviors to cope with depression. In this study, we aimed to evaluate this and to this end predicted that depression severity and coping motives for gambling would conjointly mediate the relations between insecure attachment styles and PG. Data came from a larger investigation of PG within mood disorders. Participants exhibited a lifetime depressive or bipolar disorder and endorsed a mood episode within the past ten years. Participants (N=275) completed self-report measures during a two-day assessment. Path analysis supported two main indirect effects. First, anxious attachment predicted elevated depression, which in turn predicted increased coping motives for gambling, which subsequently predicted greater PG severity. Second, this double mediational pathway was also observed for avoidant attachment. Results suggest that insecure attachment relates to PG via depressive symptoms and coping-related gambling motives. Mood symptoms and associated gambling motives are malleable and are promising targets of gambling interventions for insecurely attached individuals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Age Differences in Attachment Orientations among Younger and Older Adults: Evidence from Two Self-Report Measures of Attachment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Segal, Daniel L.; Needham, Tracy N.; Coolidge, Frederick L.

2009-01-01

The attachment patterns of younger and older adults were studied using two-dimensional self-report measures of adult attachment. Community-dwelling younger (n = 144, M = 22.5 years, SD = 3.6) and older (n = 106, M = 68.6 years, SD = 8.3) adults completed the Measure of Attachment Qualities (MAQ; Carver, 1997) and the Relationship Style…

The Multimodal Assessment of Adult Attachment Security: Developing the Biometric Attachment Test.

PubMed

Parra, Federico; Miljkovitch, Raphaële; Persiaux, Gwenaelle; Morales, Michelle; Scherer, Stefan

2017-04-06

Attachment theory has been proven essential for mental health, including psychopathology, development, and interpersonal relationships. Validated psychometric instruments to measure attachment abound but suffer from shortcomings common to traditional psychometrics. Recent developments in multimodal fusion and machine learning pave the way for new automated and objective psychometric instruments for adult attachment that combine psychophysiological, linguistic, and behavioral analyses in the assessment of the construct. The aim of this study was to present a new exposure-based, automatic, and objective adult-attachment assessment, the Biometric Attachment Test (BAT), which exposes participants to a short standardized set of visual and music stimuli, whereas their immediate reactions and verbal responses, captured by several computer sense modalities, are automatically analyzed for scoring and classification. We also aimed to empirically validate two of its assumptions: its capacity to measure attachment security and the viability of using themes as placeholders for rotating stimuli. A total of 59 French participants from the general population were assessed using the Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ), the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP), and the Attachment Multiple Model Interview (AMMI) as ground truth for attachment security. They were then exposed to three different BAT stimuli sets, whereas their faces, voices, heart rate (HR), and electrodermal activity (EDA) were recorded. Psychophysiological features, such as skin-conductance response (SCR) and Bayevsky stress index; behavioral features, such as gaze and facial expressions; as well as linguistic and paralinguistic features, were automatically extracted. An exploratory analysis was conducted using correlation matrices to uncover the features that are most associated with attachment security. A confirmatory analysis was conducted by creating a single composite effects index and by testing it

The Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clubb, Richard D.; And Others

This study examines the relationship between parent-child attachment and parental attachment styles. It is hypothesized that: (1) parental attachment styles are transmitted to the infant through parent-child and parent-parent interaction; and (2) parental attachment styles are reflected in parent-child attachment. Some research supports the idea…

Individual risk factors for physician boundary violations: the role of attachment style, childhood trauma and maladaptive beliefs.

PubMed

MacDonald, Kai; Sciolla, Andrés F; Folsom, David; Bazzo, David; Searles, Chris; Moutier, Christine; Thomas, Michael L; Borton, Katherine; Norcross, Bill

2015-01-01

The assessment and remediation of boundary-challenged healthcare professionals is enhanced through examination of individual risk factors. We assessed three such factors--attachment style, childhood trauma and maladaptive beliefs--in 100 attendees (mostly physicians) of a CME professional boundaries course. We propose a theoretical model which draws a causal arc from childhood maltreatment through insecure attachment and maladaptive beliefs to elevated risk for boundary violations. We administered the Experiences in Close Relationship Questionnaire (ECR-R), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) to 100 healthcare professionals (mostly physicians) attending a CME course on professional boundaries. Experts rated participant autobiographies to determine attachment style and early adversities. Correlations and relationships among self- and expert ratings and between different risk factors were examined. Five percent of participants reported CTQ total scores in the moderate to severe range; eleven percent reported moderate to severe emotional neglect or emotional abuse. Average attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were low, and more than half of participants were rated “secure” by experts. Childhood maltreatment was correlated with attachment anxiety and avoidance and predicted expert-rated insecure attachment and maladaptive beliefs. Our findings support a potential link between childhood adversity and boundary difficulties, partly mediated by insecure attachment and early maladaptive beliefs. Furthermore, these results suggest that boundary education programs and professional wellness programs may be enhanced with a focus on sequelae of childhood maltreatment, attachment and common maladaptive thinking patterns.

Individual risk factors for physician boundary violations: the role of attachment style, childhood trauma and maladaptive beliefs.

PubMed

MacDonald, Kai; Sciolla, Andrés F; Folsom, David; Bazzo, David; Searles, Chris; Moutier, Christine; Thomas, Michael L; Borton, Katherine; Norcross, Bill

2015-01-01

The assessment and remediation of boundary-challenged health care professionals is enhanced through examination of individual risk factors. We assessed three such factors - attachment style, childhood trauma and maladaptive beliefs - in 100 attendees (mostly physicians) of a continuing medical education (CME) professional boundaries course. We propose a theoretical model that draws a causal arc from childhood maltreatment through insecure attachment and maladaptive beliefs to elevated risk for boundary violations. We administered the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire Revised (ECR-R), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) to 100 health care professionals attending a CME course on professional boundaries. Experts rated participant autobiographies to determine attachment style and early adversities. Correlations and relationships between self-ratings and expert ratings and among different risk factors were examined. One fifth of participants reported moderate to severe childhood abuse; sixty percent reported moderate to severe emotional neglect. Despite this, average attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were low, and more than half of participants were rated "secure" by experts. Childhood maltreatment was correlated with attachment anxiety and avoidance and predicted expert-rated insecure attachment and maladaptive beliefs. Our findings support a potential link between childhood adversity and boundary difficulties, partly mediated by insecure attachment and early maladaptive beliefs. Furthermore, these results suggest that boundary education programs and professional wellness programs may be enhanced with a focus on sequelae of childhood maltreatment, attachment and common maladaptive thinking patterns. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Youth-Adult Partnerships and Youth Identity Style.

PubMed

Ramey, Heather L; Rose-Krasnor, Linda; Lawford, Heather L

2017-02-01

Youth-adult partnerships (e.g., youth leading programs, participating as members of advisory boards) are a common and widely recommended practice in youth work and youth-serving program settings. Although researchers have suggested that these opportunities contribute to youth's identity development, empirical evidence is lacking. In the current study, we tested associations between identity style and degree of youth voice, collaborative youth-adult relationships, and youth's program engagement in 194 youth participating in youth-adult partnerships (M age  = 17.6, 62 % female). We found that these characteristics of youth-adult partnerships predicted higher informational identity style, although only program engagement emerged as a unique predictor. Furthermore, exploratory analysis indicated that these associations were moderated by the type of organization. The findings suggest the need for more research on the multiple dimensions of youth-adult partnerships and their association with youth functioning, as well as pointing to the importance of the broader organizational context of youth-adult partnerships.

Divergence in Siblings' Adult Attachment Security: Potential Contributors and Consequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fortuna, Keren

2009-01-01

Previous research has revealed only modest concordance in attachment security between siblings during childhood and adolescence. The first goal of this dissertation was to estimate sibling concordance in adult attachment security and identify factors contributing to divergence. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was administered to young adult…

Parental Attachment Style: Examination of Links with Parent Secure Base Provision and Adolescent Secure Base Use

PubMed Central

Jones, Jason D.; Cassidy, Jude

2014-01-01

The secure base construct is a core aspect of attachment theory and, according to Bowlby (1988), represents one of attachment theory’s most important contributions to our understanding of parent-child relationships and child development. The present study represents the first examination of how parents’ self-reported attachment styles relate to parental secure base provision and adolescent (Mage = 16.6 years, SE = .59) secure base use during an observed parent-adolescent interaction. Further, the present study is the first to examine how fathers’, as well as mothers’, attachment styles relate to observed behavior in a parent-child interaction. At the bivariate level, maternal avoidance, but not anxiety, was negatively associated with observed adolescent secure base use. In addition, path analysis revealed that maternal avoidance was indirectly related to less adolescent secure base use through mothers’ self-reported hostile behavior toward their adolescents and through adolescents’ less positive perceptions of their mothers. Further, paternal anxiety, but not avoidance, was indirectly related to less adolescent secure base use through fathers’ self-reported hostile behavior toward their adolescents. No significant findings emerged in relation to parental secure base provision. We discuss these results in the context of attachment theory and suggest directions for future research. PMID:24897927

Attachment, childhood abuse, and IBD-related quality of life and disease activity outcomes.

PubMed

Caplan, Rachel A; Maunder, Robert G; Stempak, Joanne M; Silverberg, Mark S; Hart, Tae L

2014-05-01

This study examined attachment style as a moderator of the relationship between childhood abuse and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-related outcomes. Study participants were 205 patients with IBD from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Participants completed self-report questionnaires regarding personal relationships, abuse history, and IBD-related information. Multiple regression models were fit using 3 outcome variables: disease-related quality of life (QOL), disease activity for ulcerative colitis, and disease activity for Crohn's disease. Patients reporting less severe abuse and low levels of avoidant attachment had the highest levels of QOL, whereas patients reporting high levels of avoidant attachment had the lowest levels of QOL, regardless of abuse severity. Patients reporting greater anxious attachment had lower QOL scores. Patients reporting less severe abuse and low levels of avoidant attachment had the lowest levels of disease activity, whereas patients reporting high levels of avoidant attachment had the highest levels of ulcerative colitis-related disease activity, regardless of abuse severity. However, for anxious attachment, there was no significant main effect or significant interaction of abuse by anxious attachment on ulcerative colitis-related disease activity. Childhood abuse and attachment style were not found to be associated with Crohn's disease-related disease activity. Adult attachment style may moderate the relationship between childhood abuse and IBD-related outcomes, by impacting one's QOL and disease activity. Distinct types of insecure attachment styles may impact these relationships differently. Psychological interventions focusing on attachment styles of patients with IBD have the potential to improve IBD-related QOL and disease activity.

The Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation in the Relations Between Childhood Trauma History and Adult Attachment and Borderline Personality Disorder Features: A Study of Italian Nonclinical Participants.

PubMed

Fossati, Andrea; Gratz, Kim L; Somma, Antonella; Maffei, Cesare; Borroni, Serena

2016-10-01

In order to evaluate if emotion dysregulation significantly mediates the relationships between childhood abuse and adult attachment and borderline personality disorder features, 354 community Italian adults were administered the Borderline Personality Inventory (Leichsenring, 1999a), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (Gratz & Roemer, 2004), the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (Sanders & Becker-Lausen, 1995), and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (Feeney, Noller, & Hanrahan, 1994). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that both childhood abuse and adult attachment were positively associated with emotion dysregulation and borderline personality features; however, only emotional abuse and the attachment dimension of need for approval were common predictors of both dependent variables. No significant interaction effects were detected in regression analyses. Mediation analyses provided support for partial mediation, revealing a significant mediating role of emotion dysregulation in the relationships between both emotional abuse and need for approval and borderline personality features in this community sample.

Attachment Theory and Maternal Drug Addiction: The Contribution to Parenting Interventions

PubMed Central

Parolin, Micol; Simonelli, Alessandra

2016-01-01

Children’s emotional and relational development can be negatively influenced by maternal substance abuse, particularly through a dysfunctional caregiving environment. Attachment Theory offers a privileged framework to analyze how drug addiction can affect the quality of adult attachment style, parenting attitudes and behaviors toward the child, and how it can have a detrimental effect on the co-construction of the attachment bond by the mother and the infant. Several studies, as a matter of fact, have identified a prevalence of insecure patterns among drug-abusing mothers and their children. Many interventions for mothers with Substance Use Disorders have focused on enhancing parental skills, but they have often overlooked the emotional and relational features of the mother–infant bond. Instead, in recent years, a number of protocols have been developed in order to strengthen the relationship between drug-abusing mothers and their children, drawing lessons from Attachment Theory. The present study reviews the literature on the adult and infant attachment style in the context of drug addiction, describing currently available treatment programs that address parenting and specifically focus on the mother–infant bond, relying on Attachment Theory. PMID:27625612

Attachment Theory and Maternal Drug Addiction: The Contribution to Parenting Interventions.

PubMed

Parolin, Micol; Simonelli, Alessandra

2016-01-01

Children's emotional and relational development can be negatively influenced by maternal substance abuse, particularly through a dysfunctional caregiving environment. Attachment Theory offers a privileged framework to analyze how drug addiction can affect the quality of adult attachment style, parenting attitudes and behaviors toward the child, and how it can have a detrimental effect on the co-construction of the attachment bond by the mother and the infant. Several studies, as a matter of fact, have identified a prevalence of insecure patterns among drug-abusing mothers and their children. Many interventions for mothers with Substance Use Disorders have focused on enhancing parental skills, but they have often overlooked the emotional and relational features of the mother-infant bond. Instead, in recent years, a number of protocols have been developed in order to strengthen the relationship between drug-abusing mothers and their children, drawing lessons from Attachment Theory. The present study reviews the literature on the adult and infant attachment style in the context of drug addiction, describing currently available treatment programs that address parenting and specifically focus on the mother-infant bond, relying on Attachment Theory.

An Exploratory Study of Young Persons' Attachment Styles and Perceived Reasons for Parental Divorce.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Tavi R.; Ehrenberg, Marion F.

1998-01-01

Explored relationship between undergraduate students' perceptions of the reasons for their parents' divorces and their own feelings of security in romantic relationships. Found that 73% described insecure attachment styles. Perceived reasons for divorce involving expressions of overt anger, involvement of children, and extramarital affairs were…

Anxious and Hostile: Consequences of Anxious Adult Attachment in Predicting Male-Perpetrated Sexual Assault.

PubMed

Barbaro, Nicole; Parkhill, Michele R; Nguyen, David

2018-07-01

Attachment theory has increasingly been utilized to understand the etiology of sexual violence, and anxious attachment appears to be especially informative in this domain. We investigate the influence of general anxious attachment and specific anxious attachment on hostile masculine attitudes to predict male-perpetrated sexual assault. We hypothesize that hostile masculinity will mediate the relationship between general anxious attachment style and sexual assault perpetration (Hypothesis 1) and the relationship between specific anxious attachment to the assaulted woman and sexual assault perpetration (Hypothesis 2). Men ( N = 193) completed the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) to determine sexual assault history and completed measures of general attachment style, specific attachment to the woman involved in the sexual activity, and measures of hostile masculine attitudes. Results support the hypothesized mediation models, such that general anxious attachment and specific anxious attachment are significantly associated with hostile masculinity, which in turn, predicts the likelihood of male-perpetrated sexual assault. The findings suggest that the unique characteristics of anxious attachment may escalate into hostile masculinity, which then increases the likelihood of sexual assault perpetration. This research is the first to investigate attachment bonds to the woman involved in the sexual activity and likelihood of sexual assault perpetration against the same woman.

Parental attachment style: examination of links with parent secure base provision and adolescent secure base use.

PubMed

Jones, Jason D; Cassidy, Jude

2014-01-01

The secure base construct represents one of attachment theory's most important contributions to our understanding of parent-child relationships and child development. The present study represents the first examination of how parents' self-reported attachment styles relate to parental secure base provision and adolescent (mean age = 16.6 years, SE = .59) secure base use during an observed parent-adolescent interaction. Further, the present study is the first to examine how fathers', as well as mothers', attachment styles relate to observed behavior in a parent-child interaction. At the bivariate level, maternal avoidance, but not anxiety, was negatively associated with observed adolescent secure base use. In addition, path analysis revealed that maternal avoidance was indirectly related to less adolescent secure base use through mothers' self-reported hostile behavior toward their adolescents and through adolescents' less positive perceptions of their mothers. Further, paternal anxiety, but not avoidance, was indirectly related to less adolescent secure base use through fathers' self-reported hostile behavior toward their adolescents. No significant findings emerged in relation to parental secure base provision. We discuss these results in the context of attachment theory and suggest directions for future research.

The role of attachment style, attachment to therapist, and working alliance in response to psychological therapy.

PubMed

Taylor, Peter J; Rietzschel, Julia; Danquah, Adam; Berry, Katherine

2015-09-01

Working alliance (WA) has been shown to be an important process influencing the success of therapy. The association of clients' underlying attachment representations with WA and the subsequent success of therapy has increasingly been recognized. This study explores the association between adult attachment representations, specific attachment to the therapist and WA in patients receiving psychological therapy. Fifty-eight participants due to receive therapy were recruited from primary care psychological services. Participants completed self-report measures of attachment, WA, and psychopathology. Patients with greater secure attachment to the therapist showed significantly greater WA. In a subset of participants completing therapy, change in outcome was also correlated with baseline attachment towards the therapist. The study suggests that attachment towards the therapist is an important predictor of WA. The results suggest that in terms of WA, attachment to the therapist may be more important than pre-existing attachment representations. A more secure attachment to the therapist was associated with greater WA and improvement in therapy. Clinicians should be mindful of signs of an insecure attachment to themselves, reflecting a difficulty around trusting the therapist and viewing them as a secure base. Missed sessions and an ongoing reluctance to disclose personal information to the therapist may be signs of an insecure attachment. This may be the case even in cognitive-behavioural approaches to therapy where relational processes are not necessarily a focus of therapy. Incorporating attachment processes in the formulation, including attachment to the therapist, may provide one way of exploring these issues in therapy. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Using the Identity Processing Style Q-Sort to Examine Identity Styles of Turkish Young Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eryigit, Suna; Kerpelman, Jennifer

2009-01-01

This paper reports on two studies with Turkish young adults that used the Turkish version of the Identity Processing Style Q-Sort (IPSQ). The IPSQ is based on Berzonsky's informational, normative, and diffused identity styles. Participants sort descriptors of the styles into columns ranging from most to least like them. Patterns in Turkish young…

High School Students' Career Decision-Making Pattern across Parenting Styles and Parental Attachment Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cenkseven-Onder, Fulya; Kirdok, Oguzhan; Isik, Erkan

2010-01-01

Introduction: The purpose of this research was to investigate career decision among high school students regarding to their parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful) and parental attachment levels. Method: With this purpose, 382 (200 females; 182 males) Turkish high school students aged 14-18 completed Career…

Cognitive Style Predictors of Affect Change in Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isaacowitz, Derek M.; Seligman, Martin E. P.

2002-01-01

Cognitive styles are the lenses through which individuals habitually process information from their environment. In this study, we evaluated whether different cognitive style individual difference variables, such as explanatory style and dispositional optimism, could predict changes in affective state over time in community-dwelling older adults.…

Reciprocal empathy and working alliance in terminal oncological illness: the crucial role of patients' attachment style.

PubMed

Calvo, Vincenzo; Palmieri, Arianna; Marinelli, Sara; Bianco, Francesca; Kleinbub, Johann R

2014-01-01

Security of attachment is described as an inner resource that may also facilitate the adaptation of individuals during critical life adversity, even when facing end-stage illness and death. This study assessed the relation between attachment styles, patient-caregiver reciprocal empathy, and patient-physician working alliance, in the terminal phase of an oncological disease. We hypothesized that the attachment security of patients, as measured by the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), is related to the reciprocal empathy with the caregiver, as measured by the Perception of Partner Empathy (PPE) questionnaire, and to the working alliance with the physician, as measured by the Working Alliance Inventory-Short Form (WAI-S). Thirty-seven end-stage cancer patients, their caregivers, and physicians participated in the study. The PPE and WAI-S were administered twice: immediately after the hospice recovery and a week later. Results showed a significant improvement in patient-caregiver empathy and in patient-physician alliance after a week at the hospice. Findings indicated that the patients' attachment style influenced their perception of reciprocal empathy with the caregiver and the working alliance with the physician. Patients with a secure attachment had a greater capacity to show empathic closeness with their caregivers and enjoyed a better working alliance with their physicians. Caregivers' attachment security, otherwise, did not show the same influence on empathy and alliance. Findings support the hypothesis that patients' attachment security plays a crucial role in the relation with their own caregiver and with the physician, even at the terminal phase. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are explored in the discussion.

Relationship between attachment style and symptom severity across the psychosis spectrum: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Carr, Sarah Christina; Hardy, Amy; Fornells-Ambrojo, Miriam

2018-02-01

There is growing evidence for the role of attachment in psychosis, however, to date there has been no quantitative review of the prevalence of insecure attachment in psychosis. The current study sought to systematically appraise studies investigating the prevalence of insecure attachment and the association with psychosis-spectrum experiences using meta-analytic techniques. A systematic search of studies carried out between January 1980 and 30th November 2015 found 25 papers eligible for inclusion. The meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of insecure attachment style was significantly higher in individuals with psychosis (76%) than in non-clinical samples (38%), with fearful attachment being the most prevalent. Across the continuum, there was a small but significant relationship between positive symptom severity and insecure attachment and a significant relationship between negative symptom severity and insecure attachment in the non-clinical analysis. This relationship was not found in the clinical group. The prevalence of insecure attachment appears to be high in psychosis, however, the relationship between symptom severity and attachment is small. Attachment theory may provide greater understanding of the development of positive symptoms than previously thought, however, research needs to include more at-risk samples and longitudinal research to fully understand the dynamics of this relationship. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-related factors and decision making styles among early adults.

PubMed

Batool, Naila; Riaz, Muhammad Naveed; Riaz, Muhammad Akram; Akhtar, Masud

2017-05-01

To examine the effect of self-related factors, including self-regulation, self-esteem and self-efficacy, on decision-making styles of early adults. The cross-sectional study was conducted from February to August, 2014 at four universities of Islamabad, Pakistan, and comprised adult students of both Social and Natural sciences. Data was collected through Self-Regulation Questionnaire, Self-Esteem Scale, Self-Efficacy Scale and the General Decision Making Styles Questionnaire. Data was subjected to multivariate regression analysis. Of the 300 participants, 160(53%) were men and 140(47%) were women. The overall mean age was 22.68±5.96 years. Besides, 170(56%) were studying Social sciences and 130(44%) Natural sciences. Self-regulation, self-esteem and self-efficacy positively predicted rational and intuitive style and negatively predicted avoidant and spontaneous style. Self-efficacy and self-regulation negatively predicted dependent style. Ensuring positive self-related factors affected adults' effective decision-making choices.

Avoidant Attachment Style Indicates Job Adaptation of People with High Functional Autistic Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yokotani, Kenji

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether or not the avoidant attachment style indicates job adaptation of people with High Functional Autistic Spectrum Disorders (HFASD). HFASD are groups of developmental disorders characterized by impairment of social interaction and normal level of intelligence. Twenty-two people with HFASD…

Insecure attachment style as a vulnerability factor for depression: recent findings in a community-based study of Malay single and married mothers.

PubMed

Abdul Kadir, Nor Ba'yah; Bifulco, Antonia

2013-12-30

The role of marital breakdown in women's mental health is of key concern in Malaysia and internationally. A cross-sectional questionnaire study of married and separated/divorced and widowed women examined insecure attachment style as an associated risk factor for depression among 1002 mothers in an urban community in Malaysia. A previous report replicated a UK-based vulnerability-provoking agent model of depression involving negative evaluation of self (NES) and negative elements in close relationships (NECRs) interacting with severe life events to model depression. This article reports on the additional contribution of insecure attachment style to the model using the Vulnerable Attachment Style Questionnaire (VASQ). The results showed that VASQ scores were highly correlated with NES, NECR and depression. A multiple regression analysis of depression with backward elimination found that VASQ scores had a significant additional effect. Group comparisons showed different risk patterns for single and married mothers. NES was the strongest risk factor for both groups, with the 'anxious style' subset of the VASQ being the best additional predictor for married mothers and the total VASQ score (general attachment insecurity) for single mothers. The findings indicate that attachment insecurity adds to a psychosocial vulnerability model of depression among mothers cross-culturally and is important in understanding and identifying risk. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Memories of Parent Behaviors and Adult Attachment in Childhood Cancer Survivors.

PubMed

Lehmann, Vicky; Hagedoorn, Mariët; Gerhardt, Cynthia A; Keim, Madelaine C; Guthrie, Lory; Sanderman, Robbert; Tuinman, Marrit A

2017-03-01

Childhood cancer is stressful for the entire family. Preoccupation and anxiety surrounding the child's illness may result in parents of children with cancer being overprotective or less emotionally responsive toward their children. Such parenting in response to a negative life event like childhood cancer may cause survivors to be more insecurely attached than healthy peers, which could have downstream effects on survivors' romantic relationships later in life. Therefore, we examined survivors' perspectives on parent behaviors, adult attachment, and marital status among adult survivors of childhood cancer relative to controls. One hundred forty-nine young adult survivors and 149 matched controls (M age  = 28, range 20-40) indicated their relationship status (single vs. partnered) and completed standardized questionnaires assessing memories of upbringing (warmth, overprotection, rejection) and adult attachment (avoidance, anxiety). Adult survivors of childhood cancer remembered mothers and fathers as emotionally warmer (d = 0.53/0.30), and mothers as less rejecting than controls (d = 0.30). Adult attachment was overall similar between survivors and controls, but partnered survivors reported particularly low attachment-related anxiety. Childhood cancer was related to higher mother and father warmth, which were associated with lower attachment-related avoidance and in turn with a greater likelihood of being in a relationship. Adult childhood cancer survivors did not remember their parents as overprotective, but reported more positive parenting relative to controls; and similar adult attachment and relationship status. The results were unexpected, but offer novel insights for future prospective studies, which are necessary to better understand psychosocial late effects of childhood cancer.

Association between childhood maltreatment and adult emotional dysregulation in a low-income, urban, African American sample: moderation by oxytocin receptor gene.

PubMed

Bradley, Bekh; Westen, Drew; Mercer, Kristina B; Binder, Elisabeth B; Jovanovic, Tanja; Crain, Daniel; Wingo, Aliza; Heim, Christine

2011-05-01

The ability to effectively regulate emotions and a secure attachment style are critical for maintaining mental health across the life span. The experience of childhood maltreatment interferes with normal development of emotional regulation and dramatically increases risk for a wide range of psychiatric disorders in adulthood. The central nervous system oxytocin systems are critically involved in mediating social attachment and buffering psychophysiological responses to stress. We therefore investigated the impact of childhood maltreatment and an oxytocin receptor (OXTR) single nucleotide polymorphism (rs53576) and their interaction on emotional dysregulation and attachment style in adulthood in a sample of low-income, African American men and women recruited from primary care clinics of an urban, public hospital. Consistent with prior research, we found that the severity of childhood maltreatment was associated with increased levels of emotional dysregulation in adulthood. Childhood maltreatment was also positively associated with ratings of disorganized/unresolved adult attachment style and negatively associated with ratings of secure adult attachment style. There was no direct association between rs53576 and emotional dysregulation or ratings of adult attachment style. However, there were significant interactions between rs53576 and childhood maltreatment in predicting level of adult emotional dysregulation and attachment style. Specifically, G/G genotype carriers were at risk for increased emotional dysregulation when exposed to three or more categories of childhood abuse. In addition, G/G genotype carriers exhibited enhanced disorganized adult attachment style when exposed to severe childhood abuse compared to A/A and A/G carriers. Our findings suggest that A allele carriers of OXTR rs53576 are resilient against the effects of severe childhood adversity, by protection against emotional dysregulation and disorganized attachment.

Association between childhood maltreatment and adult emotional dysregulation in a low-income, urban, African American sample: Moderation by oxytocin receptor gene

PubMed Central

BRADLEY, BEKH; WESTEN, DREW; MERCER, KRISTINA B.; BINDER, ELISABETH B.; JOVANOVIC, TANJA; CRAIN, DANIEL; WINGO, ALIZA; HEIM, CHRISTINE

2015-01-01

The ability to effectively regulate emotions and a secure attachment style are critical for maintaining mental health across the life span. The experience of childhood maltreatment interferes with normal development of emotional regulation and dramatically increases risk for a wide range of psychiatric disorders in adulthood. The central nervous system oxytocin systems are critically involved in mediating social attachment and buffering psychophysiological responses to stress. We therefore investigated the impact of childhood maltreatment and an oxytocin receptor (OXTR) single nucleotide polymorphism (rs53576) and their interaction on emotional dysregulation and attachment style in adulthood in a sample of low-income, African American men and women recruited from primary care clinics of an urban, public hospital. Consistent with prior research, we found that the severity of childhood maltreatment was associated with increased levels of emotional dysregulation in adulthood. Childhood maltreatment was also positively associated with ratings of disorganized/unresolved adult attachment style and negatively associated with ratings of secure adult attachment style. There was no direct association between rs53576 and emotional dysregulation or ratings of adult attachment style. However, there were significant interactions between rs53576 and childhood maltreatment in predicting level of adult emotional dysregulation and attachment style. Specifically, G/G genotype carriers were at risk for increased emotional dysregulation when exposed to three or more categories of childhood abuse. In addition, G/G genotype carriers exhibited enhanced disorganized adult attachment style when exposed to severe childhood abuse compared to A/A and A/G carriers. Our findings suggest that A allele carriers of OXTR rs53576 are resilient against the effects of severe childhood adversity, by protection against emotional dysregulation and disorganized attachment. PMID:23786688