The Impact of Social Support and Attachment Style on Quality of Life and Readiness to Change in a Sample of Individuals Receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence.

PubMed

Cavaiola, Alan A; Fulmer, Barbara A; Stout, David

2015-01-01

A basic principle within the addictions treatment field is that social support is a vital ingredient in the recovery process. This study examines the nature of social support in a sample of opioid-dependent men and women who are currently being treated in a medication-assisted treatment program (methadone). This research examines the types of social support behaviors that the opioid-dependent individuals consider helpful and explores whether attachment style (i.e., secure, ambivalent, or anxious attachment) was a determining factor in whether social support was perceived as helpful. The dependent variables included readiness to change addictive behaviors and abstinence from other mood-altering drugs. Participants (N = 159) completed a demographic questionnaire, the Significant Others Scale, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support Assessment, the Readiness to Change Scale, and an Attachment Style Questionnaire. The demographic questionnaire included subjective ratings of self-improvement. Social support predicted perceived improvement in all of the areas examined (e.g., health, family/social relationships) and abstinence; however, attachment style did not predict improvement or with readiness to change. Social support is an important factor in one's recovery from substance use disorders. Yet attachment style (i.e., anxious, avoidant, or secure) did not predict abstinence or overall improvement in functioning.

The association between individual attachment patterns, the perceived social support, and the psychological well-being of Turkish informal caregivers.

PubMed

Kuscu, M Kemal; Dural, Uzay; Onen, Pinar; Yaşa, Yeşim; Yayla, Mete; Basaran, Gül; Turhal, Serdar; Bekiroğlu, Nural

2009-09-01

This study aimed to investigate the relations among the psychological well-being (i.e. depression and state/trait anxiety levels), attachment patterns (i.e. secure, ambivalent, avoidant), and the perceived social support from family/friends/significant others of caregivers of cancer patients in Turkey. Fifty-one caregivers of adult cancer patients were recruited from the oncology outpatient clinic of the Marmara Medical School Hospital in Istanbul. Caregivers were assessed with the Adult Attachment Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, State-trait Anxiety Inventories, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that depression was predicted by ambivalent attachment and the perceived social support from family. The support from significant others was the significant predictor of trait anxiety and the caregivers' ambivalent attachment score was the significant predictor of state anxiety. We assert that ambivalent attachment pattern could confer a vulnerability to psychological distress in cancer caregivers. Assessing the psychological experiences and needs of caregivers and being aware of possible risk factors (such as attachment patterns) and protective factors (social support network) for depression and anxiety might be helpful for successful programmes and interventions that support the caregivers of cancer patients.

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.

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

Maternal Attachment Strategies and Emotion Regulation with Adolescent Offspring.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobak, Roger; And Others

1994-01-01

Examined the relationship between mothers' attachment strategies and emotion regulation in a sample of 42 families with 2 high school-aged siblings. Found that mothers with preoccupied strategies had difficulty regulating emotion during conversations with their older teenagers about them leaving home. Mothers with secure strategies perceived their…

Can patients be 'attached' to healthcare providers? An observational study to measure attachment phenomena in patient-provider relationships.

PubMed

Maunder, Robert G; Hunter, Jonathan J

2016-05-13

To develop and assess the validity of measures of patients' attachment-related perceptions of experiences with healthcare providers (HCPs). Online survey. 181 people provided consent and 119 completed the survey (66%). Most participants were women (80%). Questions were developed to assess possible attachment functions served by an HCP and patients' attachment-related attitudes towards an HCP. Scales were constructed based on exploratory factor analysis. Measures of adult attachment, therapeutic alliance, perceived HCP characteristics and health utilisation were used to validate scales. Possible safe haven and secure base functions served by HCPs were strongly endorsed. A model with good fit (root mean square error of approximation=0.056) yielded 3 factors: 'HCP experienced as supportive and safe' (SUPPORT, α=0.94), 'HCP experienced as aversive' (AVERSE, α=0.86) and 'more and closer contact wanted with HCP' (WANT, α=0.85). SUPPORT was correlated with positive HCP characteristics and not with attachment insecurity. AVERSE was inversely correlated with positive HCP attributes and correlated with attachment insecurity. WANT was unrelated to positive HCP attributes, but correlated with attachment insecurity. Frequency of HCP contact was related to WANT (Kruskal-Wallis=21.9, p<0.001) and SUPPORT (Kruskal-Wallis=13.2, p=0.02), but not to AVERSE (Kruskal-Wallis=1.7, p=0.89). Patients attribute attachment functions of secure base and safe haven to HCPs. SUPPORT is related to positive appraisal of HCP characteristics; AVERSE is associated with discomfort in the HCP relationship that is related with perceived HCP characteristics and patients' insecure attachment; WANT is associated with unmet needs for connection with an HCP related to insecure attachment, but not to perceived HCP characteristics. These scales may be useful in studying the application of attachment theory to the HCP-patient relationship. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Japanese children's amae and mothers' attachment status as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview.

PubMed

Behrens, Kazuko Y; Kondo-Ikemura, Kiyomi

2011-10-01

This study explored whether Japanese mothers' attachment status, as judged by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), would affect the way they perceive their child's amae. Amae, an indigenous Japanese concept of relatedness, has troubled, fascinated, and even mystified scholars across disciplines. In particular, amae has been sometimes misconstrued as the insecure-ambivalent pattern of attachment due to their apparent behavioral similarities. In an attempt to explore an empirical link between attachment and amae, Japanese mothers' (N = 47) views on their six-year-olds' amae were examined based on a brief amae questionnaire, given following the standard AAI. Mothers generally reported their child's amae similarly for questions of frequency (e.g., how often your child exhibits amae behaviors) or situations (e.g., in what circumstances your child most often engages in amae). However, a difference emerged when mothers' free descriptions of their child's amae were examined for the content quality, categorized, and analyzed against their secure/insecure attachment statuses. Secure mothers depicted their child's amae as being more affective, thus more welcoming, whereas insecure mothers depicted their child's typical amae as being more instrumental or manipulative, thus perhaps less welcoming. Japanese mothers' current states of mind with respect to attachment do appear to affect the way they perceive their child's typical amae. Future research on attachment and amae is discussed.

Can patients be ‘attached’ to healthcare providers? An observational study to measure attachment phenomena in patient–provider relationships

PubMed Central

Maunder, Robert G; Hunter, Jonathan J

2016-01-01

Objectives To develop and assess the validity of measures of patients' attachment-related perceptions of experiences with healthcare providers (HCPs). Setting Online survey. Participants 181 people provided consent and 119 completed the survey (66%). Most participants were women (80%). Primary and secondary outcome measures Questions were developed to assess possible attachment functions served by an HCP and patients' attachment-related attitudes towards an HCP. Scales were constructed based on exploratory factor analysis. Measures of adult attachment, therapeutic alliance, perceived HCP characteristics and health utilisation were used to validate scales. Results Possible safe haven and secure base functions served by HCPs were strongly endorsed. A model with good fit (root mean square error of approximation=0.056) yielded 3 factors: ‘HCP experienced as supportive and safe’ (SUPPORT, α=0.94), ‘HCP experienced as aversive’ (AVERSE, α=0.86) and ‘more and closer contact wanted with HCP’ (WANT, α=0.85). SUPPORT was correlated with positive HCP characteristics and not with attachment insecurity. AVERSE was inversely correlated with positive HCP attributes and correlated with attachment insecurity. WANT was unrelated to positive HCP attributes, but correlated with attachment insecurity. Frequency of HCP contact was related to WANT (Kruskal-Wallis=21.9, p<0.001) and SUPPORT (Kruskal-Wallis=13.2, p=0.02), but not to AVERSE (Kruskal-Wallis=1.7, p=0.89). Conclusions Patients attribute attachment functions of secure base and safe haven to HCPs. SUPPORT is related to positive appraisal of HCP characteristics; AVERSE is associated with discomfort in the HCP relationship that is related with perceived HCP characteristics and patients' insecure attachment; WANT is associated with unmet needs for connection with an HCP related to insecure attachment, but not to perceived HCP characteristics. These scales may be useful in studying the application of attachment theory to the HCP–patient relationship. PMID:27178976

Links between parent characteristics and attachment variables for college students of parental divorce.

PubMed

Carranza, Laura V; Kilmann, Peter R; Vendemia, Jennifer M C

2009-01-01

This study investigated links between offsprings' attachment patterns and parent characteristics in 157 females and 62 males of parental divorce. Secure females and males reported affection, respect, and closeness toward both biological parents. Offsprings' insecure attachment pattern was associated with negative parent characteristics. Participants who perceived their same-sex parent negatively were more likely to report an insecure attachment. Our findings suggest delayed negative consequences of parental divorce for college women and men.

Prayer, Attachment to God, and Changes in Psychological Well-Being in Later Life.

PubMed

Bradshaw, Matt; Kent, Blake Victor

2018-06-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of prayer and attachment to God on psychological well-being (PWB) in later life. Using data from two waves of the nationwide Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, we estimate the associations between frequency of prayer and attachment to God at baseline with cross-wave changes in three measures of PWB: self-esteem, optimism, and life satisfaction. Prayer does not have a main effect on PWB. Secure attachment to God is associated with improvements in optimism but not self-esteem or life satisfaction. The relationship between prayer and PWB is moderated by attachment to God; prayer is associated with improvements in PWB among securely attached individuals but not those who are insecurely attached to God. These findings shed light on the complex relationship between prayer and PWB by showing that the effects of prayer are contingent upon one's perceived relationship with God.

The relationships between psychological mindedness, parental bonding and adult attachment.

PubMed

Bourne, Kathryn; Berry, Katherine; Jones, Lisa

2014-06-01

The aims of this study were to clarify the relationship between psychological mindedness and attachment relationships in childhood and adulthood. This analogue study examined associations between psychological mindedness and attachment using a cross-sectional design. Participants completed questionnaire measures of psychological mindedness, parental bonding, and adulthood attachment relationships. As hypothesized, psychological mindedness was strongly, negatively correlated with attachment avoidance in adulthood. Psychological mindedness was also positively correlated with perceived maternal care in childhood, and negatively correlated with perceived paternal over-protection. However, a regression analysis found that attachment avoidance in adulthood was a more significant predictor of psychological mindedness than parental bonding experiences in childhood. Further research is needed to replicate associations between attachment and psychological mindedness in clinical samples and to explore additional constructs which influence psychological mindedness. High attachment avoidance may be a potential risk factor for poor psychological mindedness. Helping individuals to develop more secure attachments in their adult relationships may improve their psychological mindedness. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Comparing Parent-Child and Teacher-Child Relationships in Early Adolescence: Measurement Invariance of Perceived Attachment-Related Dimensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Laet, Steven; Colpin, Hilde; Goossens, Luc; Van Leeuwen, Karla; Verschueren, Karine

2014-01-01

Through an examination of measurement invariance, this study investigated whether attachment-related dimensions (i.e., secure base, safe haven, and negative interactions as measured with the Network of Relationships Inventory-Behavioral Systems Version) have the same psychological meaning for early adolescents in their relationships with parents…

The Influence of Perceived Social Support, Maternal Affect, and the Home on Attachment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kopera, Karen F.; And Others

The paper examined the impact of maternal personality and maternal social support variables on the security of mother-infant attachment. The influence of maternal intelligence, affect balance, and life stress were also examined. Measures used included Loevinger's Ego Development Scale, Crnic's Satisfaction with Social Support, the Peabody Picture…

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.

Children's Recall of Storybook Events: Links with Attachment and Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Tia Panfile; Jehl, Brianna; Hamel, Kayla; McCurdy, Kelsey; Halt, Allison

2017-01-01

The quality of the attachment bond between a child and a caregiver can have lasting effects on how the child perceives, interprets, and recalls events through the filtering of internal working models. Previous research has shown that secure children tend to recall emotional information better than insecure children. The current study examined the…

Reliance on leaders and social institutions: an attachment perspective.

PubMed

Mayseless, Ofra; Popper, Micha

2007-03-01

The ramifications of attachment processes in adulthood at the societal level are explored, specifically, why and under what circumstances followers form attachment relationships with a leader, and how the variability in these relationships can reflect the followers' internal working models of attachment. It is argued that in crisis situations, individuals tend to form affectional bonds with (mostly charismatic) leaders that function in many respects like an attachment relationship between a child and a parent. Relations between individuals and various social institutions, such as community or state, are likewise portrayed as involving attachment dynamics. The provision of security and protection (the safe haven and the secure base functions) by social structures, institutions, and leaders is seen as needed because of the inherent perceived imperfection and fallibility of "regular" attachment figures in adulthood (e.g., parents, friends, and romantic partners). This reliance on leaders and social institutions is seen as reflecting the normative diversification in attachment dynamics that takes place with development. Cultural and individual variations in these processes are also considered.

Children's perceptions of emotion regulation strategy effectiveness: links with attachment security.

PubMed

Waters, Sara F; Thompson, Ross A

2016-08-01

Six- and nine-year-old children (N = 97) heard illustrated stories evoking anger in a story character and provided evaluations of the effectiveness of eight anger regulation strategies. Half the stories involved the child's mother as social partner and the other half involved a peer. Attachment security was assessed via the Security Scale. Children reported greater effectiveness for seeking support from adults and peers in the peer context than the mother context, but perceived venting as more effective with mothers. Children with higher security scores were more likely to endorse problem solving and less likely to endorse aggression in both social contexts than those with lower security scores. Early evidence for gender differences was found in that boys endorsed the effectiveness of distraction while girls endorsed venting their emotion.

Children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood.

PubMed

Zadeh, S; Jones, C M; Basi, T; Golombok, S

2017-04-01

What is the relationship between children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and their security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood? Children with higher levels of secure-autonomous attachment to their mothers were more likely to have positive perceptions of the donor, and those with higher levels of insecure-disorganized attachment to their mothers were more likely to perceive him negatively. There is limited understanding of the factors that contribute to children's thoughts and feelings about their donor in solo mother families. In adolescence, an association was found between adolescents' curiosity about donor conception and their security of attachment to their mothers. 19 children were administered the Friends and Family Interview and Donor Conception Interview between December 2015 and March 2016 as part of the second phase of a longitudinal, multi-method, multi-informant study of solo mother families. All children were aged between 7 and 13 years and had been conceived by donor insemination to solo mothers. Interviews were conducted in participants' homes. The Friends and Family Interview was rated according to a standardized coding scheme designed to measure security of attachment in terms of secure-autonomous, insecure-dismissing, insecure-preoccupied and insecure-disorganized attachment patterns. Quantitative analyses of the Donor Conception Interview yielded two factors: interest in the donor and perceptions of the donor. Qualitative analyses of the Donor Conception Interview were conducted using qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis. Statistically significant associations were found between the perception of the donor scale and the secure-autonomous and insecure-disorganized attachment ratings. Children with higher levels of secure-autonomous attachment to their mothers were more likely to have positive perceptions of the donor (r = 0.549, P = 0.015), and those with higher levels of insecure-disorganized attachment to their mothers were more likely to perceive him negatively (r = -0.632, P = 0.004). Children's narratives about the donor depicted him as a stranger (n = 8), a biological father (n = 4), a social parent (n = 3), or in ambivalent terms (n = 4). Findings are limited by the wide age range of children within a small overall sample size. Participants were those willing and able to take part in research on donor conception families. The statistical significance of correlation coefficients was not corrected for multiple comparisons. Findings highlight the importance of situating children's ideas about the donor within family contexts. It is recommended that those working with donor conception families consider this when advising parents about whether, what and how to tell children about donor conception. This study was funded by the Wellcome Trust [097857/Z/11/Z]. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

Paternal/maternal attachment, peer support, social expectations of peer interaction, and depressive symptoms.

PubMed

Liu, Yih-Lan

2006-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate how paternal and maternal attachment might relate to adolescents' peer support, social expectations of peer interaction, and depressive symptoms; 1,144 8th graders in Taiwan participated in the study. The relationships were examined through a structural equating modeling. Consistent with theoretical formulations, adolescents with secure attachments to parents reported higher peer support, fewer negative expectations, and fewer depressive symptoms. Paternal and maternal attachment contribute almost equally to adolescents' social expectations of peer interaction and depressive symptoms. Attachment to the same-sex parent was related to adolescents' perceived peer support.

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.

Perceived Close Relationships with Parents, Teachers, and Peers: Predictors of Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Features in Adolescents With LD or Comorbid LD and ADHD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Yagon, Michal

2016-01-01

This study examined the role of adolescents' perceived close relationships with significant others (attachment relationships with mothers/fathers, appraisal of homeroom teacher as secure base, and quality of peer friendship) in explaining differences in their socioemotional and behavioral functioning (peer-network/peer-dyadic loneliness,…

The secure base script and the task of caring for elderly parents: implications for attachment theory and clinical practice.

PubMed

Chen, Cory K; Waters, Harriet Salatas; Hartman, Marilyn; Zimmerman, Sheryl; Miklowitz, David J; Waters, Everett

2013-01-01

This study explores links between adults' attachment representations and the task of caring for elderly parents with dementia. Participants were 87 adults serving as primary caregivers of a parent or parent-in-law with dementia. Waters and Waters' ( 2006 ) Attachment Script Assessment was adapted to assess script-like attachment representation in the context of caring for their elderly parent. The quality of adult-elderly parent interactions was assessed using the Level of Expressed Emotions Scale (Cole & Kazarian, 1988 ) and self-report measures of caregivers' perception of caregiving as difficult. Caregivers' secure base script knowledge predicted lower levels of negative expressed emotion. This effect was moderated by the extent to which participants experienced caring for elderly parents as difficult. Attachment representations played a greater role in caregiving when caregiving tasks were perceived as more difficult. These results support the hypothesis that attachment representations influence the quality of care that adults provide their elderly parents. Clinical implications are discussed.

Self-esteem and the quest for felt security: how perceived regard regulates attachment processes.

PubMed

Murray, S L; Holmes, J G; Griffin, D W

2000-03-01

The authors proposed that personal feelings of self-esteem foster the level of confidence in a partner's regard critical for satisfying attachments. Dating and married couples described themselves, their partners, how they thought their partners saw them, and how they wanted their partners to see them on a variety of interpersonal qualities. The results revealed that low self-esteem individuals dramatically underestimated how positively their partners saw them. Such unwarranted and unwanted insecurities were associated with less generous perceptions of partners and lower relationship well-being. The converse was true for high self-esteem individuals. A longitudinal examination of the dating couples revealed that the vulnerabilities of lows were only exacerbated over time. A dependency regulation model is proposed, wherein felt security in a partner's perceived regard is suggested as a prime mechanism linking self-esteem to relational well-being.

Childbirth Pain, Attachment Orientations, and Romantic Partner Support During Labor and Delivery.

PubMed

Wilson, Carol L; Simpson, Jeffry A

2016-12-01

Attachment anxiety is associated with greater perceived physical pain, whereas social support is associated with lower pain perceptions. Few studies, however, have examined the joint effects of attachment and support on acute physical pain in a dyadic context. In this study, first-time expectant mothers ( N =140) and their male partners completed romantic attachment measures (prenatally) and postnatal assessments of women's pain and men's emotional support during labor and delivery. More securely attached women benefited from emotional support in terms of reduced pain, more avoidantly attached women reported greater pain when given more support, and more anxiously attached women reported greater pain, regardless of their partner's support. These results advance our understanding of which women are most vulnerable to painful childbirth.

Domestic Cats (Felis silvestris catus) Do Not Show Signs of Secure Attachment to Their Owners

PubMed Central

Potter, Alice; Mills, Daniel Simon

2015-01-01

The Ainsworth Strange Situation Test (SST) has been widely used to demonstrate that the bond between both children and dogs to their primary carer typically meets the requirements of a secure attachment (i.e. the carer being perceived as a focus of safety and security in otherwise threatening environments), and has been adapted for cats with a similar claim made. However methodological problems in this latter research make the claim that the cat-owner bond is typically a secure attachment, operationally definable by its behaviour in the SST, questionable. We therefore developed an adapted version of the SST with the necessary methodological controls which include a full counterbalance of the procedure. A cross-over design experiment with 20 cat-owner pairs (10 each undertaking one of the two versions of the SST first) and continuous focal sampling was used to record the duration of a range of behavioural states expressed by the cats that might be useful for assessing secure attachment. Since data were not normally distributed, non-parametric analyses were used on those behaviours shown to be reliable across the two versions of the test (which excluded much cat behaviour). Although cats vocalised more when the owner rather the stranger left the cat with the other individual, there was no other evidence consistent with the interpretation of the bond between a cat and its owner meeting the requirements of a secure attachment. These results are consistent with the view that adult cats are typically quite autonomous, even in their social relationships, and not necessarily dependent on others to provide a sense of security and safety. It is concluded that alternative methods need to be developed to characterise the normal psychological features of the cat-owner bond. PMID:26332470

Childbirth Pain, Attachment Orientations, and Romantic Partner Support During Labor and Delivery

PubMed Central

Wilson, Carol L.; Simpson, Jeffry A.

2016-01-01

Attachment anxiety is associated with greater perceived physical pain, whereas social support is associated with lower pain perceptions. Few studies, however, have examined the joint effects of attachment and support on acute physical pain in a dyadic context. In this study, first-time expectant mothers (N=140) and their male partners completed romantic attachment measures (prenatally) and postnatal assessments of women’s pain and men’s emotional support during labor and delivery. More securely attached women benefited from emotional support in terms of reduced pain, more avoidantly attached women reported greater pain when given more support, and more anxiously attached women reported greater pain, regardless of their partner’s support. These results advance our understanding of which women are most vulnerable to painful childbirth. PMID:28529444

Genetic and attachment influences on adolescents' regulation of autonomy and aggressiveness.

PubMed

Zimmermann, Peter; Mohr, Cornelia; Spangler, Gottfried

2009-11-01

Adolescence is a time when intense emotions are elicited within the parent-adolescent relationship, often when autonomy subjectively is endangered. As emotion dysregulation is one of the risk processes for the development of psychopathology, adolescence may be perceived as a highly sensitive period for maladjustment. Inter-individual differences in emotionality and emotion regulation have been shown to be influenced or moderated by molecular genetic differences in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) and by attachment patterns. We investigated whether both the 5-HTT and attachment are associated with emotionality and emotion regulation in an observed adolescent-mother interaction and the personality traits aggressiveness and anxiety in adolescence. Ninety-one adolescents at age 12 were observed in interaction with their mothers during a standardized emotion-eliciting social task to assess emotionality and emotion regulation in relation to autonomy. Adolescents' aggressiveness and anxiety were assessed by mother report. Concurrent attachment quality was determined by an attachment interview. DNA samples were collected in order to assess the 5-HTTLPR, a repeat polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene. While the short allele of the serotonin transporter gene was associated with a higher overall rate of autonomy behaviors, attachment security was related to more agreeable and less hostile autonomy. A significant interaction revealed a moderating effect of attachment security. Carriers of the short version of the 5-HTTLPR showed more agreeable autonomy when they had a secure attachment behavior strategy but showed more hostile autonomy when they were insecurely attached. Carriers of the short version of the 5-HTTLPR and insecurely attached adolescents were rated as more aggressive. The study suggests a gene-attachment interaction in adolescents where the adolescent's attachment status moderates a genetically based higher negative reactivity in response to threats to autonomy in social interactions.

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.

Stress, social support, emotional regulation, and exacerbation of diffuse plaque psoriasis.

PubMed

Picardi, A; Mazzotti, E; Gaetano, P; Cattaruzza, M S; Baliva, G; Melchi, C F; Biondi, M; Pasquini, P

2005-01-01

The authors' aim was to investigate the role of stressful events, perceived social support, attachment security, and alexithymia in triggering exacerbations of diffuse plaque psoriasis. Inpatients experiencing a recent exacerbation of diffuse plaque psoriasis (N=33) were compared with inpatients with skin conditions believed to have a negligible psychosomatic component (N=73). Stressful events during the last year were assessed with Paykel's Interview for Recent Life Events. Attachment style, alexithymia, and perceived social support were assessed with the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to control for age, gender, education, marital status, and alcohol consumption. In relation to comparison subjects, the patients with psoriasis had lower perceived social support and higher attachment-related avoidance. Also, they were more likely to have high alexithymic characteristics. There were no differences between the patients with psoriasis and the comparison subjects in scores on the Experiences in Close Relationships anxiety scale, the total number of stressful events, and the number of undesirable, uncontrollable, or major events. Although caution should be applied in generalizing these findings to outpatients, this study suggests that alexithymia, attachment-related avoidance, and poor social support might increase susceptibility to exacerbations of diffuse plaque psoriasis, possibly through impaired emotional regulation. Several physiological mechanisms involving the neuroendocrine and the immune system might mediate the interplay between stress, personality, and diffuse plaque psoriasis.

What bridges the gap between self-harm and suicidality? The role of forgiveness, resilience and attachment.

PubMed

Nagra, Gurmokh S; Lin, Ashleigh; Upthegrove, Rachel

2016-07-30

Self-harm is the most robust risk for completed suicide. There is a lack of understanding of why some people who self-harm escalate to suicidal behaviour when others do not. Psychological factors such as attachment, self-forgiveness and self-appraisal may be important. To determine whether factors from the Interpersonal Theory and Schematic Appraisals models are useful to identify suicidal behaviour in populations that self-harm. Specifically we investigate whether resilience factors of secure attachment, self-forgiveness and positive self-appraisals significantly influence suicidality in people who self-harm. A cross-sectional online study of 323 participants recruited from self-harm support forum. Validated self-report measures were used to assess appraisals, relationships, self-forgiveness, attachment style, suicidality and self-harm. Emotion coping and support seeking self-appraisals and self-forgiveness were negatively associated with suicidality in participants with a history of self-harm. Dismissing attachment was positively associated with suicidality. The perceived ability to cope with emotions, the perceived ability to gain support and self-forgiveness may protect against suicide in people who self-harm. Conversely the presence of dismissing attachment may increase the risk of suicidality. Findings provide therapeutic targets to reduce risk of suicidality in this high risk group. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

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 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 and physiological reactivity to infant crying in young adulthood: dissociation between experiential and physiological arousal in insecure adoptees.

PubMed

Schoenmaker, Christie; Huffmeijer, Renske; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; van den Dries, Linda; Linting, Mariëlle; van der Voort, Anja; Juffer, Femmie

2015-02-01

The associations between attachment representations of adopted young adults and their experiential and physiological arousal to infant crying were examined. Attachment representations were assessed with the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA), and the young adults listened to infant cries, during which ratings of cry perception were collected and physiological reactivity was measured. Secure adoptees showed a well-integrated response to infant distress: heart-rate increases and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) withdrawal were coupled with heightened perception of urgency in these individuals. In insecure adoptees RSA withdrawal was absent, and a combination of lowered perceived urgency and heightened sympathetic arousal was found, reflecting a deactivating style of emotional reactivity. Overall, our findings support the idea that internal working models of attachment explain individual differences in the way attachment-related information is processed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Analysis of Avoidant and Approach Coping as Mediators of the Relationship Between Paternal and Maternal Attachment Security and Outcomes in Child Victims of Sexual Abuse.

PubMed

Hébert, Martine; Daspe, Marie-Ève; Cyr, Mireille

2017-10-05

Prior studies have documented the potential role of nonoffending parent support in promoting recovery of adult survivors following sexual abuse (SA). However, few studies have distinguished the maternal and paternal role and the mechanisms by which quality of the parent-child relationship might foster more positive outcomes in child victims. The purpose of this study was to examine coping strategies as mediators of the link between mother-child and father-child relationship and outcomes following child SA. A sample of 505 children (339 girls and 166 boys) ages 6-13 years completed measures evaluating perceived attachment security to mother and father (Kerns Security Scale; Kerns, Klepac, & Cole, 1996), as well as coping strategies related to the SA experienced (Self-Reported Coping Scale; Causey & Dubow, 1992). Outcomes evaluated were posttraumatic stress symptoms (PSS; Children's Impact of Traumatic Events Scale-II [CITES-II]; Wolfe, 2002) and self-esteem (Harter, 1985). Results indicated that, in girls, both attachment security to the mother and to the father are associated with lower PSS symptoms and higher self-esteem through a lesser use of avoidant coping. Avoidance coping mediated the link between attachment security to the mother and outcomes in boys. In addition, security in the relationship with the same-sex parent was associated with approach coping, which in turn was associated with both outcomes for girls and with PSS for boys. Findings highlight the importance of involving both parents in interventions for sexually abused children as mothers and fathers appear to play different, yet complementary roles in sustaining children's recovery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

[The etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder from the aspects of attachment theory, with special regard to perceived parental treatment, attachment patterns and emotion regulation difficulties].

PubMed

Rejtô, Nóra; Papp, Gábor; Molnár, Judit

The focus of our study was the etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder from attachment aspects. Our aim was to examine the representations of perceived parental treatment, attachment patterns and the level of emotion regulation of people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder. 223 people participated in our study. The clinical group consisted of 92 persons with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, while the control group involved 131 people without OC symptoms. In the study we used the Young Parenting Inventory, the Relationship Questionnaire, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Besides we compiled a questionnaire based on the DSM-5 and a demographic questionnaire. Respondents could fill the questionnaires online. The clinical group is characterized by significantly higher toxic frustration of each five basic emotional needs than the control group. Specifically, in the case of people with OC smptoms the toxic parental treatments for Defectiveness/ Shame, Dependence/Incompetence, Enmeshment/Undeveloped self, Entitlement/Grandiosity, Approval-seeking/ Recognition-seeking, Negativity/Pessimism, Emotional inhibition, Unrelenting standards/Hypercriticalness and Punitiveness were significantly more frequent than in the control group. The OC group is also characterized by significantly lower rate of secure attachment style, while dismissive attachment style proved to be the most frequent attachment style among them. The OC group also struggle with significantly higher level of emotion regulation difficulties.

A developmental social neuroscience model for understanding loneliness in adolescence.

PubMed

Wong, Nichol M L; Yeung, Patcy P S; Lee, Tatia M C

2018-02-01

Loneliness is prevalent in adolescents. Although it can be a normative experience, children and adolescents who experience loneliness are often at risk for anxiety, depression, and suicide. Research efforts have been made to identify the neurobiological basis of such distressful feelings in our social brain. In adolescents, the social brain is still undergoing significant development, which may contribute to their increased and differential sensitivity to the social environment. Many behavioral studies have shown the significance of attachment security and social skills in adolescents' interactions with the social world. In this review, we propose a developmental social neuroscience model that extends from the social neuroscience model of loneliness. In particular, we argue that the social brain and social skills are both important for the development of adolescents' perceived loneliness and that adolescents' familial attachment sets the baseline for neurobiological development. By reviewing the related behavioral and neuroimaging literature, we propose a developmental social neuroscience model to explain the heightened perception of loneliness in adolescents using social skills and attachment style as neurobiological moderators. We encourage future researchers to investigate adolescents' perceived social connectedness from the developmental neuroscience perspective.

Hypersensitivity to Contingent Behavior in Paranoia: A New Virtual Reality Paradigm.

PubMed

Fornells-Ambrojo, Miriam; Elenbaas, Maaike; Barker, Chris; Swapp, David; Navarro, Xavier; Rovira, Aitor; Sanahuja, Josep Maria Tomàs; Slater, Mel

2016-02-01

Contingency in interpersonal relationships is associated with the development of secure attachment and trust, whereas paranoia arises from the overattribution of negative intentions. We used a new virtual reality paradigm to experimentally investigate the impact of contingent behavior on trust along the paranoia continuum. Sixty-one healthy participants were randomly allocated to have a social interaction with a pleasant virtual human (avatar) programmed to be highly responsive or not (high/low contingency). Perceived trustworthiness and trusting behavior were assessed alongside control variables attachment and anxiety. Higher paranoia and dismissive attachment were associated with larger interpersonal distances. Unexpectedly, extremely paranoid individuals experienced the highly contingent avatar as more trustworthy than their low contingency counterpart. Higher dismissive attachment was also associated with more subjective trust in both conditions. Extreme paranoia is associated with hypersensitivity to noncontingent behavior, which might explain experiences of mistrust when others are not highly responsive in everyday social situations.

Determinants of Child Attachment in the Years Postpartum in a High-Risk Sample of Immigrant Women.

PubMed

Lecompte, Vanessa; Rousseau, Cécile

2017-10-07

Our goal was to examine maternal mental health and associated stresses in a sample of high-risk immigrant mothers, and its association with child insecure attachment in the years following childbirth. Mothers and their child (Mage = 37 months) were recruited through a Health and Social Service organization in the Parc-Extension neighborhood in Montreal, Quebec. Mothers completed the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MPSS) and a sociodemographic questionnaire that included questions on premature delivery and birth weight. Attachment behaviors were coded out of a videotaped free play sequence using the Preschool and Early School-Age Attachment Rating Scales (PARS). Analysis revealed high levels of clinical anxiety and depression, low social support and low attachment security. Significant mean differences and associations were found between anxiety, depression, social support, preterm delivery and child attachment. These results underscore the importance of screening for anxiety and depression early in the postnatal years, in order to prevent associated consequences such as child insecure attachment. Results also highlight the importance of building positive social networks, especially with immigrant populations.

Genetic Contributions to Continuity and Change in Attachment Security: A Prospective, Longitudinal Investigation from Infancy to Young Adulthood

PubMed Central

Raby, K. Lee; Cicchetti, Dante; Carlson, Elizabeth A.; Egeland, Byron; Collins, W. Andrew

2013-01-01

Background Longitudinal research has demonstrated that individual differences in attachment security show only modest continuity from infancy to adulthood. Recent findings based on retrospective reports suggest that individuals’ genetic variation may moderate the developmental associations between early attachment-relevant relationship experiences and adult attachment security. The purpose of this study was to use a prospective, longitudinal design to investigate genetic contributions to continuity and changes in attachment security from infancy to young adulthood in a higher risk sample. Methods Infant attachment security was assessed using the Strange Situation Procedure at 12 and 18 months. Adults’ general attachment representations were assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview at age 19 and age 26. Romantic attachment representations were assessed with the Current Relationship Interview at ages 20–21 and ages 26–28. Individuals were genotyped for variants within the oxytocin receptor (OXTR), dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4), and serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR). Results The continuity of attachment security from infancy into young adulthood was consistently moderated by OXTR genetic variation. Infant attachment security predicted the security of adults’ general and romantic attachment representations only for individuals with the OXTR G/G genotype. This interaction was significant when predicting adult attachment security as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview at age 19 and 26 and the Current Relationship Interview at ages 26–28. DRD4 and 5-HTTLPR genetic variation did not consistently moderate the longitudinal associations between attachment security during infancy and adulthood. Conclusions This study provides initial longitudinal evidence for genetic contributions to continuity and change in attachment security from infancy to young adulthood. Genetic variation related to the oxytocin system may moderate the stability of attachment security across development. PMID:23731038

Father Involvement, Paternal Sensitivity, and Father-Child Attachment Security in the First Three Years

PubMed Central

Brown, Geoffrey L.; Mangelsdorf, Sarah C.; Neff, Cynthia

2014-01-01

To reach a greater understanding of the early father-child attachment relationship, this study examined concurrent and longitudinal associations among father involvement, paternal sensitivity, and father-child attachment security at 13 months and 3 years of age. Analyses revealed few associations among these variables at 13 months of age, but involvement and sensitivity independently predicted father-child attachment security at age 3. Moreover, sensitivity moderated the association between involvement and attachment security at 3 years. Specifically, involvement was unrelated to attachment security when fathers were highly sensitive, but positively related to attachment security when fathers were relatively less sensitive. Father involvement was also moderately stable across the two timepoints, but paternal sensitivity was not. Furthermore, there was significant stability in father-child attachment security from 13 months to 3 years. Secure attachment at 13 months also predicted greater levels of paternal sensitivity at 3 years, with sensitivity at age 3 mediating the association between 13 month and 3 year attachment security. In sum, a secure father-child attachment relationship a) was related to both quantity and quality of fathering behavior, b) remained relatively stable across early childhood, and c) predicted increased paternal sensitivity over time. These findings further our understanding of the correlates of early father-child attachment, and underscore the need to consider multiple domains of fathers’ parenting and reciprocal relations between fathering behavior and father-child attachment security. PMID:22468691

What promotes secure attachment in early adoption? The protective roles of infants' temperament and adoptive parents' attachment.

PubMed

Lionetti, Francesca

2014-01-01

Life before adoption is characterized by the lack of sensitive and stable caregiving, putting infants at risk for non-secure attachment patterns. What leads to adoptees' attachment security in their adoptive families has not been conclusively determined. We investigated the roles of children's temperament and adoptive parents' attachment on adoptees' attachment security. The variables were studied in a sample of 30 early-placed adoptees (age at adoption placement M = 5.37 months, SD = 4.43) and their adoptive mothers and fathers. Attachment patterns were investigated by means of the Strange Situation Procedure and the Adult Attachment Interview, and temperament via the Infant Behavior Questionnaire. Results showed that mothers' secure attachment, but not fathers' attachment or adoptees' temperament, increased the chance of secure attachment in adoptees. Temperament moderated the mother-child attachment match.

Maternal secure-base scripts and children's attachment security in an adopted sample.

PubMed

Veríssimo, Manuela; Salvaterra, Fernanda

2006-09-01

Studies of families with adopted children are of special interest to attachment theorists because they afford opportunities to probe assumptions of attachment theory with regard to the developmental timing of interactions necessary to form primary attachments and also with regard to effects of shared genes on child attachment quality. In Bowlby's model, attachment-relevant behaviors and interactions are observable from the moment of birth, but for adoptive families, these interactions cannot begin until the child enters the family, sometimes several months or even years post-partum. Furthermore, because adoptive parents and adopted children do not usually share genes by common descent, any correspondence between attachment representations of the parent and secure base behavior of the child must arise as a consequence of dyadic interaction histories. The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether the child's age at the time of adoption or at the time of attachment assessment predicted child attachment security in adoptive families and also whether the adoptive mother's internal attachment representation predicted the child's attachment security. The participants were 106 mother - child dyads selected from the 406 adoptions carried out through the Lisbon Department of Adoption Services over a period of 3 years. The Attachment Behavior Q-Set (AQS; Waters, 1995) was used to assess secure base behavior and an attachment script representation task was used to assess the maternal attachment representations. Neither child's age at the time of adoption, nor age of the child at assessment significantly predicted the AQS security score; however, scores reflecting the presence and quality of maternal secure base scripts did predict AQS security. These findings support the notion that the transmission of attachment security across generations involves mutual exchanges and learning by the child and that the exchanges leading to secure attachment need not begin at birth. These results complement the findings and conceptual arguments offered by Bowlby and Ainsworth concerning the critical influence of maternal representations of attachment to the quality of attachment security in children.

Father involvement, paternal sensitivity, and father-child attachment security in the first 3 years.

PubMed

Brown, Geoffrey L; Mangelsdorf, Sarah C; Neff, Cynthia

2012-06-01

To reach a greater understanding of the early father-child attachment relationship, this study examined concurrent and longitudinal associations among father involvement, paternal sensitivity, and father-child attachment security at 13 months and 3 years of age. Analyses revealed few associations among these variables at 13 months of age, but involvement and sensitivity independently predicted father-child attachment security at age 3. Moreover, sensitivity moderated the association between involvement and attachment security at 3 years. Specifically, involvement was unrelated to attachment security when fathers were highly sensitive, but positively related to attachment security when fathers were relatively less sensitive. Father involvement was also moderately stable across the two time points, but paternal sensitivity was not. Furthermore, there was significant stability in father-child attachment security from 13 months to 3 years. Secure attachment at 13 months also predicted greater levels of paternal sensitivity at 3 years, with sensitivity at age 3 mediating the association between 13 month and 3 year attachment security. In sum, a secure father-child attachment relationship (a) was related to both quantity and quality of fathering behavior, (b) remained relatively stable across early childhood, and (c) predicted increased paternal sensitivity over time. These findings further our understanding of the correlates of early father-child attachment, and underscore the need to consider multiple domains of fathers' parenting and reciprocal relations between fathering behavior and father-child attachment security. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

A Proposed Cosmology of Identity in the Sociotechnical Ecosystem of Homeland Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

extremist violence based on “what we know about the psychological and social factors motivating young people to join extremist groups.”6 The consistent...Veblen (1857–1929), an American sociologist and economist.56 If we look at the historical co-evolution of human societies and technology, we see that...in self-perceived identity and physical behaviors when the psychological attachment to avatars becomes an authentic experience. The concept of

Stressful life events, social support, attachment security and alexithymia in vitiligo. A case-control study.

PubMed

Picardi, A; Pasquini, P; Cattaruzza, M S; Gaetano, P; Melchi, C F; Baliva, G; Camaioni, D; Tiago, A; Abeni, D; Biondi, M

2003-01-01

It has often been suggested that stress might trigger vitiligo. However, only one study supported this hypothesis, and no study explored the role of other personality or social factors. Out-patients experiencing a recent onset or exacerbation of vitiligo (n = 31) were compared with out-patients with skin conditions in which psychosomatic factors are commonly were regarded as negligible (n = 116). Stressful events during the last 12 months were assessed with Paykel's Interview for Recent Life Events. Attachment style, alexithymia and social support were assessed with the 'Experiences in Close Relationships' questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, respectively. Cases and controls did not differ regarding the total number of events and the number of undesirable, uncontrollable or major events. Three or more uncontrollable events had occurred more frequently among cases than controls. Perceived social support was lower in cases than in controls. Cases scored higher than controls on anxious attachment, tended towards higher scores on avoidant attachment and were classified more often as insecure. Cases scored higher than controls on the TAS-20 and were classified more often as alexithymic or borderline alexithymic. The occurrence of many uncontrollable events, alexithymia and anxious attachment were associated with vitiligo also in multiple logistic regression analysis. These findings suggest that vulnerability to vitiligo is not increased by stressful events, except for many uncontrollable events. Alexithymia, insecure attachment and poor social support appear to increase susceptibility to vitiligo, possibly through deficits in emotion regulation or reduced ability to cope effectively with stress. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

The relationship between perceived parenting, adult attachment style and alexithymia in alcoholic inpatients.

PubMed

De Rick, Ann; Vanheule, Stijn

2006-07-01

In this paper we examine the understudied relationship between alexithymia on the one hand, and adult attachment and perceived parenting on the other hand, in a clinical sample of alcoholic inpatients (N=101). We test whether differences between a high and a low scoring group on trait alexithymia can be predicted on the basis of attachment style and perceived parenting. We observed that the avoidant attachment style is a strong predictor. Subsequently we test whether three dimensions of alexithymia - affective, cognitive and social - are meaningfully linked to adult attachment and perceived parenting. We noticed that cognitive alexithymia especially was predicted by the avoidant attachment style and a lack of warmth perceived in the relationship to the father.

The Freedom to Choose Secure Attachment Relationships in Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keren, Einat; Mayseless, Ofra

2013-01-01

This study was based on the attachment-security hypothesis (H. Latty-Mann & K. E. Davis, 1996) that predicts that all individuals, regardless of attachment style, should demonstrate a preference for secure partners who are most likely to offer attachment security. It was therefore expected that with the transfer of attachment functions from…

Toward Assessing Attachment on an Emotional Security Continuum: Comment on Fraley and Spieker (2003).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cummings, E. Mark

2003-01-01

Advocates renewed efforts toward assessing attachment on a single continuum of emotional security. Contends that theory is essential to guide attachment assessment and that the constructs of secure base and emotional security provide the needed conceptual foundation. Addresses challenges to the scoring of attachment on a security continuum.…

What is a 'secure base' when death is approaching? A study applying attachment theory to adult patients' and family members' experiences of palliative home care.

PubMed

Milberg, A; Wåhlberg, R; Jakobsson, M; Olsson, E-C; Olsson, M; Friedrichsen, M

2012-08-01

Attachment theory has received much interest lately in relation to how adults cope with stress and severe illness. The aim of this study was using the experiences of patients and family members to explore palliative home care as a 'secure base' (a central concept within the theory). Twelve patients and 14 family members were interviewed during ongoing palliative home care. The interviews were analysed with deductive qualitative content analysis. Informants expressed the relevance of sensing security during palliative home care because death and dying were threats that contributed to vulnerability. Palliative home care could foster a feeling of security and provide a secure base. This was facilitated when informants had trust in staff (e.g. due to availability and competence in providing symptom relief), felt recognised as individuals and welcomed to contact the team in times of needs. Being comfortable, informed and having an everyday life also contributed to a perception of palliative home care as a secure base. Family members stressed the importance of being relieved from responsibilities that were too heavy. The underlying meanings of experiencing palliative home care as a secure base involved gaining a sense of control and of inner peace, perceiving that despite a demanding and changed life situation, one could continue partially being oneself and having something to hope for, even if this no longer concerned cure for the ill person. Important aspects of palliative home care as providing a secure base were identified and these have implications for clinical practice. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Predictors of attachment security in preschool children from intact and divorced families.

PubMed

Nair, Hira; Murray, Ann D

2005-09-01

The authors selected 58 mother-child dyads from divorced and intact families to participate in a study on the impact of divorce on preschoolers' attachment security. The authors explored pathways that lead to security of attachment. They found that mothers from divorced families were younger, had lower income levels, and had lower levels of education compared with their intact counterparts. Divorced mothers also reported significantly higher levels of stress, depression, need for social support, and conflict with their spouses. Mothers from intact families were more likely to use positive (authoritative) parenting styles compared with divorced mothers. Children in the divorced group had lower security scores on the Attachment Q-Set instrument (E. Waters, 1995). Regression analyses indicated that parenting style made a direct (independent) contribution to attachment security. In addition, temperament was related to attachment security, but temperament did not diminish the association of parenting style with attachment security. Furthermore, regression analyses indicated that the relationship of divorce to attachment security was mediated by parenting style.

Genetic moderation of stability in attachment security from early childhood to age 18 years: A replication study.

PubMed

Raby, K Lee; Roisman, Glenn I; Booth-LaForce, Cathryn

2015-11-01

A longstanding question for attachment theory and research is whether genetically based characteristics of the child influence the development of attachment security and its stability over time. This study attempted to replicate and extend recent findings indicating that the developmental stability of attachment security is moderated by oxytocin receptor (OXTR) genetic variants. Using longitudinal data from over 550 individuals, there was no evidence that OXTR rs53576 moderated the association between attachment security during early childhood and overall coherence of mind ("security") during the Adult Attachment Interview at age 18 years. Additional analyses involving a second commonly investigated OXTR variant (rs2254298) and indices of individuals' dismissing and preoccupied attachment states of mind also failed to provide robust evidence for oxytonergic moderation of the stability in attachment security across development. The discussion focuses on research strategies for investigating genetic contributions to attachment security across the life span. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Priming the Secure Attachment Schema Affects the Emotional Face Processing Bias in Attachment Anxiety: An fMRI Research

PubMed Central

Tang, Qingting; Chen, Xu; Hu, Jia; Liu, Ying

2017-01-01

Our study explored how priming with a secure base schema affects the processing of emotional facial stimuli in individuals with attachment anxiety. We enrolled 42 undergraduate students between 18 and 27 years of age, and divided them into two groups: attachment anxiety and attachment secure. All participants were primed under two conditions, the secure priming using references to the partner, and neutral priming using neutral references. We performed repeated attachment security priming combined with a dual-task paradigm and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants’ reaction times in terms of responding to the facial stimuli were also measured. Attachment security priming can facilitate an individual’s processing of positive emotional faces; for instance, the presentation of the partner’s name was associated with stronger activities in a wide range of brain regions and faster reaction times for positive facial expressions in the subjects. The current finding of higher activity in the left-hemisphere regions for secure priming rather than neutral priming is consistent with the prediction that attachment security priming triggers the spread of the activation of a positive emotional state. However, the difference in brain activity during processing of both, positive and negative emotional facial stimuli between the two priming conditions appeared in the attachment anxiety group alone. This study indicates that the effect of attachment secure priming on the processing of emotional facial stimuli could be mediated by chronic attachment anxiety. In addition, it highlights the association between higher-order processes of the attachment system (secure attachment schema priming) and early-stage information processing system (attention), given the increased attention toward the effects of secure base schema on the processing of emotion- and attachment-related information among the insecure population. Thus, the following study has applications in providing directions for clinical treatment of mood disorders in attachment anxiety. PMID:28473796

Priming the Secure Attachment Schema Affects the Emotional Face Processing Bias in Attachment Anxiety: An fMRI Research.

PubMed

Tang, Qingting; Chen, Xu; Hu, Jia; Liu, Ying

2017-01-01

Our study explored how priming with a secure base schema affects the processing of emotional facial stimuli in individuals with attachment anxiety. We enrolled 42 undergraduate students between 18 and 27 years of age, and divided them into two groups: attachment anxiety and attachment secure. All participants were primed under two conditions, the secure priming using references to the partner, and neutral priming using neutral references. We performed repeated attachment security priming combined with a dual-task paradigm and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants' reaction times in terms of responding to the facial stimuli were also measured. Attachment security priming can facilitate an individual's processing of positive emotional faces; for instance, the presentation of the partner's name was associated with stronger activities in a wide range of brain regions and faster reaction times for positive facial expressions in the subjects. The current finding of higher activity in the left-hemisphere regions for secure priming rather than neutral priming is consistent with the prediction that attachment security priming triggers the spread of the activation of a positive emotional state. However, the difference in brain activity during processing of both, positive and negative emotional facial stimuli between the two priming conditions appeared in the attachment anxiety group alone. This study indicates that the effect of attachment secure priming on the processing of emotional facial stimuli could be mediated by chronic attachment anxiety. In addition, it highlights the association between higher-order processes of the attachment system (secure attachment schema priming) and early-stage information processing system (attention), given the increased attention toward the effects of secure base schema on the processing of emotion- and attachment-related information among the insecure population. Thus, the following study has applications in providing directions for clinical treatment of mood disorders in attachment anxiety.

Autism and Attachment: The Attachment Q-Sort

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutgers, Anna H.; Van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; Swinkels, Sophie H. N.

2007-01-01

Children with autism are able to show secure attachment behaviours to their parents/caregivers. Most studies on attachment in children with autism used a (modified) Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to examine attachment security. An advantage of the Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) over the SSP is that it can be attuned to the secure-base behaviour of…

Attachment anxiety benefits from security priming: Evidence from working memory performance

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

The present study investigates the relationship between the attachment dimensions (anxious vs. avoidance) and the cognitive performance of individuals, specifically whether the attachment dimensions would predict the working memory (WM) performance. In the n-back task, reflecting the WM capacity, both attachment related and non-attachment related words were used. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups that received either the secure or the neutral subliminal priming. In the secure priming condition, the aim was to induce sense of security by presenting secure attachment words prior to the n-back task performance. In neutral priming condition, neutral words that did not elicit sense of security were presented. Structural equation modeling revealed divergent patterns for attachment anxiety and avoidance dimensions under the different priming conditions. In neutral priming condition, WM performance declined in terms of capacity in the n-back task for individuals who rated higher levels of attachment anxiety. However in the secure priming condition, WM performance was boosted in the n-back task for individuals who rated higher levels of attachment anxiety. In other words, the subliminal priming of the security led to increased WM capacity of individuals who rated higher levels of attachment anxiety. This effect, however, was not observed for higher levels of attachment avoidance. Results are discussed along the lines of hyperactivation and deactivation strategies of the attachment system. PMID:29522549

Neural evidence for a multifaceted model of attachment security.

PubMed

Canterberry, Melanie; Gillath, Omri

2013-06-01

The sense of attachment security has been linked with a host of beneficial outcomes related to personal and relational well-being. Moreover, research has demonstrated that the sense of attachment security can be enhanced via cognitive priming techniques. Studies using such techniques have shown that security priming results with similar outcomes as dispositional attachment security. The way security priming leads to these effects, however, is yet to be unveiled. Using fMRI we took one step in that direction and examined the neural mechanisms underlying enhanced attachment security. Participants were exposed to explicit and implicit security- and insecurity-related words. Security priming led to co-occurring activation in brain areas reflective of cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes (e.g., medial frontal cortex, parahippocampus, BA 6). There were activation differences based on attachment style. This research serves as an important step in mapping out the security process and supports a conceptualization of security as part of a behavioral system with multiple components. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attachment security and obesity in US preschool-aged children.

PubMed

Anderson, Sarah E; Whitaker, Robert C

2011-03-01

To estimate the association between attachment security in children aged 24 months and their risk for obesity at 4½ years of age. Insecure attachment is associated with unhealthy physiologic and behavioral responses to stress, which could lead to development of obesity. Cohort study. National sample of US children born in 2001. Children and mothers participating in the 2003 and 2005-2006 waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. Our analytic sample included 6650 children (76.0% of children assessed in both waves). Attachment security at 24 months was assessed by trained interviewers during observation in the child's home. Insecure attachment was defined as lowest quartile of attachment security, based on the security score from the Toddler Attachment Sort-45 Item. Obesity at 4½ years of age (sex-specific body mass index ≥95th percentile for age). The prevalence of obesity was 23.1% in children with insecure attachment and 16.6% in those with secure attachment. For children with insecure attachment, the odds of obesity were 1.30 (95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.62) times higher than for children with secure attachment after controlling for the quality of mother-child interaction during play, parenting practices related to obesity, maternal body mass index, and sociodemographic characteristics. Insecure attachment in early childhood may be a risk factor for obesity. Interventions to increase children's attachment security should examine the effects on children's weight.

The relevance of security: A latent domain of attachment relationships.

PubMed

Mannarini, Stefania; Boffo, Marilisa

2014-02-01

In the present study an adult attachment dimension, latent to the constructs of security, anxiety, and avoidance, was hypothesized, wherein security was expected to occupy the most relevant position. Furthermore, the reciprocal functioning of attachment constructs and their interactions with self-esteem were explored. Four hundreds and thirty-four Italian university students responded to two adult attachment questionnaires (Attachment Style Questionnaire and Adult Attachment Questionnaire) and to the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale. A Many-Facet Rasch Measurement modeling approach was adopted. The main results can be summarized as follows: (a) security, anxiety, and avoidance are nested under one latent attachment dimension; (b) security occupies the most prominent position on the dimension; (c) security is positively associated with a moderate level of attachment anxiety and negatively related to avoidance; and (d) a positive interaction between self-esteem and security, and a negative relation between self-esteem and anxiety, were detected. Theoretical, clinical, and empirical implications of the results are further discussed. © 2013 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mother-Child Attachment From Infancy to the Preschool Years: Predicting Security and Stability.

PubMed

Meins, Elizabeth; Bureau, Jean-François; Fernyhough, Charles

2018-05-01

Relations between maternal mind-mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind-related comments), children's age-2 perspective-taking abilities, and attachment security at 44 (n = 165) and 51 (n = 128) months were investigated. Nonattuned comments predicted insecure preschool attachment, via insecure 15-month attachment security (44-month attachment) and poorer age-2 perspective-taking abilities (51-month attachment). With regard to attachment stability, higher perspective-taking abilities distinguished the stable secure groups from (a) the stable insecure groups and (b) children who changed from secure to insecure (at trend level). These effects were independent of child gender, stressful life events, and socioeconomic status (SES). The contribution of these findings to our understanding of stability and change in attachment security from infancy to the preschool years is discussed. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Prospective Effects of Interparental Conflict on Child Attachment Security and the Moderating Role of Parents' Romantic Attachment

PubMed Central

Laurent, Heidemarie K.; Kim, Hyoun K.; Capaldi, Deborah M.

2009-01-01

This study investigated the impact of parents' observed conflict behavior on subsequent child attachment security, both as a main effect and as moderated by parents' romantic attachment. Participants were 80 heterosexual couples involving men from the Oregon Youth Study and their first-born children. We used hierarchical linear modeling to predict child security with each parent. Interparental psychological aggression predicted lower child security with father, regardless of romantic attachment. If the father was insecure, interparental positive engagement predicted lower child security with him. If either the mother or father was avoidant, interparental withdrawal did not predict lower child security, though it did for more secure parents. Results are discussed in terms of implications of attachment-(in)congruent behavior for parents' emotional availability. PMID:18540766

Japanese children's family drawings and their link to attachment.

PubMed

Behrens, Kazuko Y; Kaplan, Nancy

2011-09-01

This study explored the applicability of family drawings as a tool to estimate attachment security in a sample of Japanese six-year-olds (N = 47), applying Kaplan and Main's ( 1986 ) Family Drawing system. Maternal secure/insecure attachment status judged by the Adult Attachment Interview predicted family drawings' secure/insecure distinction produced by Japanese six-year-olds. However, insecure Japanese drawings took forms not seen in the original Berkeley drawings, such as a lineup of faces alone. Further examination of the Japanese children's drawings using global rating scales (Fury, Carlson, & Sroufe, 1997 ) yielded significant gender differences, rarely reported in the attachment literature, with girls scoring higher in scales that predict attachment security and boys scoring higher in scales that predict attachment insecurity. However, attachment security, as captured in the drawings, was not related to attachment security, observed behaviorally using Main and Cassidy's ( 1988 ) sixth-year reunion system. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of measurements, gender, and culture.

Longitudinal Associations of Explosive and Adventurous Temperament Profiles With Character Development: The Modifying Effects of Social Support and Attachment.

PubMed

Saarinen, Aino I L; Rosenström, Tom H; Hakulinen, Christian A; Cloninger, Claude Robert; Hintsanen, Mirka H M; Pulkki-Råback, Laura M; Lehtimäki, Terho; Raitakari, Olli T; Keltikangas-Järvinen, Liisa

The aim of this study was to examine (a) whether adventurous and explosive temperament profiles (presumed precursors of antisocial and borderline personality) are associated with character traits over a 15-year follow-up and (b) whether social support and attachment security modify the relationship between temperament profiles and character development. 2,028 subjects of the Young Finns study completed the Temperament and Character Inventory, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Relationship Questionnaire at 3 assessment points between 1997 and 2012. Both explosive and adventurous temperament profiles seemed to predispose individuals to have less mature personalities; that is, these profiles were consistently associated with lower cooperativeness (P < .001), and explosive temperament also with lower self-directedness (P < .001), over the entire follow-up period. These relationships did not vary significantly at the individual level and were sustained after controlling for age, gender, and socioeconomic status. However, the presence of high social support and secure attachment was found to decrease the likelihood that explosive temperament would lead to an immature adulthood character (P < .001). In contrast, persons with the adventurous temperament were likely to have a more mature character under low social support and an immature one under high experienced social support (P < .05). Individuals with the explosive temperament benefit from high social support and secure attachment. From the point of view of the therapy process, this knowledge might be of importance. In contrast, individuals with the adventurous temperament were able to direct their behavior better in social environments that were not likely to support their basic temperaments. © Copyright 2018 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

The Secure-Base Hypothesis: Global Attachment, Attachment to Counselor, and Session Exploration in Psychotherapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romano, Vera; Fitzpatrick, Marilyn; Janzen, Jennifer

2008-01-01

This study explored J. Bowlby's (1988) secure-base hypothesis, which predicts that a client's secure attachment to the therapist, as well as the client's and the therapist's global attachment security, will facilitate in-session exploration. Volunteer clients (N = 59) and trainee counselors (N = 59) in short-term therapy completed the Experiences…

Attachment Security and Obesity in US Preschool-Aged Children

PubMed Central

Anderson, Sarah E.; Whitaker, Robert C.

2011-01-01

Objective Insecure attachment is associated with unhealthy physiologic and behavioral responses to stress, which could lead to the development of obesity. We estimated the association between children’s attachment security at 24 months of age and risk for obesity at 4.5 years of age. Design Cohort study. Setting National sample of US children born in 2001. Participants Children and mothers participating in the 2003 and 2005-2006 waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. Our analytic sample included 6650 children (76% of children assessed at both waves). Main Exposure Attachment security at 24 months was assessed by trained interviewers following observation in the child’s home. Insecure attachment was defined as lowest quartile of attachment security, based on the security score from the Toddler Attachment Sort. Outcome Measure Obesity at 4.5 years of age (sex-specific BMI ≥95th percentile for age). Results The prevalence of obesity was 23.1% in children with insecure attachment and 16.6% in those with secure attachment. For children with insecure attachment, the odds (95% confidence interval) of obesity was 1.30 (1.05, 1.62) times higher than for children with secure attachment, after controlling for the quality of mother-child interaction during play, parenting practices related to obesity, maternal body mass index, and sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusions Insecure attachment in early childhood may be a previously unrecognized risk factor for obesity. Interventions to increase children’s attachment security should also examine impacts on children’s weight. PMID:21383273

Transitions in Friendship Attachment in Adolescence is Associated with Developmental Trajectories of Depression through Adulthood

PubMed Central

Heinze, Justin; Miller, Alison L.; Zimmerman, Marc A.

2015-01-01

Purpose Forming secure friendship attachments during adolescence are important for mental health; few, however, have specifically examined the ways in which the transitions in attachment during adolescence may influence future mental health outcomes among African-Americans. Method The current study examines how transitions in attachment in adolescence predicted changes in depression symptoms from late adolescents through adulthood in an African-American sample of adolescents. We used growth curve modeling to examine the association between transitions in friendship attachment and changes in depression symptoms in adulthood. Results At age 16, 346 (64.0%) reported secure attachment with 195 (36.0%) reporting either avoidant or resistant attachment. At age 17, 340 (62.9%) reported secure attachment and 201 (37.2%) reported avoidant or resistant attachment. The largest percentage of participants (46.2%) reported stable-secure attachment across the two time points. Results of the growth model indicated that adolescents who reported a stable-secure attachment style had lower levels of depression symptoms during adulthood than those individuals who transitioned from secure-to-insecure, from insecure-to-secure, or were in the stable-insecure group. Interestingly enough, individuals in both of the attachment transition groups had a faster declining rate of depression symptoms over time compared to the two stability groups. Conclusion Data support existing research showing an association between transitions in attachment during adolescence and depression through adulthood. Further these study findings suggest there may be protective features associated with transitioning between attachment styles during adolescence on later depression, compared to African-American’s who remain stable in their attachment style. PMID:26903426

Mind matters: A meta-analysis on parental mentalization and sensitivity as predictors of infant-parent attachment.

PubMed

Zeegers, Moniek A J; Colonnesi, Cristina; Stams, Geert-Jan J M; Meins, Elizabeth

2017-12-01

Major developments in attachment research over the past 2 decades have introduced parental mentalization as a predictor of infant-parent attachment security. Parental mentalization is the degree to which parents show frequent, coherent, or appropriate appreciation of their infants' internal states. The present study examined the triangular relations between parental mentalization, parental sensitivity, and attachment security. A total of 20 effect sizes (N = 974) on the relation between parental mentalization and attachment, 82 effect sizes (N = 6,664) on the relation between sensitivity and attachment, and 24 effect sizes (N = 2,029) on the relation between mentalization and sensitivity were subjected to multilevel meta-analyses. The results showed a pooled correlation of r = .30 between parental mentalization and infant attachment security, and rs of .25 for the correlations between sensitivity and attachment security, and between parental mentalization and sensitivity. A meta-analytic structural equation model was performed to examine the combined effects of mentalization and sensitivity as predictors of infant attachment. Together, the predictors explained 12% of the variance in attachment security. After controlling for the effect of sensitivity, the relation between parental mentalization and attachment remained, r = .24; the relation between sensitivity and attachment remained after controlling for parental mentalization, r = .19. Sensitivity also mediated the relation between parental mentalization and attachment security, r = .07, suggesting that mentalization exerts both direct and indirect influences on attachment security. The results imply that parental mentalization should be incorporated into existing models that map the predictors of infant-parent attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal associations between perceived parent-adolescent attachment relationship quality and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms in adolescence.

PubMed

van Eijck, Fenna E A M; Branje, Susan J T; Hale, William W; Meeus, Wim H J

2012-08-01

This longitudinal study examined the direction of effects between adolescents' generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms and perceived parent-adolescent attachment relationship quality, as well as the moderating role of gender and age. 1,313 Dutch adolescents (48.5% boys) from two age cohorts of early (n = 923, M(age) = 12 at W1) and middle (n = 390, M(age) = 16 at W1) adolescents completed questionnaires regarding their attachment relationship to parents and GAD symptoms in four waves. Cross-lagged path analyses demonstrated that adolescents' GAD symptoms and perceived father-adolescent attachment relationship quality bidirectionally negatively affected each other over time. For mothers, adolescents' GAD symptoms negatively predicted perceived mother-adolescent attachment relationship quality over time. The within-wave correlated residuals between perceived attachment relationship quality with fathers and GAD symptoms were stronger for boys than for girls and stronger for the cohort of middle adolescents than for the cohort of early adolescents. This study demonstrates that both the parents' and the adolescents' gender as well as the adolescents' age affects the relation between adolescents' GAD symptoms and perceived parent-adolescent attachment relationship quality.

Script-like attachment representations in dreams containing current romantic partners.

PubMed

Selterman, Dylan; Apetroaia, Adela; Waters, Everett

2012-01-01

Recent research has demonstrated parallels between romantic attachment styles and general dream content. The current study examined partner-specific attachment representations alongside dreams that contained significant others. The general prediction was that dreams would follow the "secure base script," and a general correspondence would emerge between secure attachment cognitions in waking life and in dreams. Sixty-one undergraduate student participants in committed dating relationships of six months duration or longer completed the Secure Base Script Narrative Assessment at Time 1, and then completed a dream diary for 14 consecutive days. Blind coders scored dreams that contained significant others using the same criteria for secure base content in laboratory narratives. Results revealed a significant association between relationship-specific attachment security and the degree to which dreams about romantic partners followed the secure base script. The findings illuminate our understanding of mental representations with regards to specific attachment figures. Implications for attachment theory and clinical applications are discussed.

An Investigation of the Factors Related to Low Parent-Adolescent Attachment Security in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chen, Chen-Jung; Sung, Huei-Chuan; Chen, Yi-Chang; Wang, Chih-Hung

2017-09-01

Adolescence may involve increases in many behavioral problems and psychosocial maladaptation. Adolescents must successfully cope with these challenges to achieve positive developmental milestones. To investigate whether low parental attachment security among adolescents in Taiwan is associated with their demographic characteristics, psychosocial maladaptation, and depression. A cross-sectional survey. A total of 335 adolescents completed the questionnaires. The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, the Chinese version of the Youth Self-Report, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II were used to survey the participants. Correlation and multiple linear regressions, using low attachment security as the response variable, were used in the statistical analysis. The prevalence of Taiwanese adolescents with low parental attachment security was 38.5%. Low parental attachment security in adolescents was significantly associated with parental remarriage status and psychosocial maladaptation. By considering these risk factors, nursing educators and nurses could develop effective interventions to strengthen parent-adolescent attachment security.

Factors Affecting Attachment in International Adoptees at 6 Months Post Adoption

PubMed Central

Weiss, Sandra

2011-01-01

This pilot study examined the effect of five child and maternal factors on the attachment security of international adoptees at six months post adoption. Results from the sample of 22 adoptive mother-infant dyads showed that age at adoption, developmental status, length and quality of preadoption care, and maternal attachment representations were not significant predictors of child attachment status. The number of preadoption placements and the child's stress level did significantly predict attachment status, accounting for approximately 40% of the variance in attachment security. Number of preadoption placements uniquely contributed 14% of that variance (p=.007) while stress level uniquely contributed 12% (p=.01). Children who had fewer preadoption placements had higher attachment security; similarly, children who had lower stress levels had higher attachment security. Results suggest that consistency of preadoption care was more important than its length or quality. Further, the relationship between stress level and attachment security raises the possibility that a lower stress level functions as a protective factor for the developing attachment with the adoptive mother. PMID:22267885

Looking beyond maternal sensitivity: mother-child correlates of attachment security among children with intellectual disabilities in urban India.

PubMed

John, Aesha; Morris, Amanda Sheffield; Halliburton, Amy L

2012-11-01

This study examined correlates of attachment security among children with intellectual disabilities in urban India. Survey and observational data were gathered from 47 children, mothers, and teachers on children's attachment security, adaptive functioning, and mother-child emotional availability. The data were analyzed to examine whether child emotional availability mediates the links between maternal emotional availability and child attachment security, and between child functioning and attachment security. The results supported full mediation, indicating that children's emotional availability was a primary mechanism through which maternal emotional availability and child functioning were linked to attachment security among children in our sample. The study findings are discussed in the context of implications for family interventions and research on socio-emotional development among children with intellectual disabilities.

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 reducing stress levels, whatever the attachment style may be. © 2013 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Sources of perceived responsiveness in family relationships.

PubMed

Cook, William L; Dezangré, Marie; De Mol, Jan

2018-05-10

Perceived responsiveness has become one of the most important constructs in the relationship sciences. It is central to the development of a secure attachment style, the experience of social support, an internal locus of control, and the sense of control in close relationships. Conversely, an unresponsive environment is associated with learned helplessness and depression. Viewed through the lens of the social relations model (SRM), perceived responsiveness in family relationships could have multiple sources: the perceiver; the target or partner; the perceiver-target relationship; and the family group. This study used the SRM to determine the relative importance of these sources of perceived responsiveness in the relationships of 207 two-parent two-child families. Characteristics of the perceiver and the target each accounted for about 25% of the systematic variance in perceived responsiveness, whereas the perceiver-target relationship accounted for approximately 48%. At the individual level of analysis, reciprocity of perceived responsiveness was pervasive in the family relationships of the two children. Regardless of age, young people who generally perceived others as responsive were generally perceived by others as responsive. At the dyadic level of analysis, reciprocity was present in two dyads: mother-father and older child-younger child. Reliable target variances support the view that perceived responsiveness is not just "inside the head" of the perceiver, and reciprocity correlations suggest potentially useful systemic interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Mothers of Securely Attached Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Are More Sensitive than Mothers of Insecurely Attached Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koren-Karie, Nina; Oppenheim, David; Dolev, Smadar; Yirmiya, Nurit

2009-01-01

In the current study we examined the links between maternal sensitivity and children's secure attachment in a sample of 45 preschool-age boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We hypothesized that mothers of securely attached children would be more sensitive to their children than mothers of insecurely attached children. Children's attachment…

Perceiving Partners to Endorse Benevolent Sexism Attenuates Highly Anxious Women's Negative Reactions to Conflict.

PubMed

Cross, Emily J; Overall, Nickola C; Hammond, Matthew D

2016-07-01

Benevolent sexism prescribes that men are dependent on women in relationships and should cherish their partners. The current research examined whether perceiving male partners to endorse benevolent sexism attenuates highly anxious women's negative reactions to relationship conflict. Greater attachment anxiety was associated with greater distress and insecurity during couples' conflict discussions (Study 1), during daily conflict with intimate partners (Study 2), and when recalling experiences of relationship conflict (Study 3). However, this heightened distress and insecurity was attenuated when women (but not men) perceived their partner to strongly endorse benevolent sexism (Studies 1-3) and thus believed their partner could be relied upon to remain invested (Study 3B). These novel results illustrate that perceiving partners to endorse benevolent sexism alleviates anxious women's insecure reactions to relationship threat by conveying partner's continued reliability. Implications of these security-enhancing effects are considered in light of the role benevolent sexism plays in sustaining gender inequality. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Attachment and prejudice: The mediating role of empathy.

PubMed

Boag, Elle M; Carnelley, Katherine B

2016-06-01

In two studies, we examined the novel hypothesis that empathy is a mechanism through which the relationship between attachment patterns and prejudice can be explained. Study 1 examined primed attachment security (vs. neutral prime), empathy, and prejudice towards immigrants. Study 2 examined primed attachment patterns (secure, avoidant, anxious), empathy subscales (perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress), and prejudice towards Muslims. Across both studies, empathy mediated the relationship between primed attachment security and low prejudice levels. The findings suggest that enhancing felt security and empathic skills in individuals high in attachment-avoidance may lead to reduced prejudice. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

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…

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…

A short-term longitudinal study of correlates and sequelae of attachment security in autism

PubMed Central

Rozga, Agata; Hesse, Erik; Main, Mary; Duschinsky, Robbie; Beckwith, Leila; Sigman, Marian

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT In this short-term longitudinal study, 30 preschool-aged children with autism were first observed in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure and, separately, interacting with the primary caregiver in the home. One year later, each child completed both a developmental assessment and an observational assessment of empathic responding. Behaviors typical for children with autism were distinguished from behaviors suggestive of relationally based attachment disorganization. Forty-five percent of the children were classified as securely attached. The secure group demonstrated language skills superior to those of the insecurely attached group, concurrently and during the follow-up. Compared to parents of children who were insecurely attached, parents of securely attached children were rated as more sensitive. Compared to both organized insecure and disorganized children, secure children were rated as more responsive to an examiner’s apparent distress during the follow-up relative to their ratings at intake, whereas empathy ratings of children with insecure classifications did not increase. Importantly, attachment security was associated with empathy above and beyond the contribution of children’s language level. These results indicate that the sequelae of attachment security in autism may be similar to those documented for typically developing children. PMID:28959921

Multiple Domains of Parental Secure Base Support During Childhood and Adolescence Contribute to Adolescents’ Representations of Attachment as a Secure Base Script

PubMed Central

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

2016-01-01

Although attachment theory claims that early attachment representations reflecting the quality of the child’s “lived experiences” are maintained across developmental transitions, evidence that has emerged over the last decade suggests that the association between early relationship quality and adolescents’ attachment representations is fairly modest in magnitude. We used aspects of parenting beyond sensitivity over childhood and adolescence and early security to predict adolescents’ scripted attachment representations. At age 18 years, 673 participants from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) completed the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) from which we derived an assessment of secure base script knowledge. Measures of secure base support from childhood through age 15 years (e.g., parental monitoring of child activity, father presence in the home) were selected as predictors and accounted for an additional 8% of the variance in secure base script knowledge scores above and beyond direct observations of sensitivity and early attachment status alone, suggesting that adolescents’ scripted attachment representations reflect multiple domains of parenting. Cognitive and demographic variables also significantly increased predicted variance in secure base script knowledge by 2% each. PMID:27032953

Earned-Secure Attachment Status in Retrospect and Prospect.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roisman, Glenn I.; Padron, Elena; Sroufe, L. Alan; Egeland, Byron

2002-01-01

This 23-year longitudinal study examined the attachment history of earned-secure young adults who coherently describe negative childhood experiences. Findings indicated that retrospective earned-secures were not more likely than continuous-secures to have been anxiously attached in infancy, and were observed in childhood and adolescence to have…

Attachment theory and reactions to others' needs:' evidence that activation of the sense of attachment security promotes empathic responses.

PubMed

Mikulincer, M; Gillath, O; Halevy, V; Avihou, N; Avidan, S; Eshkoli, N

2001-12-01

Five studies examined the effects of chronic and contextual activation of attachment security on reactions to others' needs. The sense of attachment security was contextually primed by asking participants to recollect personal memories, read a story, or look at a picture of supportive others or by subliminally exposing them to proximity-related words. This condition was compared against the priming of neutral themes, positive affect, or attachment-insecurity schemas. Then reports of empathy and personal distress or the accessibility of empathy and personal-distress memories were assessed. Attachment-security priming strengthened empathic reactions and inhibited personal distress. Self-reports of attachment anxiety and avoidance were inversely related to empathy, and attachment anxiety was positively related to personal distress. The discussion emphasizes the relevance of attachment theory for explaining reactions to others' needs.

Attachment to Mother and Father at Transition to Middle Childhood.

PubMed

Di Folco, Simona; Messina, Serena; Zavattini, Giulio Cesare; Psouni, Elia

2017-01-01

The present study investigated concordance between representations of attachment to mother and attachment to father, and convergence between two narrative-based methods addressing these representations in middle childhood: the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) and the Secure Base Script Test (SBST). One hundred and twenty 6-year-old children were assessed by separate administrations of the MCAST for mother and father, respectively, and results showed concordance of representations of attachment to mother and attachment to father at age 6.5 years. 75 children were additionally tested about 12 months later, with the SBST, which assesses scripted knowledge of secure base (and safe haven), not differentiating between mother and father attachment relationships. Concerning attachment to father, dichotomous classifications (MCAST) and a continuous dimension capturing scripted secure base knowledge (MCAST) converged with secure base scriptedness (SBST), yet we could not show the same pattern of convergence concerning attachment to mother. Results suggest some convergence between the two narrative methods of assessment of secure base script but also highlight complications when using the MCAST for measuring attachment to father in middle childhood.

Is Early Attachment Security Carried Forward into Relationships with Preschool Peers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Jeffrey J.; Emmerson, Natasha A.; Cowan, Philip A.

2004-01-01

The association between early parent-child attachment security and peer rejection among preschool children was examined. Children in three preschool classrooms (N = 37) participated. Mothers rated their children's attachment security at age 3 years on the Attachment Q-Set (Waters, 1987). Sociometric ratings were collected from classmates at age 4…

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 security, personality, and adjustment of elementary school children.

PubMed

Goldner, Limor; Scharf, Miri

2013-01-01

Children's development is assumed to be closely related to their attachment security and their personality. The authors' aim was to examine the joint contribution of attachment security and personality traits to children's adjustment by examining diverse children's outcomes (emotional symptoms, social functioning, and behavioral problems) and using various perspectives (children, parents, and teachers). The sample comprised 247 8-12-year-old children from low socioeconomic status neighborhoods. Personality and attachment contribute to the different domains of adjustment. In cases of moderation, attachment security moderates the implications of personality traits on children's adjustment. The findings highlight the contribution of positive personality tendencies in playing down the difficulties of insecurely attached children.

'Adoption and attachment theory' the attachment models of adoptive mothers and the revision of attachment patterns of their late-adopted children.

PubMed

Pace, C S; Zavattini, G C

2011-01-01

This study examined the attachment patterns of late-adopted children (aged 4-7) and their adoptive mothers during the first 7- to 8-month period after adoption and aimed to evaluate the effect of adoptive mothers' attachment security on the revision of the attachment patterns of their late-adopted children. We assessed attachment patterns in 20 adoptive dyads and 12 genetically related dyads at two different times: T1 (time 1) within 2 months of adoption and T2 (time 2) 6 months after T1. The children's behavioural attachment patterns were assessed using the Separation-Reunion Procedure and the children's representational (verbal) attachment patterns using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task. The attachment models of the adoptive mothers were classified using the Adult Attachment Interview. We found that there was a significant enhancement of the late-adopted children's attachment security across the time period considered (P= 0.008). Moreover, all the late-adopted children who showed a change from insecurity to security had adoptive mothers with secure attachment models (P= 0.044). However, the matching between maternal attachment models and late-adopted children's attachment patterns (behaviours and representations) was not significant. Our data suggest that revision of the attachment patterns in the late-adopted children is possible but gradual, and that the adoptive mothers' attachment security makes it more likely to occur. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Discrimination, Internalized Homonegativity, and Attitudes Toward Children of Same-Sex Parents: Can Secure Attachment Buffer Against Stigma Internalization?

PubMed

Trub, Leora; Quinlan, Ella; Starks, Tyrel J; Rosenthal, Lisa

2017-09-01

With increasing numbers of same-sex couples raising children in the United States, discriminatory attitudes toward children of same-sex parents (ACSSP) are of increasing concern. As with other forms of stigma and discrimination, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are at risk for internalizing these societal attitudes, which can negatively affect parenting-related decisions and behaviors and the mental and physical health of their children. Secure attachment is characterized by positive views of the self as loveable and worthy of care that are understood to develop in early relationships with caregivers. Secure attachment has been associated with positive mental and physical health, including among LGB individuals and couples. This study aimed to test the potential buffering role of secure attachment against stigma internalization by examining associations among secure attachment, discrimination, internalized homonegativity (IH), and ACSSP in an online survey study of 209 U.S. adults in same-sex relationships. Bootstrap analyses supported our hypothesized moderated mediation model, with secure attachment being a buffer. Greater discrimination was indirectly associated with more negative ACSSP through greater IH for individuals with mean or lower levels, but not for individuals with higher than average levels of secure attachment, specifically because among those with higher levels of secure attachment, discrimination was not associated with IH. These findings build on and extend past research, with important implications for future research and clinical work with LGB individuals, same-sex couples, and their families, including potential implementation of interventions targeting attachment security. © 2016 Family Process Institute.

A Reaction Time Experiment on Adult Attachment: The Development of a Measure for Neurophysiological Settings

PubMed Central

Wichmann, Theresia; Buchheim, Anna; Menning, Hans; Schenk, Ingmar; George, Carol; Pokorny, Dan

2016-01-01

In the last few decades, there has been an increase of experimental research on automatic unconscious processes concerning the evaluation of the self and others. Previous research investigated implicit aspects of romantic attachment using self-report measures as explicit instruments for assessing attachment style. There is a lack of experimental procedures feasible for neurobiological settings. We developed a reaction time (RT) experiment using a narrative attachment measure with an implicit nature and were interested to capture automatic processes, when the individuals’ attachment system is activated. We aimed to combine attachment methodology with knowledge from implicit measures by using a decision RT paradigm. This should serve as a means to capture implicit aspects of attachment. This experiment evaluated participants’ response to prototypic attachment sentences in association with their own attachment classification, measured with the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). First the AAP was administered as the standardized interview procedure to 30 healthy participants, which were classified into a secure or insecure group. In the following experimental session, both experimenter and participants were blind with respect to classifications. One hundred twenty eight prototypically secure or insecure sentences related to the eight pictures of the AAP were presented to the participants. Their response and RTs were recorded. Based on the response (accept, reject) a continuous security scale was defined. Both the AAP classification and security scale were related to the RTs. Differentiated study hypotheses were confirmed for insecure sentences, which were accepted faster by participants from the insecure attachment group (or with lower security scale), and rejected faster by participants from secure attachment group (or with higher security scale). The elaborating unconscious processes were more activated by insecure sentences with potential attachment conflicts. The introduced paradigm is able to contribute to an experimental approach in attachment research. The RT analysis with the narrative procedure might be of interest for a broader variety of questions in experimental and neurophysiological settings to capture unconscious processes in association with internal working models of attachment. An electrophysiological model based on preliminary research is proposed for assessing the preconscious neuronal network related to secure or insecure attachment representations. PMID:27853426

Behavioral and Self-report Measures Influencing Children’s Reported Attachment to Their Dog

PubMed Central

Hall, Nathaniel J.; Liu, Jingwen; Kertes, Darlene A.; Wynne, Clive D.L.

2016-01-01

Despite the prevalence of dogs as family pets and increased scientific interest in canine behavior, few studies have investigated characteristics of the child or dog that influence the child-dog relationship. In the present study, we explored how behavioral and self-report measures influence a child’s reported feelings of attachment to their dog, as assessed by the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS). We tested specifically whether children (N= 99; Age: M= 10.25 years, SD= 1.31 years) reported stronger attachment to dogs that were perceived as being more supportive (measured by a modified version of the Network of Relationships Inventory), to dogs that are more successful in following the child’s pointing gesture in a standard two-object choice test, or to dogs that solicited more petting in a sociability assessment. In addition, we assessed whether children’s attachment security to their parent, and whether being responsible for the care of their dog, influenced reported feelings of attachment to the dog. Overall, perceived support provided by the dog was highly predictive of all subscales of the LAPS. The dog’s success in following the child’s pointing gesture and lower rates of petting during the sociability assessment were associated with higher ratings on the general attachment subscale of the LAPS, but not of other subscales of the LAPS. Caring for the dog did not predict the child’s reported attachment to dog, but did predict the dog’s behavior on the point following task and petting during the sociability task. If the child cared for the dog, the dog was more likely to be successful on the pointing task and more likely to be petted. These results indicate a dyadic relationship in which the child’s care for the dog is associated with the dog’s behavior on the behavioral tasks, which in turn is related to the child’s reported feelings of attachment. The direction of influence and nature of this dyad will be a fruitful area for future research. PMID:28066130

Genetic Moderation of Stability in Attachment Security from Early Childhood to Age 18 Years: A Replication Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raby, K. Lee; Roisman, Glenn I.; Booth-LaForce, Cathryn

2015-01-01

A longstanding question for attachment theory and research is whether genetically based characteristics of the child influence the development of attachment security and its stability over time. This study attempted to replicate and extend recent findings indicating that the developmental stability of attachment security is moderated by oxytocin…

The Relation of Attachment Security to Adolescents' Paternal and Peer Relationships, Depression, and Externalizing Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Joseph P.; Porter, Maryfrances; McFarland, Christy; McElhaney, Kathleen Boykin; Marsh, Penny

2007-01-01

The relation of attachment security to multiple domains of psychosocial functioning was examined in a community sample of 167 early adolescents. Security of attachment organization, assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview, was linked to success in establishing autonomy while maintaining a sense of relatedness both with fathers and with…

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

PubMed

O'Neill, Linda P; Murray, Lindsay E

2016-09-01

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 between perceived parenting and attachment styles or anxiety for the siblings but there were robust and expected findings for the control. Adult attachment-related-anxiety was a significant unique predictor of anxiety in the sibling group but there was no mediational role for perceived parenting. Conversely, the majority of parenting styles significantly mediated the relationship between attachment and anxiety in the control. Implications for the atypical findings in the sibling group are discussed.

Viii. Attachment and sleep among toddlers: disentangling attachment security and dependency.

PubMed

Bélanger, Marie-Ève; Bernier, Annie; Simard, Valérie; Bordeleau, Stéphanie; Carrier, Julie

2015-03-01

Many scholars have proposed that parent-child attachment security should favor child sleep. Research has yet, however, to provide convincing support for this hypothesis. The current study used objective measures of sleep and attachment to assess the longitudinal links between mother-child attachment security and subsequent sleep, controlling for child dependency. Sixty-two middle-class families (30 girls) were met twice, when children were 15 months (Wave 1; W1) and 2 years of age (Wave 2; W2). At W1, mother-child attachment was assessed with the observer version of the Attachment Q-Sort. At W2, children wore an actigraph monitor for 72 hr. Results indicated that children more securely attached to their mothers subsequently slept more at night and had higher sleep efficiency, and these predictions were not confounded by child dependency. These findings suggest a unique role for secure attachment relationships in the development of young children's sleep regulation, while addressing methodological issues that have long precluded consensus in this literature. © 2015 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

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.

The relation of attachment security status to effortful self-regulation: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Pallini, Susanna; Chirumbolo, Antonio; Morelli, Mara; Baiocco, Roberto; Laghi, Fiorenzo; Eisenberg, Nancy

2018-05-01

Secure attachment relationships have been described as having a regulatory function in regard to children's emotions, social cognition, and behavior. Although some theorists and researchers have argued that attachment affects children's self-regulation, most attachment theorists have not strongly emphasized this association. The goal of the current meta-analysis was to determine the magnitude of the relation between attachment security status and effortful control (EC)/top-down self-regulation in children up to 18 years of age. One hundred six papers met the inclusion criteria and 101 independent samples were used in analyses. When secure attachment status was compared with insecure attachment status, a significant relation (effect size [ES]) with EC favoring children with a secure attachment was found (100 studies; 20,350 participants; r = .20). A stronger relation was found when the same coder evaluated attachment than when the coder was different and when the measure of attachment was continuous; other moderators were not significant. Securely attached children were higher in EC than their avoidant (r = .10) or resistant (r = .17) counterparts. Children with organized attachments were higher in EC than those with disorganized attachments (r = .17), although this finding could be due to publication bias. For some comparisons of subgroups (B vs. A, B vs. C, and/or D vs. all others), moderation was found by source of information (higher ES for same reporter), age at assessment of EC and/or attachment (higher ES at older ages), method of attachment (lower ES for observational measures), time difference between assessments or research design (higher ESs for smaller time differences and concurrent findings), and published versus unpublished studies (higher ES for unpublished studies for A vs. B). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Attachment security as a mechanism linking foster care placement to improved mental health outcomes in previously institutionalized children

PubMed Central

McLaughlin, Katie A.; Zeanah, Charles H.; Fox, Nathan A.; Nelson, Charles A.

2011-01-01

Background Children reared in institutions experience elevated rates of psychiatric disorders. Inability to form a secure attachment relationship to a primary caregiver is posited to be a central mechanism in this association. We determined whether the ameliorative effect of a foster care (FC) intervention on internalizing disorders in previously institutionalized children was explained by the development of secure attachment among children placed in FC and evaluated the role of lack of attachment in an institutionalized sample on the etiology of internalizing disorders within the context of a randomized trial. Methods A sample of 136 children (aged 6-30 months) residing in institutions was recruited in Bucharest, Romania. Children were randomized to FC (n=68) or to care as usual (CAU; n=68). Foster parents were recruited, trained, and overseen by the investigative team. Attachment security at 42 months was assessed using the Strange Situation Procedure, and internalizing disorders at 54 months were assessed using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. Results Girls in FC had fewer internalizing disorders than girls in CAU (OR=0.17, p=006). The intervention had no effect on internalizing disorders in boys (OR=0.47, p=.150). At 42 months, girls in FC were more likely to have secure attachment than girls in CAU (OR=12.5, p<.001), but no difference was observed in boys (OR=2.0, p=.205). Greater attachment security predicted lower rates of internalizing disorders in both sexes. Development of attachment security fully mediated intervention effects on internalizing disorders in girls. Conclusion Placement into FC facilitated the development of secure attachment and prevented the onset of internalizing disorders in institutionalized girls. The differential effects of FC on attachment security in boys and girls explained gender differences in the intervention effects on psychopathology. Findings provide evidence for the critical role of disrupted attachment in the etiology of internalizing disorders in children exposed to institutionalization. PMID:21733136

Attachment Security and Language Development in an Italian Sample: The Role of Premature Birth and Maternal Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costantini, Alessandro; Cassibba, Rosalinda; Coppola, Gabrielle; Castoro, Germana

2012-01-01

We investigated the influence of biological immaturity and attachment security on linguistic development and tested whether maternal language mediated the impact of security on the child's linguistic abilities. Forty mother-child dyads were followed longitudinally, with the child's attachment security assessed at 24 months of age through trained…

The association between paternal sensitivity and infant-father attachment security: a meta-analysis of three decades of research.

PubMed

Lucassen, Nicole; Tharner, Anne; Van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; Volling, Brenda L; Verhulst, Frank C; Lambregtse-Van den Berg, Mijke P; Tiemeier, Henning

2011-12-01

For almost three decades, the association between paternal sensitivity and infant-father attachment security has been studied. The first wave of studies on the correlates of infant-father attachment showed a weak association between paternal sensitivity and infant-father attachment security (r = .13, p < .001, k = 8, N = 546). In the current paper, a meta-analysis of the association between paternal sensitivity and infant-father attachment based on all studies currently available is presented, and the change over time of the association between paternal sensitivity and infant-father attachment is investigated. Studies using an observational measure of paternal interactive behavior with the infant, and the Strange Situation Procedure to observe the attachment relationship were included. Paternal sensitivity is differentiated from paternal sensitivity combined with stimulation in the interaction with the infant. Higher levels of paternal sensitivity were associated with more infant-father attachment security (r = .12, p < .001, k = 16, N = 1,355). Fathers' sensitive play combined with stimulation was not more strongly associated with attachment security than sensitive interactions without stimulation of play. Despite possible changes in paternal role patterns, we did not find stronger associations between paternal sensitivity and infant attachment in more recent years.

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…

An investigation of the security of caregiver attachment during middle childhood in children with high-functioning autistic disorder.

PubMed

Chandler, Felicity; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2014-07-01

Previous research has investigated caregiver attachment relationships in children with autism during early childhood, with few differences found from matched control groups. However, little is known of this relationship during middle childhood (ages 8-12 years). In this study, the aim was to establish whether there are differences in the security of attachment in children with high-functioning autism compared to typically developing children. A secondary aim was to establish whether caregivers' perceptions of their child's attachment to them accorded with the children's own reports. Twenty-one children with high-functioning autism and 17 typically developing children were administered the Kerns Security Scale and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment-Revised, and caregivers completed the same questionnaires from the viewpoint of their child. There were no differences between the groups in the children's and parents' reports of attachment security. Parents' and children's reports were moderately correlated on the Kerns Security Scale but were not correlated on the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment-Revised. The results indicate that levels of attachment security in children with high-functioning autism are not different from those in typically developing children. © The Author(s) 2013.

A review of attachment theory in the context of adolescent parenting.

PubMed

Flaherty, Serena Cherry; Sadler, Lois S

2011-01-01

The purpose of this article is to review attachment theory and relate the attachment perspective to adolescent mothers and their children. Attachment theory explains positive maternal-infant attachment as a dyadic relationship between the infant and mother that provides the infant with a secure base from which to explore the world. With respect to cognitive, social, and behavioral domains, securely attached infants tend to have more favorable long-term outcomes, while insecurely attached infants are more likely to have adverse outcomes. Adolescent parenthood can disrupt normal adolescent development, and this disruption influences development of the emotional and cognitive capacities necessary for maternal behaviors that foster secure attachment. However, it appears that if specialized supports are in place to facilitate the process of developing attachment, infants of adolescent mothers can obtain higher rates of secure attachment than normative samples in this population. Copyright © 2011 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

EFFICACY OF THE 20-WEEK CIRCLE OF SECURITY INTERVENTION: CHANGES IN CAREGIVER REFLECTIVE FUNCTIONING, REPRESENTATIONS, AND CHILD ATTACHMENT IN AN AUSTRALIAN CLINICAL SAMPLE.

PubMed

Huber, Anna; McMahon, Catherine A; Sweller, Naomi

2015-01-01

Circle of Security is an attachment theory based intervention that aims to promote secure parent-child attachment relationships. Despite extensive uptake of the approach, there is limited empirical evidence regarding efficacy. The current study examined whether participation in the 20-week Circle of Security intervention resulted in positive caregiver-child relationship change in four domains: caregiver reflective functioning; caregiver representations of the child and the relationship with the child; child attachment security, and attachment disorganization. Archived pre- and postintervention data were analyzed from 83 clinically referred caregiver-child dyads (child age: 13-88 months) who completed the Circle of Security intervention in sequential cohorts and gave permission for their data to be included in the study. Caregivers completed the Circle of Security Interview, and dyads were filmed in the Strange Situation Procedure before and after the intervention. Results supported all four hypotheses: Caregiver reflective functioning, caregiving representations, and level of child attachment security increased after the intervention, and level of attachment disorganization decreased for those with high baseline levels. Those whose scores were least optimal prior to intervention showed the greatest change in all domains. This study adds to the evidence suggesting that the 20-week Circle of Security intervention results in significant relationship improvements for caregivers and their children. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

The Quality of Maternal Secure-Base Scripts Predicts Children's Secure-Base Behavior at Home in Three Sociocultural Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaughn, Brian E.; Coppola, Gabrielle; Verissimo, Manuela; Monteiro, Ligia; Santos, Antonio Jose; Posada, German; Carbonell, Olga A.; Plata, Sandra J.; Waters, Harriet S.; Bost, Kelly K.; McBride, Brent; Shin, Nana; Korth, Bryan

2007-01-01

The secure-base phenomenon is central to the Bowlby/Ainsworth theory of attachment and is also central to the assessment of attachment across the lifespan. The present study tested whether mothers' knowledge about the secure-base phenomenon, as assessed using a recently designed wordlist prompt measure for eliciting attachment-relevant stories,…

Reflective Functioning in Parents of School-Aged Children

PubMed Central

Borelli, Jessica L.; St. John, H. Kate; Cho, Evelyn; Suchman, Nancy E.

2016-01-01

Parental reflective functioning (RF) has garnered tremendous support as a predictor of secure attachment in infancy, though little work has examined RF among parents of older children. In this study, we used a high-risk community sample of parent–child dyads (N = 117) to explore whether parental RF comprises self- and child-focused factors, whether parental RF is associated with parent and child attachment security, and whether parental RF mediates the association between parent and child attachment security. Results suggested that parental RF can be characterized as having both self- and child-focused components, and that child-focused parental RF is associated with child but not parent attachment security. Further, child-focused parental RF indirectly mediates the association between parent attachment avoidance and child attachment security. These findings extend previous work on parental RF to parents of school-age children and, in so doing, inform developmental models of attachment relationships in middle childhood. Discussion focuses on the importance of these findings in informing theory, prevention, clinical practice, and policy. PMID:26618938

Attachment anxiety and reactions to relationship threat: the benefits and costs of inducing guilt in romantic partners.

PubMed

Overall, Nickola C; Girme, Yuthika U; Lemay, Edward P; Hammond, Matthew D

2014-02-01

The current research tested whether individuals high in attachment anxiety react to relationship threats in ways that can help them feel secure and satisfied in their relationship. Individuals higher in attachment anxiety experienced greater hurt feelings on days they faced partner criticism or conflict (Study 1) and during observed conflict discussions (Study 2). These pronounced hurt feelings triggered exaggerated expressions of hurt to induce guilt in the partner. Partners perceived the hurt feelings of more anxious individuals to be more intense than low anxious individuals' hurt and, in turn, experienced greater levels of guilt (Study 1). More anxious individuals were also rated by objective coders as exhibiting more guilt-induction strategies during conflict, which led to increases in partner guilt (Study 2). Moreover, partner guilt helped anxious individuals maintain more positive relationship evaluations. Although greater partner guilt had detrimental effects for individuals low in anxiety, more anxious individuals experienced more stable perceptions of their partner's commitment and more positive relationship evaluations when their partner felt more guilt. Unfortunately, these benefits were accompanied by significant declines in the partner's relationship satisfaction. These results illustrate that anxious reactions to threat are not uniformly destructive; instead, the reassuring emotions their reactions induce in relationship partners help anxious individuals feel satisfied and secure in their partner's commitment. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved

Infant-mother and infant-sibling attachment in Zambia.

PubMed

Mooya, Haatembo; Sichimba, Francis; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian

2016-12-01

This study, the first in Zambia using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to observe attachment relationships and the "very first" observational study of infant-sibling attachment, examined patterns of infant-mother and infant-sibling attachment, and tested their association. We included siblings who were substantially involved in caregiving activities with their younger siblings. We hypothesized that infants would develop attachment relationships to both mothers and siblings; the majority of infants would be classified as securely attached to both caregivers, and infant-mother and infant-sibling attachment would be unrelated. The sample included 88 low-income families in Lusaka, Zambia (average of 3.5 children; SD = 1.5). The SSP distributions (infant-mother) were 59% secure, 24% avoidant and 17% resistant, and 46% secure, 20% avoidant, 5% resistant and 29% disorganized for three- and four-way classifications, respectively. The infant-sibling classifications were 42% secure, 23% avoidant and 35% resistant, and 35% secure, 23% avoidant, 9% resistant and 33% disorganized for three- and four-way classifications, respectively. Infant-mother and infant-sibling attachment relationships were not associated.

[The Relationship Between Attachment Representations of Foster Parents and Foster Children and the Role of the Child's Sex].

PubMed

Nowacki, Katja; Kliewer-Neumann, Josephine; Bovenschen, Ina; Lang, Katrin; Zimmermann, Janin; Spangler, Gottfried

2015-01-01

Children who have been placed in foster care after having experienced difficult family situations need to experience secure relationships. The development of a secure attachment model is regarded as a key protective factor for a healthy development. The present study examines predictors of attachment representations in a sample of 37 foster children aged three to eight years. Children's attachment representations were assessed using the Attachment Story Completion Task, and foster parents' attachment representations with the Adult Attachment Interview. Female foster children scored higher in secure attachment representations than males. Attachment representations of male foster children were positively influenced by a secure attachment representation of their primary foster parent and slightly by the duration of placement in the foster family as well as their age of placement but differently than expected. These results suggest that male foster children may be more vulnerable in their development of attachment representations and that foster parents' state of mind regarding attachment as well as the duration of the placement seem to have an impact on the development of attachment patterns in their foster children. This should be considered in the choice and counseling of foster parents.

Recurrent Otitis Media and Attachment Security: A Path Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCallum, Michelle S.; McKim, Margaret K.

1999-01-01

Used regular telephone interviews over six months to examine processes through which recurrent episodes of otitis media influence children's attachment security. Found that recurrent otitis media negatively affected attachment security by increasing mothers' perceptions of their children as behaving more negatively. Parenting stress was not…

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

Adult attachment, perceived social support, cultural orientation, and depressive symptoms: A moderated mediation model.

PubMed

Zhu, Wenzhen; Wang, Chiachih Dc; Chong, Chu Chian

2016-11-01

In the current study, we tested a moderated mediation model in which cultural orientation moderated the mediation model of adult attachment-perceived social support-depressive symptoms, using 2 comparable cross-cultural samples of college students recruited from China and the U.S. (n = 363 for each group). Results indicated that perceived social support mediated the effect of attachment anxiety on depressive symptoms as well as the link between attachment avoidance and depression in both samples. Moderated mediation analyses using PROCESS revealed that interdependent self-construal significantly buffered the indirect effect of attachment avoidance (via perceived social support) on depressive symptoms. The findings indicated significant differences in the mediation models between the U.S. and China groups and interdependent self-construal accounted for the between-country differences. Limitations, implications of the findings, and future research directions are discussed from the perspectives of cross-cultural variation of adult attachment functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Culture-general and -specific associations of attachment avoidance and anxiety with perceived parental warmth and psychological control among Turk and Belgian adolescents.

PubMed

Güngör, Derya; Bornstein, Marc H

2010-10-01

Both the adolescent peer attachment and perceived parenting style literatures emphasize the role of the quality of the parent-child relationship in children's healthy adjustment beyond the family, but few studies have investigated links between adolescents' peer attachment and perceptions of parenting. We investigate relations of adolescents' perceptions of warmth and psychological control from parents with avoidance and anxiety in attachment to close friends in two contrasting cultures. Altogether, 262 Turk and 263 Belgian youth between 14 and 18 years of age participated. Cross-culturally, attachment avoidance was negatively related to maternal warmth, and attachment anxiety positively related to maternal and paternal control and negatively to paternal warmth. Beyond these general relations, attachment avoidance was associated with paternal psychological control in Belgians but not in Turks. The study provides cross-cultural evidence for specific relations between peer attachment and perceived parenting and suggests a culture-specific pathway for the development of attachment avoidance.

Prospective Relations among Low-Income African American Adolescents’ Maternal Attachment Security, Self-Worth, and Risk Behaviors

PubMed Central

Lockhart, Ginger; Phillips, Samantha; Bolland, Anneliese; Delgado, Melissa; Tietjen, Juliet; Bolland, John

2017-01-01

This study examined prospective mediating relations among mother-adolescent attachment security, self-worth, and risk behaviors, including substance use and violence, across ages 13–17 in a sample of 901 low-income African American adolescents. Path analyses revealed that self-worth was a significant mediator between attachment security and risk behaviors, such that earlier attachment security predicted self-worth 1 year later, which in turn, predicted substance use, weapon carrying, and fighting in the 3rd year. Implications for the role of the secure base concept within the context of urban poverty are discussed. PMID:28174548

Attachment's Links With Adolescents' Social Emotions: The Roles of Negative Emotionality and Emotion Regulation.

PubMed

Murphy, Tia Panfile; Laible, Deborah J; Augustine, Mairin; Robeson, Lindsay

2015-01-01

Recent research has attempted to explain the mechanisms through which parental attachment affects social and emotional outcomes (e.g., Burnette, Taylor, Worthington, & Forsyth, 2007 ; Panfile & Laible, 2012 ). The authors' goal was to examine negative emotionality and emotion regulation as mediators of the associations that attachment has with empathy, forgiveness, guilt, and jealousy. One hundred forty-eight adolescents reported their parental attachment security, general levels of negative emotionality and abilities to regulate emotional responses, and tendencies to feel empathy, forgiveness, guilt, and jealousy. Results revealed that attachment security was associated with higher levels of empathy, forgiveness, and guilt, but lower levels of jealousy. In addition, emotion regulation mediated the links attachment shared with both empathy and guilt, such that higher levels of attachment security were linked with greater levels of emotion regulation, which led to greater levels of empathy and guilt. Alternatively, negative emotionality mediated the links attachment shared with both forgiveness and jealousy, such that higher levels of attachment security were associated with lower levels of negative emotionality, which in turn was linked to lower levels of forgiveness and higher levels of jealousy. This study provides a general picture of how attachment security may play a role in shaping an individual's levels of social emotions.

Attachment Security in Infancy: A Preliminary Study of Prospective Links to Brain Morphometry in Late Childhood

PubMed Central

Leblanc, Élizabel; Dégeilh, Fanny; Daneault, Véronique; Beauchamp, Miriam H.; Bernier, Annie

2017-01-01

A large body of longitudinal research provides compelling evidence for the critical role of early attachment relationships in children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. It is expected that parent–child attachment relationships may also impact children’s brain development, however, studies linking normative caregiving experiences and brain structure are scarce. To our knowledge, no study has yet examined the associations between the quality of parent–infant attachment relationships and brain morphology during childhood. The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the prospective links between mother–infant attachment security and whole-brain gray matter (GM) volume and thickness in late childhood. Attachment security toward the mother was assessed in 33 children when they were 15 months old. These children were then invited to undergo structural magnetic resonance imaging at 10–11 years of age. Results indicated that children more securely attached to their mother in infancy had larger GM volumes in the superior temporal sulcus and gyrus, temporo-parietal junction, and precentral gyrus in late childhood. No associations between attachment security and cortical thickness were found. If replicated, these results would suggest that a secure attachment relationship and its main features (e.g., adequate dyadic emotion regulation, competent exploration) may influence GM volume in brain regions involved in social, cognitive, and emotional functioning through experience-dependent processes. PMID:29312029

Earned-secure attachment status in retrospect and prospect.

PubMed

Roisman, Glenn L; Padrón, Elena; Sroufe, L Alan; Egeland, Byron

2002-01-01

Past research with the Berkeley Adult Attachment Interview demonstrates that retrospectively defined earned-secures (who coherently describe negative childhood experiences) parent as effectively as do continuous-secures (who coherently describe positive childhood experiences), but manifest liabilities in the form of depressive symptomatology. This article presents data from a 23-year longitudinal study that replicate and extend prior research, testing a key premise that earned-secures so defined actually have a history of insecure attachments that change over time and/or endure consistently harsh or ineffective parenting in their youth. Discrepant with assumptions, retrospective earned-secures were not more likely than continuous-secures to have been anxiously attached in infancy and were observed in childhood and adolescence to have encountered among the most supportive and structured maternal parenting in a high-risk sample. Prospectively defined earned-secures (operationalized using participants' infant attachment classifications) did indeed go on to have success in their close relationships, many without reporting relatively high levels of internalizing distress in adulthood.

Enhancing maternal sensitivity and infant attachment security with video feedback: an exploratory study in Italy.

PubMed

Cassibba, Rosalinda; Castoro, Germana; Costantino, Elisabetta; Sette, Giovanna; Van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H

2015-01-01

This study aims to explore whether a short-term and attachment-based video-feedback intervention, the Video-Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting With Discussions on the Representational Level (VIPP-R; F. Juffer, M.J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, & M.H. van IJzendoorn, 2008), might be effective in enhancing maternal sensitivity and in promoting infants' attachment security in an Italian sample of dyads with primiparous mothers. Moreover, we explore whether the effectiveness of VIPP-R might be different for parents with insecure attachment representations who might be most in need of preventive intervention, as compared to parents who already have a more balanced and secure state of mind. Thirty-two infants (40% female) and their mothers participated in the study. The sample was divided into an intervention group (n = 16) and a comparison group (n = 16). At 6 and 13 months of age, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; M. Main, N. Kaplan, & J. Cassidy, 1985) was administered. Moreover, a 30-min mother-infant play situation was videotaped and coded for maternal sensitivity with the Emotional Availability Scales (Z. Biringen, J. Robinson, & R.N. Emde, 2000). At 13 months of age, the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.D. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) was used to assess the security of mother-infant attachment. Results revealed a significant interaction effect between intervention and AAI security for infant attachment security; moreover, main effects of AAI security and intervention for maternal sensitivity were found. The VIPP-R appears effective in enhancing maternal sensitivity and infant attachment security, although only mothers with an insecure attachment representation may benefit from the intervention. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Child anger proneness moderates associations between child-mother attachment security and child behavior with mothers at 33 months.

PubMed

McElwain, Nancy L; Holland, Ashley S; Engle, Jennifer M; Wong, Maria S

2012-02-01

Child-mother attachment security, assessed via a modified Strange Situation procedure (Cassidy & Marvin, with the MacArthur Attachment Working Group, 1992), and parent-reported child proneness to anger were examined as correlates of observed child behavior toward mothers during a series of interactive tasks (N = 120, 60 girls). Controlling for maternal sensitivity and child gender and expressive language ability, greater attachment security, and lower levels of anger proneness were related to more child responsiveness to maternal requests and suggestions during play and snack sessions. As hypothesized, anger proneness also moderated several security-behavior associations. Greater attachment security was related to (a) more committed compliance during clean-up and snack-delay tasks for children high on anger proneness, (b) more self-assertiveness during play and snack for children moderate or high on anger proneness, and (c) more help-seeking during play and snack for children moderate or low on anger proneness. Findings further our understanding of the behavioral correlates of child-mother attachment security assessed during late toddlerhood via the Cassidy-Marvin system and underscore child anger proneness as a moderator of attachment-related differences in child behavior during this developmental period.

From secure dependency to attachment: Mary Ainsworth's integration of Blatz's security theory into Bowlby's attachment theory.

PubMed

van Rosmalen, Lenny; van der Horst, Frank C P; van der Veer, René

2016-02-01

John Bowlby is generally regarded as the founder of attachment theory, with the help of Mary Ainsworth. Through her Uganda and Baltimore studies Ainsworth provided empirical evidence for attachment theory, and she contributed the notion of the secure base and exploratory behavior, the Strange Situation Procedure and its classification system, and the notion of maternal sensitivity. On closer scrutiny, many of these contributions appear to be heavily influenced by William Blatz and his security theory. Even though Blatz's influence on Ainsworth has been generally acknowledged, this article, partly based on understudied correspondence from several personal archives, is the first to show which specific parts of attachment theory can be traced back directly to Blatz and his security theory. When Ainsworth started working with Bowlby in the 1950s, around the time he turned to evolutionary theory for an explanation of his findings, she integrated much of Blatzian security theory into Bowlby's theory in the making and used her theoretical and practical experience to enrich attachment theory. Even though Blatz is hardly mentioned nowadays, several of his ideas live on in attachment theory. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Attachment security as a mechanism linking foster care placement to improved mental health outcomes in previously institutionalized children.

PubMed

McLaughlin, Katie A; Zeanah, Charles H; Fox, Nathan A; Nelson, Charles A

2012-01-01

Children reared in institutions experience elevated rates of psychiatric disorders. Inability to form a secure attachment relationship to a primary caregiver is posited to be a central mechanism in this association. We determined whether the ameliorative effect of a foster care (FC) intervention on internalizing disorders in previously institutionalized children was explained by the development of secure attachment among children placed in FC. Second we evaluated the role of lack of attachment in an institutionalized sample on the etiology of internalizing disorders within the context of a randomized trial. A sample of 136 children (aged 6-30 months) residing in institutions was recruited in Bucharest, Romania. Children were randomized to FC (n = 68) or to care as usual (CAU; n = 68). Foster parents were recruited, trained, and overseen by the investigative team. Attachment security at 42 months was assessed using the Strange Situation Procedure, and internalizing disorders at 54 months were assessed using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. Girls in FC had fewer internalizing disorders than girls in CAU (OR = 0.17, p = .006). The intervention had no effect on internalizing disorders in boys (OR = 0.47, p = .150). At 42 months, girls in FC were more likely to have secure attachment than girls in CAU (OR = 12.5, p < .001), but no difference was observed in boys (OR = 2.0, p = .205). Greater attachment security predicted lower rates of internalizing disorders in both sexes. Development of attachment security fully mediated intervention effects on internalizing disorders in girls. Placement into FC facilitated the development of secure attachment and prevented the onset of internalizing disorders in institutionalized girls. The differential effects of FC on attachment security in boys and girls explained gender differences in the intervention effects on psychopathology. Findings provide evidence for the critical role of disrupted attachment in the etiology of internalizing disorders in children exposed to institutionalization. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2011 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Beyond the usual suspects: a multidimensional genetic exploration of infant attachment disorganization and security.

PubMed

Pappa, Irene; Szekely, Eszter; Mileva-Seitz, Viara R; Luijk, Maartje P C M; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H; Tiemeier, Henning

2015-01-01

Although the environmental influences on infant attachment disorganization and security are well-studied, little is known about their heritability. Candidate gene studies have shown small, often non-replicable effects. In this study, we gathered the largest sample (N = 657) of ethnically homogenous, 14-month-old children with both observed attachment and genome-wide data. First, we used a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) approach to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with attachment disorganization and security. Second, we annotated them into genes (Versatile Gene-based Association Study) and functional pathways. Our analyses provide evidence of novel genes (HDAC1, ZNF675, BSCD1) and pathways (synaptic transmission, cation transport) associated with attachment disorganization. Similar analyses identified a novel gene (BECN1) but no distinct pathways associated with attachment security. The results of this first extensive, exploratory study on the molecular-genetic basis of infant attachment await replication in large, independent samples.

A Secure Base in Adolescence: Markers of Attachment Security in the Mother–Adolescent Relationship

PubMed Central

Allen, Joseph P.; McElhaney, Kathleen Boykin; Land, Deborah J.; Kuperminc, Gabriel P.; Moore, Cynthia W.; O’Beirne-Kelly, Heather; Kilmer, Sarah Liebman

2017-01-01

This study sought to identify ways in which adolescent attachment security, as assessed via the Adult Attachment Interview, is manifest in qualities of the secure base provided by the mother–adolescent relationship. Assessments included data coded from mother–adolescent interactions, test-based data, and adolescent self-reports obtained from an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of moderately at-risk 9th and 10th graders. This study found several robust markers of adolescent attachment security in the mother–adolescent relationship. Each of these markers was found to contribute unique variance to explaining adolescent security, and in combination, they accounted for as much as 40% of the raw variance in adolescent security. These findings suggest that security is closely connected to the workings of the mother–adolescent relationship via a secure-base phenomenon, in which the teen can explore independence in thought and speech from the secure base of a maternal relationship characterized by maternal attunement to the adolescent and maternal supportiveness. PMID:12625451

Attachment, Perceived Conflict, and Couple Satisfaction: Test of a Mediational Dyadic Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brassard, Audrey; Lussier, Yvan; Shaver, Phillip R.

2009-01-01

Attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance) are often associated with relationship dissatisfaction, but the mediators have been unclear. We examined the mediating role of perceived conflict in 274 French-Canadian couples who completed measures of attachment insecurities, perception of conflict, and relationship satisfaction. Partners' own…

Attachment Security among Mothers and Their Young Children Living in Poverty: Associations with Maternal, Child, and Contextual Characteristics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diener, Marissa L.; Nievar, M. Angela; Wright, Cheryl

2003-01-01

Studied variability in mother-child attachment security among high-risk families living in poverty. Maternal sensitivity and the presence of appropriate play materials were assessed. Findings indicated that maternal, child, and contextual variables were significantly associated with attachment security. Furthermore, greater cumulative assets were…

Psychological Separation, Attachment Security, Vocational Self-Concept Crystallization, and Career Indecision: A Structural Equation Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tokar, David M.; Withrow, Jason R.; Hall, Rosalie J.; Moradi, Bonnie

2003-01-01

Structural equation modeling was used to test theoretically based models in which psychological separation and attachment security variables were related to career indecision and those relations were mediated through vocational self-concept crystallization. Results indicated that some components of separation and attachment security did relate to…

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.

Attachment Security Mediates the Longitudinal Association Between Child-Parent Psychotherapy and Peer Relations for Toddlers of Depressed Mothers

PubMed Central

Guild, Danielle J.; Toth, Sheree L.; Handley, Elizabeth D.; Rogosch, Fred A.; Cicchetti, Dante

2017-01-01

Numerous investigations have demonstrated that Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) promotes secure attachment between mothers and offspring. However, the role of post-intervention attachment security as it relates to long-term child outcomes has never been evaluated. The present study therefore examined post-intervention attachment status as a mediator of the association between CPP for depressed mothers and their offspring and subsequent peer relations among offspring. Depressed mothers and their toddlers were randomized to receive CPP (n = 45) or to a control group (DC; n = 55). A prior investigation with this sample indicated that offpring who received CPP attained significantly higher rates of secure attachment post-intervention, wheras insecure attachment continued to predominate for offspring in the DC group. The present study examined follow-up data of teachers’ reports on participants’ competence with classroom peers when they were approximately 9 years old. Findings indicated that children who received CPP were more likely to evidence secure attachments at post-intervention, which in turn was associated with more positive peer relationships at age 9. PMID:28401848

Attachment security mediates the longitudinal association between child-parent psychotherapy and peer relations for toddlers of depressed mothers.

PubMed

Guild, Danielle J; Toth, Sheree L; Handley, Elizabeth D; Rogosch, Fred A; Cicchetti, Dante

2017-05-01

Numerous investigations have demonstrated that child-parent psychotherapy (CPP) promotes secure attachment between mothers and offspring. However, the role of postintervention attachment security as it relates to long-term child outcomes has never been evaluated. The present study therefore examined postintervention attachment status as a mediator of the association between CPP for depressed mothers and their offspring and subsequent peer relations among offspring. Depressed mothers and their toddlers were randomized to receive CPP (n = 45) or to a control group (n = 55). A prior investigation with this sample indicated that offspring who received CPP attained significantly higher rates of secure attachment postintervention, whereas insecure attachment continued to predominate for offspring in the control group. The present study examined follow-up data of teachers' reports on participants' competence with classroom peers when they were approximately 9 years old. Findings indicated that children who received CPP were more likely to evidence secure attachments at postintervention, which in turn was associated with more positive peer relationships at age 9.

Attachment Security in Three-Year-Olds who Entered Substitute Care in Infancy

PubMed Central

Altenhofen, Shannon; Clyman, Robert; Little, Christina; Baker, Megan; Biringen, Zeynep

2016-01-01

This study assessed relations among number of out-of-home placement changes, time in caregivers’ care, caregiver type (i.e., foster parent, adoptive parent, kinship relation, and biological parent), child gender, and caregiver-child Emotional Availability (EA) as predictive of child attachment security when children were 3 years old in a sample of 104 caregivers and children. Children entered court-ordered care by six months of age. On average, children at the age of three spent 30 months with their caregivers, and nearly half of them were adopted by that time. Child attachment was assessed using the Attachment Q-set (Waters & Deane, 1985), and caregiver-child EA was assessed using the EA Scales, 4th edition (Biringen, 2008). Sixty-six percent of children at age 3 showed secure attachments with caregivers, and EA subscale scores were also relatively high on average. The study predictor variables of EA Caregiver Sensitivity, Child Responsiveness, and Child Involvement predicted attachment security, with girls more likely to be securely attached to their substitute caregivers at age three than boys. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed. PMID:27127309

A randomized controlled trial comparing Circle of Security Intervention and treatment as usual as interventions to increase attachment security in infants of mentally ill mothers: Study Protocol.

PubMed

Ramsauer, Brigitte; Lotzin, Annett; Mühlhan, Christine; Romer, Georg; Nolte, Tobias; Fonagy, Peter; Powell, Bert

2014-01-30

Psychopathology in women after childbirth represents a significant risk factor for parenting and infant mental health. Regarding child development, these infants are at increased risk for developing unfavorable attachment strategies to their mothers and for subsequent behavioral, emotional and cognitive impairments throughout childhood. To date, the specific efficacy of an early attachment-based parenting group intervention under standard clinical outpatient conditions, and the moderators and mediators that promote attachment security in infants of mentally ill mothers, have been poorly evaluated. This randomized controlled clinical trial tests whether promoting attachment security in infancy with the Circle of Security (COS) Intervention will result in a higher rate of securely attached children compared to treatment as usual (TAU). Furthermore, we will determine whether the distributions of securely attached children are moderated or mediated by variations in maternal sensitivity, mentalizing, attachment representations, and psychopathology obtained at baseline and at follow-up. We plan to recruit 80 mother-infant dyads when infants are aged 4-9 months with 40 dyads being randomized to each treatment arm. Infants and mothers will be reassessed when the children are 16-18 months of age. Methodological aspects of the study are systematic recruitment and randomization, explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria, research assessors and coders blinded to treatment allocation, advanced statistical analysis, manualized treatment protocols and assessments of treatment adherence and integrity. The aim of this clinical trial is to determine whether there are specific effects of an attachment-based intervention that promotes attachment security in infants. Additionally, we anticipate being able to utilize data on maternal and child outcome measures to obtain preliminary indications about potential moderators of the intervention and inform hypotheses about which intervention may be most suitable when offered in a clinical psychiatric outpatient context. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN88988596.

A randomized controlled trial comparing Circle of Security Intervention and treatment as usual as interventions to increase attachment security in infants of mentally ill mothers: Study Protocol

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Psychopathology in women after childbirth represents a significant risk factor for parenting and infant mental health. Regarding child development, these infants are at increased risk for developing unfavorable attachment strategies to their mothers and for subsequent behavioral, emotional and cognitive impairments throughout childhood. To date, the specific efficacy of an early attachment-based parenting group intervention under standard clinical outpatient conditions, and the moderators and mediators that promote attachment security in infants of mentally ill mothers, have been poorly evaluated. Methods/Design This randomized controlled clinical trial tests whether promoting attachment security in infancy with the Circle of Security (COS) Intervention will result in a higher rate of securely attached children compared to treatment as usual (TAU). Furthermore, we will determine whether the distributions of securely attached children are moderated or mediated by variations in maternal sensitivity, mentalizing, attachment representations, and psychopathology obtained at baseline and at follow-up. We plan to recruit 80 mother-infant dyads when infants are aged 4-9 months with 40 dyads being randomized to each treatment arm. Infants and mothers will be reassessed when the children are 16-18 months of age. Methodological aspects of the study are systematic recruitment and randomization, explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria, research assessors and coders blinded to treatment allocation, advanced statistical analysis, manualized treatment protocols and assessments of treatment adherence and integrity. Discussion The aim of this clinical trial is to determine whether there are specific effects of an attachment-based intervention that promotes attachment security in infants. Additionally, we anticipate being able to utilize data on maternal and child outcome measures to obtain preliminary indications about potential moderators of the intervention and inform hypotheses about which intervention may be most suitable when offered in a clinical psychiatric outpatient context. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN88988596 PMID:24476106

Measuring infant attachment security in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): adaptation of the attachment Q-set.

PubMed

Warfield, James J; Kondo-Ikemura, Kiyomi; Waters, Everett

2011-02-01

John Bowlby defined offspring-parent attachment as a relationship in which an infant or child uses one or a few preferred adults as a secure base from which to explore and as a haven of safety. He defined attachment security in terms of confidence in the adult's availability and responsiveness and the smooth organization of exploration and proximity seeking. Developmental psychologists have found this perspective productive in both observational and laboratory research. At the same time, they emphasize that such a construct cannot be operationalized in terms of one or a few behaviors. Instead, naturalistic observations of human infant attachment typically employ the Q-sort method to develop the Attachment q-set (AQS), 90 behaviorally descriptive items sorted in terms of how characteristic each item is of the infant's typical behavior. Meta-analyses of research using the AQS attest to its reliability and validity. This article reports an adaptation of the AQS to the task of assessing infant attachment security in nonhuman primates and illustrates its use. The availability of comparable measures of attachment security will contribute to an expanded understanding of patterns of attachment behavior in nonhuman primate societies and will facilitate interaction between comparative and developmental psychologists. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Quality of attachment in infants less than 1500g or less than 32weeks. Related factors.

PubMed

López-Maestro, María; Sierra-Garcia, Purificación; Diaz-Gonzalez, Celia; Torres-Valdivieso, Ma Jose; Lora-Pablos, David; Ares-Segura, Susana; Pallás-Alonso, Carmen R

2017-01-01

Prematurity carries a high risk of mortality and sequelae, altering the bonding process and leading to repercussions in terms of attachment. To assess the type of attachment in children under 32weeks' gestational age (GA) or below 1500g, in hospitals where development-centred care has been implemented and to study the association between various types of attachment and certain neonatal and family characteristics. Children <1500g or <32weeks GA who were born or admitted before 48h of life to one of two hospitals in Madrid between January and December 2012 were candidates for the study. The type of attachment was assessed through the strange situation procedure (SSP). Attachment was classified according to three types: secure (B), avoidant (A), or resistant/ambivalent (C). Insecure attachment was considered to be A+C. Children were assessed at a corrected age of 2years using the Bayley III Scales and SSP. Data on the characteristics of the parents and children were collected. A total of 59% (117/199) of the children <1500g or <32weeks GA born in 2012 in the two study hospitals were able to be evaluated. Secure attachment was found in 64% (75/117), avoidant attachment in 12.8% (15/117), and resistant/ambivalent in 23.1% (27/117). The children with secure attachment had a score of 107.6±16 in the cognitive area of the Bayley's Scale versus 98.8±18.8 in those with insecure attachment (p 0.007). Frequency of secure attachment at ≤26weeks GA was 23% (3/13) versus 69% (72/104) in children >26weeks GA (p 0.003). Nearly two-thirds of the children studied presented secure attachment, which was associated with better cognitive development. The frequency of secure attachment is lower in the children born more preterm. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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.

Stability and Change in Attachment Security Across Adolescence

PubMed Central

Allen, Joseph P.; McElhaney, Kathleen Boykin; Kuperminc, Gabriel P.; Jodl, Kathleen M.

2006-01-01

This study examined both continuity and familial, intrapsychic, and environmental predictors of change in adolescent attachment security across a two-year period from mid- to late-adolescence. Assessments included the Adult Attachment Interview, observed mother-adolescent interactions, test-based data, and adolescent self-reports obtained from an ethnically and socio-economically diverse sample of moderately at-risk adolescents interviewed at ages 16 and 18. Substantial stability in security was identified. Beyond this stability, however, relative declines in attachment security were predicted by adolescents’ enmeshed, overpersonalizing behavior with their mothers, depressive symptoms, and poverty status. Results suggest that while security may trend upward for non-stressed adolescents, stressors that overwhelm the capacity for affect regulation and that are not easily assuaged by parents predict relative declines in security. over time. PMID:15566380

Can typical US home visits affect infant attachment? Preliminary findings from a randomized trial of Healthy Families Durham.

PubMed

Berlin, Lisa J; Martoccio, Tiffany L; Appleyard Carmody, Karen; Goodman, W Benjamin; O'Donnell, Karen; Williams, Janis; Murphy, Robert A; Dodge, Kenneth A

2017-12-01

US government-funded early home visiting services are expanding significantly. The most widely implemented home visiting models target at-risk new mothers and their infants. Such home visiting programs typically aim to support infant-parent relationships; yet, such programs' effects on infant attachment quality per se are as yet untested. Given these programs' aims, and the crucial role of early attachments in human development, it is important to understand attachment processes in home visited families. The current, preliminary study examined 94 high-risk mother-infant dyads participating in a randomized evaluation of the Healthy Families Durham (HFD) home visiting program. We tested (a) infant attachment security and disorganization as predictors of toddler behavior problems and (b) program effects on attachment security and disorganization. We found that (a) infant attachment disorganization (but not security) predicted toddler behavior problems and (b) participation in HFD did not significantly affect infant attachment security or disorganization. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential for attachment-specific interventions to enhance the typical array of home visiting services.

Activating attachment representations during memory retrieval modulates intrusive traumatic memories.

PubMed

Bryant, Richard A; Chan, Iris

2017-10-01

Although priming mental representations of attachment security reduces arousal, research has not examined the effect of attachment on the retrieval of emotionally arousing memories. This study investigated the effect of priming attachment security on the retrieval of emotional memories. Seventy-five participants viewed negative and neutral images, and two days later received either an attachment prime or a control prime immediately prior to free recall of the images. Two days later, participants reported how frequently they experienced intrusions of the negative images. The attachment group had less distress, and reported fewer subsequent intrusions than the control group. Attachment style moderated these effects such that individuals with an avoidant attachment style were not impacted by the attachment prime. These findings suggest that priming attachment security decreases distress during memory reactivation, and this may reduce subsequent intrusive memories. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Maternal Resolution of Grief After Preterm Birth: Implications for Infant Attachment Security

PubMed Central

Clements, Melissa; Poehlmann, Julie

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVE: This study explored the association between mothers' unresolved grief regarding their infant's preterm birth and infant-mother attachment security. We hypothesized that mothers with unresolved grief would be more likely to have insecurely attached infants at 16 months and that this association would be partially mediated by maternal interaction quality. METHODS: This longitudinal study focused on 74 preterm infants (age of <36 weeks) and their mothers who were part of a larger study of high-risk infants. The present analysis included assessment of neonatal and socioeconomic risks at NICU discharge; maternal depression, Reaction to Preterm Birth Interview findings, and quality of parenting at a postterm age of 9 months; and infant-mother attachment at postterm age of 16 months. Associations among findings of grief resolution with the Reaction to Preterm Birth Interview, quality of parenting interactions, and attachment security were explored by using relative risk ratios and logistic and multivariate regression models. RESULTS: The relative risk of developing insecure attachment when mothers had unresolved grief was 1.59 (95% confidence interval: 1.03–2.44). Controlling for covariates (adjusted odds ratio: 2.94), maternal feelings of resolved grief regarding the preterm birth experience were associated with secure infant-mother attachment at 16 months. Maternal grief resolution and interaction quality were independent predictors of attachment security. CONCLUSION: Maternal grief resolution regarding the experience of preterm birth and the quality of maternal interactions have important implications for emerging attachment security for infants born prematurely. PMID:21242223

Preventive Interventions and Sustained Attachment Security in Maltreated Children

PubMed Central

Stronach, Erin Pickreign; Toth, Sheree L.; Rogosch, Fred; Cicchetti, Dante

2013-01-01

Thirteen-month-old maltreated infants (n = 137) and their mothers were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: child-parent psychotherapy (CPP), psychoeducational parenting intervention (PPI), and community standard (CS). A fourth group of nonmaltreated infants (n =52) and their mothers served as a normative comparison (NC) group. A prior investigation found that the CPP and PPI groups demonstrated substantial increases in secure attachment at post-intervention, whereas this change was not found in the CS and NC groups. The current investigation involved the analysis of data obtained at a follow-up assessment that occurred 12-months after the completion of treatment. At follow-up, children in the CPP group had higher rates of secure and lower rates of disorganized attachment than did children in the PPI or CS groups. Rates of disorganized attachment did not differ between the CPP and NC groups. Intention-to-treat analyses (ITT) also showed higher rates of secure attachment at follow-up in the CPP group relative to the PPI and CS groups. However, groups did not differ on disorganized attachment. Both primary and ITT analyses demonstrated that maternal reported child behavior problems did not differ among the four groups at the follow-up assessment. This is the first investigation to demonstrate sustained attachment security in maltreated children 12 months after the completion of an attachment theory-informed intervention. Findings also suggest that, while effective in the short term, parenting interventions alone may not be effective in maintaining secure attachment in children over time. PMID:24229539

Maternal resolution of grief after preterm birth: implications for infant attachment security.

PubMed

Shah, Prachi E; Clements, Melissa; Poehlmann, Julie

2011-02-01

This study explored the association between mothers' unresolved grief regarding their infant's preterm birth and infant-mother attachment security. We hypothesized that mothers with unresolved grief would be more likely to have insecurely attached infants at 16 months and that this association would be partially mediated by maternal interaction quality. This longitudinal study focused on 74 preterm infants (age of <36 weeks) and their mothers who were part of a larger study of high-risk infants. The present analysis included assessment of neonatal and socioeconomic risks at NICU discharge; maternal depression, Reaction to Preterm Birth Interview findings, and quality of parenting at a postterm age of 9 months; and infant-mother attachment at postterm age of 16 months. Associations among findings of grief resolution with the Reaction to Preterm Birth Interview, quality of parenting interactions, and attachment security were explored by using relative risk ratios and logistic and multivariate regression models. The relative risk of developing insecure attachment when mothers had unresolved grief was 1.59 (95% confidence interval: 1.03-2.44). Controlling for covariates (adjusted odds ratio: 2.94), maternal feelings of resolved grief regarding the preterm birth experience were associated with secure infant-mother attachment at 16 months. Maternal grief resolution and interaction quality were independent predictors of attachment security. Maternal grief resolution regarding the experience of preterm birth and the quality of maternal interactions have important implications for emerging attachment security for infants born prematurely.

Predictors of Attachment Security in Preschool Children from Intact and Divorced Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nair, Hira; Murray, Ann D.

2005-01-01

The authors selected 58 mother-child dyads from divorced and intact families to participate in a study on the impact of divorce on preschoolers' attachment security. The authors explored pathways that lead to security of attachment. They found that mothers from divorced families were younger, had lower income levels, and had lower levels of…

Looking beyond Maternal Sensitivity: Mother-Child Correlates of Attachment Security among Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Urban India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John, Aesha; Morris, Amanda Sheffield; Halliburton, Amy L.

2012-01-01

This study examined correlates of attachment security among children with intellectual disabilities in urban India. Survey and observational data were gathered from 47 children, mothers, and teachers on children's attachment security, adaptive functioning, and mother-child emotional availability. The data were analyzed to examine whether child…

Observed and Reported Supportive Coparenting as Predictors of Infant-Mother and Infant-Father Attachment Security

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Geoffrey L.; Schoppe-Sullivan, Sarah J.; Mangelsdorf, Sarah C.; Neff, Cynthia

2010-01-01

This study examined associations between supportive coparenting and infant-mother and infant-father attachment security. Observed and parent-reported coparenting, and observed maternal and paternal sensitivity were assessed in a sample of 68 families with 3.5-month-old infants. Infant-mother and infant-father attachment security were assessed in…

Infant Emotion Regulation: Relations to Bedtime Emotional Availability, Attachment Security, and Temperament

PubMed Central

Kim, Bo-Ram; Stifter, Cynthia A.; Philbrook, Lauren E.; Teti, Douglas M.

2014-01-01

The present study examines the influences of mothers’ emotional availability towards their infants during bedtime, infant attachment security, and interactions between bedtime parenting and attachment with infant temperamental negative affectivity, on infants’ emotion regulation strategy use at 12 and 18 months. Infants’ emotion regulation strategies were assessed during a frustration task that required infants to regulate their emotions in the absence of parental support. Whereas emotional availability was not directly related to infants’ emotion regulation strategies, infant attachment security had direct relations with infants’ orienting towards the environment and tension reduction behaviors. Both maternal emotional availability and security of the mother-infant attachment relationship interacted with infant temperamental negative affectivity to predict two strategies that were less adaptive in regulating frustration. PMID:24995668

Family cumulative risk and at-risk kindergarteners' social competence: the mediating role of parent representations of the attachment relationship.

PubMed

Sparks, Lauren A; Trentacosta, Christopher J; Owusu, Erika; McLear, Caitlin; Smith-Darden, Joanne

2018-08-01

Secure attachment relationships have been linked to social competence in at-risk children. In the current study, we examined the role of parent secure base scripts in predicting at-risk kindergarteners' social competence. Parent representations of secure attachment were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between lower family cumulative risk and children's social competence. Participants included 106 kindergarteners and their primary caregivers recruited from three urban charter schools serving low-income families as a part of a longitudinal study. Lower levels of cumulative risk predicted greater secure attachment representations in parents, and scores on the secure base script assessment predicted children's social competence. An indirect relationship between lower cumulative risk and kindergarteners' social competence via parent secure base script scores was also supported. Parent script-based representations of the attachment relationship appear to be an important link between lower levels of cumulative risk and low-income kindergarteners' social competence. Implications of these findings for future interventions are discussed.

Quality of Attachment to Father and Mother and Number of Reciprocal Friends

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Verissimo, Manuela; Santos, Antonio J.; Vaughn, Brian E.; Torres, Nuno; Monteiro, Ligia; Santos, Orlando

2011-01-01

Attachment research suggests that children with secure attachments are more able to construct meaningful relationships with peers. Few studies, however, have attempted to map early attachment security to the formation and maintenance of preschool friendships. Special attention has been paid to affiliative relationships (particularly friendships)…

Attachment to Mother/Attachment to Father: A Meta-Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Nathan A.; And Others

1991-01-01

Analyzed data from 11 studies of concordance of mother/father attachment to an infant based on the Strange Situation. Found that security of attachment, type of insecurity, and subcategory classification of security to one parent depended on the other parent. Discussed parenting styles and infant temperament. (BC)

Attachment and Culture: Security in the United States and Japan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothman, Fred; Weisz, John; Pott, Martha; Morelli, Gilda; Miyake, Kazuo

2000-01-01

Highlights evidence of cultural variations in child attachment, noting how western values and meanings permeate attachment theory. Comparisons of the United States and Japan emphasize the cultural relativity of three core hypotheses of attachment theory related to: caregiver sensitivity, child social competence, and a secure base for exploring the…

Marital conflict and the quality of young children's peer play behavior: the mediating and moderating role of parent-child emotional reciprocity and attachment security.

PubMed

Lindsey, Eric W; Caldera, Yvonne M; Tankersley, Laura

2009-04-01

Parent-child attachment security and dyadic measures of parent-child positive and negative emotional reciprocity were examined as possible mediators and moderators of the connection between marital conflict and children's peer play behavior. Eighty parents were observed in a laboratory play session with their 15- to 18-month-old child. Subsequently, at 36 months children were observed interacting with peers at their child care setting. Connections between marital conflict and children's positive peer interaction were mediated by mother-child attachment security, mother-child positive emotional reciprocity, and father-child negative emotional reciprocity. Connections between marital conflict and children's negative peer interaction were mediated by mother-child positive emotional reciprocity and father-child attachment security. Parent-child attachment security and negative emotional reciprocity emerged as important moderators of the connection between marital conflict and children's peer play behavior.

Security of attachment and quality of mother-toddler social interaction in a high-risk sample.

PubMed

Haltigan, John D; Lambert, Brittany L; Seifer, Ronald; Ekas, Naomi V; Bauer, Charles R; Messinger, Daniel S

2012-02-01

The quality of children's social interactions and their attachment security with a primary caregiver are two widely studied indices of socioemotional functioning in early childhood. Although both Bowlby and Ainsworth suggested that the parent-child interactions underlying the development of attachment security could be distinguished from other aspects of parent-child interaction (e.g., play), relatively little empirical research has examined this proposition. The aim of the current study was to explore this issue by examining concurrent relations between toddler's attachment security in the Strange Situation Procedure and quality of mother-child social interaction in a high-risk sample of toddlers characterized by prenatal cocaine exposure and low levels of maternal education. Analyses of variance suggested limited relations between attachment security and quality of social interaction. Further research examining the interrelations among various components of the parent-child relationship is needed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Origins of Secure Base Script Knowledge and the Developmental Construction of Attachment Representations

PubMed Central

Waters, Theodore E. A.; Ruiz, Sarah K.; Roisman, Glenn I.

2016-01-01

Increasing evidence suggests that attachment representations take at least two forms—a secure base script and an autobiographical narrative of childhood caregiving experiences. This study presents data from the first 26 years of the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (N = 169), examining the developmental origins of secure base script knowledge in a high-risk sample, and testing alternative models of the developmental sequencing of the construction of attachment representations. Results demonstrated that secure base script knowledge was predicted by observations of maternal sensitivity across childhood and adolescence. Further, findings suggest that the construction of a secure base script supports the development of a coherent autobiographical representation of childhood attachment experiences with primary caregivers by early adulthood. PMID:27302650

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 for correlations with attachment security. The stability of the theory-consistent features across three different stimuli sets was explored using repeated measures analysis of variances (ANOVAs). In total, 46 theory-consistent correlations were found during the exploration (out of 65 total significant correlations). For example, attachment security as measured by the AAP was correlated with positive facial expressions (r=.36, P=.01). AMMI's security with the father was inversely correlated with the low frequency (LF) of HRV (r=-.87, P=.03). Attachment security to partners as measured by the AAQ was inversely correlated with anger facial expression (r=-.43, P=.001). The confirmatory analysis showed that the composite effects index was significantly correlated to security in the AAP (r=.26, P=.05) and the AAQ (r=.30, P=.04) but not in the AMMI. Repeated measures ANOVAs conducted individually on each of the theory-consistent features revealed that only 7 of the 46 (15%) features had significantly different values among responses to three different stimuli sets. We were able to validate two of the instrument's core assumptions: its capacity to measure attachment security and the viability of using themes as placeholders for rotating stimuli. Future validation of other of its dimensions, as well as the ongoing development of its scoring and classification algorithms is discussed. ©Federico Parra, Raphaële Miljkovitch, Gwenaelle Persiaux, Michelle Morales, Stefan Scherer. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 06.04.2017.

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 effects index and by testing it for correlations with attachment security. The stability of the theory-consistent features across three different stimuli sets was explored using repeated measures analysis of variances (ANOVAs). Results In total, 46 theory-consistent correlations were found during the exploration (out of 65 total significant correlations). For example, attachment security as measured by the AAP was correlated with positive facial expressions (r=.36, P=.01). AMMI’s security with the father was inversely correlated with the low frequency (LF) of HRV (r=−.87, P=.03). Attachment security to partners as measured by the AAQ was inversely correlated with anger facial expression (r=−.43, P=.001). The confirmatory analysis showed that the composite effects index was significantly correlated to security in the AAP (r=.26, P=.05) and the AAQ (r=.30, P=.04) but not in the AMMI. Repeated measures ANOVAs conducted individually on each of the theory-consistent features revealed that only 7 of the 46 (15%) features had significantly different values among responses to three different stimuli sets. Conclusions We were able to validate two of the instrument’s core assumptions: its capacity to measure attachment security and the viability of using themes as placeholders for rotating stimuli. Future validation of other of its dimensions, as well as the ongoing development of its scoring and classification algorithms is discussed. PMID:28385683

Exploring Attachment to the “Homeland” and Its Association with Heritage Culture Identification

PubMed Central

Ferenczi, Nelli; Marshall, Tara C.

2013-01-01

Conceptualisations of attachment to one's nation of origin reflecting a symbolic caregiver can be found cross-culturally in literature, art, and language. Despite its prevalence, the relationship with one's nation has not been investigated empirically in terms of an attachment theory framework. Two studies employed an attachment theory approach to investigate the construct validity of symbolic attachment to one's nation of origin, and its association with acculturation (operationalized as heritage and mainstream culture identification). Results for Study 1 indicated a three-factor structure of nation attachment; the factors were labelled secure-preoccupied, fearful, and dismissive nation attachment. Hierarchical linear modelling was employed to control for differing cultures across participants. Secure-preoccupied nation attachment was a significant predictor of increased heritage culture identification for participants residing in their country of birth, whilst dismissive nation attachment was a significant predictor of decreased heritage culture identification for international migrants. Secure-preoccupied nation attachment was also associated with higher levels of subjective-wellbeing. Study 2 further confirmed the validity of the nation attachment construct through confirmatory factor analysis; the three-factor model adequately fit the data. Similar to the results of Study 1, secure-preoccupied nation attachment was associated with increased levels of heritage culture identification and psychological well-being. Implications of the tripartite model of nation attachment for identity and well-being will be discussed. PMID:23372673

Confidence in Attachment Relationships and Marital Status as Protective Factors for Self-Perceived Parental Role and In-Person Visitation with Children Among Incarcerated Fathers.

PubMed

Laquale, Michele Giovanni; Coppola, Gabrielle; Cassibba, Rosalinda; Pasceri, Maria; Pietralunga, Susanna; Taurino, Alessandro; Semeraro, Cristina; Grattagliano, Ignazio

2018-04-16

The study aimed at investigating the role of confidence in attachment relationships and marital status as protective factors for incarcerated fathers' self-perceived parental role and in-person contacts with their children. Participants included 150 inmate fathers and 145 nonincarcerated control fathers who provided background sociodemographic information and completed two self-reports, the Attachment Style Questionnaire and the Self-Perception of Parental Role. A two-phased cluster analytic plan allowed us to highlight two profiles of self-perceived parental roles, with incarceration and low confidence in attachment relationships increasing the risk of the less optimal of the two profiles. Higher confidence in attachment relationships and having a stable romantic relationship increased the likelihood of incarcerated fathers engaging in frequent contacts with their children, while the profile of self-perceived parental role had no effect. Implications for practice are discussed, and suggestions for further research are provided. © 2018 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Correlates of the categories of adolescent attachment styles: Perceived rearing, family function, early life events, and personality.

PubMed

Tanaka, Nao; Hasui, Chieko; Uji, Masayo; Hiramura, Hidetoshi; Chen, Zi; Shikai, Noriko; Kitamura, Toshinori

2008-02-01

To identify the psychosocial correlates of adolescents. Unmarried university students (n = 4226) aged 18-23 years were examined in a questionnaire survey. Four clusters of people (indifferent, secure, fearful, and preoccupied) identified by cluster analysis were plotted in 2-D using discriminant function analysis with the first function (father's and mother's Care, Cooperativeness, and family Cohesion on the positive end and Harm Avoidance and father's and mother's Overprotection on the negative end) representing the Self-model and the second function (Reward Dependence and experience of Peer Victimization on the positive end and Self-directedness on the negative end) representing the Other model. These findings partially support Bartholomew's notion that adult attachment is based on the good versus bad representations of the self and the other and that it is influenced by psychosocial environments experienced over the course of development.

Health perceptions and levels of attachment: owners and pets exercising together.

PubMed

Stephens, Mark B; Wilson, Cindy C; Goodie, Jeffrey L; Netting, F Ellen; Olsen, Cara H; Byers, Christopher G

2012-01-01

Obesity is a parallel problem in canine and human populations. We describe health perceptions and levels of companion animal attachment in a cohort of dog owners. As part of a larger trial examining the impact of veterinary counseling on activity levels of dog owners and their pets, owners presenting to a veterinary referral center were asked to self-report perceived levels of health and attachment to their dog (Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale). Owner body mass index and the body conditioning score of the companion dog were also recorded. Heavier pet owners reported a greater sense of attachment to their dogs. Heavier owners also reported lower perceived health and less social support. Increasing body mass index is associated with higher pet attachment, lower perceived health, and less social support. This information can impact wellness counseling for overweight pet owners and canine companions.

The longitudinal link between parenting and child aggression: the moderating effect of attachment security.

PubMed

Cyr, Maeve; Pasalich, Dave S; McMahon, Robert J; Spieker, Susan J

2014-10-01

This study examined whether infant attachment security moderates the association between parenting in preschool and later aggressive behavior among a sample of children at high risk for developing conduct problems. Participants were 82 adolescent mother-child dyads recruited from the community. Infant attachment status at age 1 year was measured using the Strange Situation. When children were aged 4.5 years, mothers reported on their self-efficacy in regards to parenting, and mothers' positive parenting and criticism were coded from direct observations of parent-child interactions. In grade 1, mothers reported on their children's aggressive behavior. Infant secure attachment significantly moderated the association between observed maternal criticism and child aggression. That is, among insecurely attached children, higher levels of maternal criticism were associated with more severe aggression. This longitudinal finding suggests that a secure attachment may buffer the deleterious effects of harsh parenting on child aggression.

The Talking Cure of Avoidant Personality Disorder: Remission through Earned-Secure Attachment.

PubMed

Guina, Jeffrey

The concept of earned security is important and has significant implications for psychotherapy. Understanding how individuals with insecure attachment styles can develop secure attachment styles through reparative relationships, such as the therapeutic relationship, can assist psychotherapists in helping patients to overcome the effects of early negative life experiences. Personality disorders are commonly associated with negative experiences, such as abuse, neglect, and other empathic failures. These disorders are particularly difficult to treat because of their pervasive nature and the resultant defense mechanisms that often thwart psychotherapy. However, an understanding of the role that attachment can play in the etiology, symptomatology, and treatment of psychopathology can greatly enhance the therapeutic process. This case report describes the long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy of a woman with a history of childhood trauma, avoidant attachment style, and avoidant personality disorder. Through the therapeutic relationship, she developed a secure attachment, and her symptoms remitted, and her life drastically improved.

Direct and indirect relations between parent-child attachments, peer acceptance, and self-esteem for preschool children.

PubMed

Pinto, Alexandra; Veríssimo, Manuela; Gatinho, Ana; Santos, António J; Vaughn, Brian E

2015-01-01

The present study aims to test Bowlby's suggestions concerning relations between the child's attachment quality with parents and subsequently constructed models of self-worth during early childhood. In most research on this question, attachment with mothers is considered in relation to self-worth but the child's attachment with fathers is not. Neither has the peer group been studied as an influence on child self-esteem, in the context of attachment research. This study addresses these relatively unstudied influences on child self-esteem. Attachment security to mother and father was measured by the Attachment Behavior Q-Set at two and half years of age. At five years of age social acceptance was measured using two sociometric techniques, and the self-esteem with the California Child Q-Sort. Our analyses indicated that security of the attachment to father and peer acceptance are both unique, significant predictors of the childrens' self-esteem. The security of the attachment to mother was also related to child self-esteem but did not emerge as a uniquely significant predictor. Peer acceptance appeared to moderate of the effect of the security of the attachment to father on the self-esteem of children. Our results extend the relatively sparse literature relating early attachments to self-esteem during early childhood.

Brief Report: Attachment Security in Infants At-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haltigan, John D.; Ekas, Naomi V.; Seifer, Ronald; Messinger, Daniel S.

2011-01-01

Little is known about attachment security and disorganization in children who are at genetic risk for an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prior to a possible diagnosis. The present study examined distributions of attachment security and disorganization at 15-months of age in a sample of infant siblings of older children with (ASD-sibs; n = 51) or…

Interparental conflict in context: exploring relations between parenting processes and children's conflict appraisals.

PubMed

DeBoard-Lucas, Renee L; Fosco, Gregory M; Raynor, Sarah R; Grych, John H

2010-01-01

Children's appraisals of conflict are a mechanism by which parental discord can lead to child maladjustment. The cognitive-contextual framework proposes that parent-child relationships may affect how children perceive conflict, but this idea has rarely been examined empirically. This study investigated relations between conflict appraisals, parenting, and child adjustment in a sample of 150 8- to 12-year-old children, using a multi-informant, multimethod design. Mothers' coercive/controlling and emotionally unsupportive parenting magnified the relation between conflict and children's self-blame; emotionally supportive parenting diminished this association. Children's secure attachment with fathers was linked with less threat and self-blame; more security reduced self-blame for conflict. Data suggest that supportive, responsive parenting can buffer the effects of interparental conflict on children by reducing self-blaming attributions for parental discord.

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…

The Influence of Attachment Security on Preschool Children's Empathic Concern

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Tia Panfile; Laible, Deborah J.

2013-01-01

The current study examined the direction of the association between children's attachment security and empathic responding. At 42 and 48 months of age, 69 children's empathic concern was observed, and mothers reported the children's attachment. Results indicated that attachment at 42 months predicted empathic concern at 48 months even after…

Broadening the Study of Infant Security of Attachment: Maternal Autonomy-Support in the Context of Infant Exploration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whipple, Natasha; Bernier, Annie; Mageau, Genevieve A.

2011-01-01

Although security of attachment is conceptualised as a balance between infants' attachment and exploratory behaviours, parental behaviours pertaining to infant exploration have received relatively little empirical attention. Drawing from self-determination theory, this study seeks to improve the prediction of infant attachment by assessing…

Direct and indirect effects of contextual factors, caregiver depression, and parenting on attachment security in preschoolers.

PubMed

Hopkins, Joyce; Gouze, Karen R; Lavigne, John V

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a multiple-level-of-analysis model of preschool attachment security and to determine the processes (direct and indirect) whereby factors from different domains (e.g., stress and parenting) are related to attachment during this period. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of stress, family conflict, caregiver depression symptoms, and parenting on attachment security in a large (N = 796) and diverse sample of 4-year-olds. This study used the 3-Boxes Task to assess aspects of parenting critical to sensitivity in the preschool period, labeling this construct sensitivity/scaffolding. Parent-report questionnaires were used to assess stress, conflict, caregiver depressive symptoms, parent support/engagement, and parent hostility/coercion. Direct observation (3-Boxes Task) was used to assess sensitivity/scaffolding and attachment (Attachment Q-Sort) based on a 2½-3 hour home visit. Results of structural equation modeling indicated a good overall fit for the model. Among the parenting variables, sensitivity/scaffolding had the strongest effect on attachment. Depressive symptoms had both direct and indirect effects (mediated by parenting). The effects of stress and family conflict were mediated by caregiver depression symptoms and parenting. These data show that a developmentally appropriate measure of sensitivity plays a significant role in attachment security in preschoolers. Thus, strategies designed to enhance sensitivity/scaffolding may increase child resilience by enhancing attachment security.

Attachment in middle childhood: predictors, correlates, and implications for adaptation.

PubMed

Boldt, Lea J; Kochanska, Grazyna; Grekin, Rebecca; Brock, Rebecca L

2016-01-01

Middle childhood is a relative lacuna in behavioral attachment research. We examined antecedents, correlates, and implications of parent-child attachment at age 10 in a longitudinal study of community families from a Midwestern US state (N = 102, mothers, fathers, and children). Dimensions of security, avoidance, ambivalence, and disorganization of children's attachment to each parent were observed in lengthy naturalistic interactions and assessed using Iowa Attachment Behavioral Coding (IABC). IABC scores were meaningfully associated with history of parental responsiveness (7-80 months) and with earlier and concurrent attachment security, assessed with other established instruments (parent- and observer-rated Attachment Q-Set at 25 months, children's reports at age 8 and 10). Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that the overall history of responsive care was meaningfully associated with Security, Avoidance, and Disorganization at age 10, in both mother-child and father-child relationships, and that most recent care uniquely predicted Security. IABC scores were also meaningfully related to a broad range of measures of child adaptation at ages 10-12. Cumulative history of children's security from infancy to middle childhood, integrating measures across relationships and methodologies, also predicted child adaptation at ages 10-12.

Attachment in Middle Childhood: Predictors, Correlates, and Implications for Adaptation

PubMed Central

Boldt, Lea J.; Kochanska, Grazyna; Grekin, Rebecca; Brock, Rebecca L.

2016-01-01

Middle childhood is a relative lacuna in behavioral attachment research. We examined antecedents, correlates, and implications of parent-child attachment at age 10 in a longitudinal study of community families from a Midwestern US state (N=102, mothers, fathers, and children). Dimensions of security, avoidance, ambivalence, and disorganization of children’s attachment to each parent were observed in lengthy naturalistic interactions and assessed using Iowa Attachment Behavioral Coding (IABC). IABC scores were meaningfully associated with history of parental responsiveness (7–80 months) and with earlier and concurrent attachment security, assessed with other established instruments (parent- and observer-rated Attachment Q-Set at 25 months, children’s reports at age 8 and 10). Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that the overall history of responsive care was meaningfully associated with Security, Avoidance, and Disorganization at age 10, in both mother-child and father-child relationships, and that most recent care uniquely predicted Security. IABC scores were also meaningfully related to a broad range of measures of child adaptation at ages 10–12. Cumulative history of children’s security from infancy to middle childhood, integrating measures across relationships and methodologies, also predicted child adaptation at ages 10–12. PMID:26673686

Negative emotionality moderates associations among attachment, toddler sleep, and later problem behaviors.

PubMed

Troxel, Wendy M; Trentacosta, Christopher J; Forbes, Erika E; Campbell, Susan B

2013-02-01

Secure parent-child relationships are implicated in children's self-regulation, including the ability to self-soothe at bedtime. Sleep, in turn, may serve as a pathway linking attachment security with subsequent emotional and behavioral problems in children. We used path analysis to examine the direct relationship between attachment security and maternal reports of sleep problems during toddlerhood and the degree to which sleep serves as a pathway linking attachment with subsequent teacher-reported emotional and behavioral problems. We also examined infant negative emotionality as a vulnerability factor that may potentiate attachment-sleep-adjustment outcomes. Data were drawn from 776 mother-infant dyads participating in the National Institute of Child and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. After statistically adjusting for mother and child characteristics, including child sleep and emotional and behavioral problems at 24 months, we found no evidence for a statistically significant direct path between attachment security and sleep problems at 36 months; however, there was a direct relationship between sleep problems at 36 months and internalizing problems at 54 months. Path models that examined the moderating influence of infant negative emotionality demonstrated significant direct relationships between attachment security and toddler sleep problems and between sleep problems and subsequent emotional and behavioral problems, but only among children characterized by high negative emotionality at 6 months. In addition, among this subset, there was a significant indirect path between attachment and internalizing problems through sleep problems. These longitudinal findings implicate sleep as one critical pathway linking attachment security with adjustment difficulties, particularly among temperamentally vulnerable children. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Negative Emotionality Moderates Associations among Attachment, Toddler Sleep, and Later Problem Behaviors

PubMed Central

Troxel, Wendy M.; Trentacosta, Christopher J.; Forbes, Erika E.; Campbell, Susan B.

2013-01-01

Secure parent-child relationships are implicated in children’s self-regulation, including the ability to self-soothe at bedtime. Sleep, in turn, may serve as a pathway linking attachment security with subsequent emotional and behavioral problems in children. We used path analysis to examine the direct relationship between attachment security and maternal-reports of sleep problems during toddlerhood, and the degree to which sleep serves as a pathway linking attachment with subsequent teacher-reported emotional and behavioral problems. We also examined infant negative emotionality as a vulnerability factor that may potentiate attachment-sleep-adjustment outcomes. Data were drawn from 776 mother-infant dyads participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (SECC). In the full sample, after statistically adjusting for mother and child characteristics, including child sleep and emotional and behavioral problems at 24 months, we did not find evidence for a statistically significant direct path between attachment security and sleep problems at 36 months; however, there was a direct relationship between sleep problems at 36 months and internalizing problems at 54 months. Path models that examined the moderating influence of infant negative emotionality demonstrated significant direct relationships between attachment security and toddler sleep problems, and sleep problems and subsequent emotional and behavioral problems, but only among children characterized by high negative emotionality at 6 months of age. In addition, among this subset, there was a significant indirect path between attachment and internalizing problems through sleep problems. These longitudinal findings implicate sleep as one critical pathway linking attachment security with adjustment difficulties, particularly among temperamentally vulnerable children. PMID:23421840

Infant emotion regulation: relations to bedtime emotional availability, attachment security, and temperament.

PubMed

Kim, Bo-Ram; Stifter, Cynthia A; Philbrook, Lauren E; Teti, Douglas M

2014-11-01

The present study examines the influences of mothers' emotional availability toward their infants during bedtime, infant attachment security, and interactions between bedtime parenting and attachment with infant temperamental negative affectivity, on infants' emotion regulation strategy use at 12 and 18 months. Infants' emotion regulation strategies were assessed during a frustration task that required infants to regulate their emotions in the absence of parental support. Whereas emotional availability was not directly related to infants' emotion regulation strategies, infant attachment security had direct relations with infants' orienting toward the environment and tension reduction behaviors. Both maternal emotional availability and security of the mother-infant attachment relationship interacted with infant temperamental negative affectivity to predict two strategies that were less adaptive in regulating frustration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ATTACHMENT AND CORE RELATIONSHIP THEMES: WISHES FOR AUTONOMY AND CLOSENESS IN THE NARRATIVES OF SECURELY AND INSECURELY ATTACHED ADULTS

PubMed Central

Waldinger, Robert J.; Seidman, Ethan L.; Gerber, Andrew J.; Liem, Joan H.; Allen, Joseph P.; Hauser, Stuart T.

2006-01-01

This study examines links between attachment states of mind and relationship schemas in a sample of 40 young adults, half of whom were hospitalized as adolescents for psychiatric treatment. Participants were interviewed about their closest relationships, and, using the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme method, their narratives about these relationships were analyzed for the relative frequency with which they expressed wishes for closeness and for autonomy in relation to others. Participants were also administered the Adult Attachment Interview and were classified with respect to security of attachment. Security of attachment was associated with the relative frequency with which participants expressed wishes for autonomy in their narratives about close relationships, even after accounting for current levels of psychological functioning and history of serious psychopathology in adolescence. Security of attachment was not associated with the relative frequency with which participants expressed wishes for closeness. The study suggests that core relational wishes for autonomy are linked specifically with subtypes of insecure attachment. These findings extend what is known about connections between the representation of early attachment relationships and the wishes and needs expressed in current relationships with significant others. PMID:16946799

Foster children's attachment behavior and representation: Influence of children's pre-placement experiences and foster caregiver's sensitivity.

PubMed

Bovenschen, Ina; Lang, Katrin; Zimmermann, Janin; Förthner, Judith; Nowacki, Katja; Roland, Inga; Spangler, Gottfried

2016-01-01

Although the majority of foster children have been exposed to early adversity in their biological families and have experienced one or more disruptions of attachment relationships, most studies surprisingly found foster children to be as securely attached as children in low-risk samples. However, attention has been paid almost exclusively to attachment formation in young children up to two years of age, and the majority of studies solely investigated attachment behavior whereas few is known about foster children's representations about attachment relationships. To extend findings on attachment in foster children and its predictors, our study examined both attachment behavior and representations in foster children aged between 3 and 8 years. Diverse potential predictors including child variables, birth parents' variables, pre-placement experiences, and foster caregiver's behavior were included in the analyses. Results revealed that foster children showed both lower attachment security and higher disorganization scores than children in low-risk samples. Attachment behavior and representation were found to be widely independent from each other. Different factors contributed to attachment behavior and representation: whereas foster children's attachment behavior was mainly influenced by foster parents' behavior, pre-placement experiences did predict hyperactivation and disorganization on the representational level. The results indicate that, when intervening with foster families, it seems crucial to focus not exclusively on the promotion of secure attachment behavior but also to develop interventions enhancing secure and organized attachment representations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing Attachment Security With the Attachment Q Sort: Meta-Analytic Evidence for the Validity of the Observer AQS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van I Jzendoorn,Marinus H.; Vereijken, Carolus M.J.L.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; Riksen-Walraven, Marianne J.

2004-01-01

The reliability and validity of the Attachment Q Sort (AQS; Waters & Deane, 1985) was tested in a series of meta-analyses on 139 studies with 13,835 children. The observer AQS security score showed convergent validity with Strange Situation procedure (SSP) security (r=31) and excellent predictive validity with sensitivity measures (r=39). Its…

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.

A secure base from which to regulate: Attachment security in toddlerhood as a predictor of executive functioning at school entry.

PubMed

Bernier, Annie; Beauchamp, Miriam H; Carlson, Stephanie M; Lalonde, Gabrielle

2015-09-01

In light of emerging evidence suggesting that the affective quality of parent-child relationships may relate to individual differences in young children's executive functioning (EF) skills, the aim of this study was to investigate the prospective associations between attachment security in toddlerhood and children's EF skills in kindergarten. Mother-child dyads (N = 105) participated in 2 toddlerhood visits in their homes, when children were 15 months and 2 years of age. Mother-child attachment security was assessed with the Attachment Q-Sort during both these visits. When children were in kindergarten (ages 5-6), they were administered a battery of EF tasks, and their teachers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function to assess children's EF problems. The results indicated that kindergarteners who were more securely attached to their mothers in toddlerhood showed better performance on all EF tasks, and were considered by their teachers to present fewer EF problems in everyday school situations. These results held above family socioeconomic status (SES) and child age, sex, and general cognitive functioning. The fact that early attachment security uniquely predicted both teacher reports and children's objective EF task performance suggests that parent-child attachment may be a promising factor to consider in the continuing search for the social antecedents of young children's EF. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Development and initial validation of a measure of attachment security in late adulthood.

PubMed

Lopez, Frederick G; Ramos, Katherine; Kim, Mijin

2018-05-10

Attachment theory-guided studies of older adults have generally relied on self-report measures that were validated on young adult samples and that focus on fears of rejection by romantic partners and on experiences of chronic discomfort with romantic intimacy as the key indicators of adult attachment security. These assessment characteristics raise important questions as to whether these measures are appropriate for use with older adults. Unlike their younger adult counterparts, older adults may face distinctive life stage-related threats to their attachment security such as declining health and autonomy, spousal loss, and increased dependence on younger family members for instrumental and emotional support. In response to these concerns, we conducted two independent studies aimed at developing and validating a novel measure of attachment security in older adults-the Late Adulthood Attachment Scale (LAAS). In study one (N = 287), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) methods were used to identify and support a 2-factor structure (Fearful Avoidance, Secure Engagement) underlying LAAS scores. In study two (N = 417), ESEM and regression analyses confirmed the 2-factor structure and demonstrated the ability of LAAS scores to predict participants' well-being over a 3-month interval (n = 93). Findings from both studies support the psychometric adequacy of the LAAS as an alternative measure of attachment security for use with older adult samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

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.

Preschoolers' Attachment to Mother and Risk for Adjustment Problems in Kindergarten: Can Teachers Make a Difference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buyse, Evelien; Verschueren, Karine; Doumen, Sarah

2011-01-01

Based on attachment theory, two aims were addressed. Firstly, we tested whether close teacher-child relationships may buffer children who are less securely attached to their mothers against negative outcomes, such as aggressive behavior. Secondly, our study evaluated whether teacher sensitivity may protect less securely attached children against…

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.

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.

Unresolved trauma in mothers: intergenerational effects and the role of reorganization

PubMed Central

Iyengar, Udita; Kim, Sohye; Martinez, Sheila; Fonagy, Peter; Strathearn, Lane

2014-01-01

A mother's unresolved trauma may interfere with her ability to sensitively respond to her infant, thus affecting the development of attachment in her own child, and potentially contributing to the intergenerational transmission of trauma. One novel construct within the Dynamic Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM) coding of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is “reorganization,” a process whereby speakers are actively changing their understanding of past and present experiences and moving toward attachment security. We conducted a study of mothers with unresolved trauma, exploring their own attachment classification, attachment outcomes of their children, and the potential effects of reorganization on child attachment. Forty-seven first-time mothers participated in the AAI during pregnancy, and returned with their child at 11 months to assess child attachment using the Strange Situation Procedure. Mothers with and without unresolved trauma were compared. We found that mothers with unresolved trauma had insecure attachment themselves and were more likely to have infants with insecure attachment. However, the one exception was that all of the mothers with unresolved trauma who were reorganizing toward secure attachment had infants with secure attachment. These preliminary findings suggest that mothers who are reorganizing may be able to more sensitively respond to their child's cues, contributing to the development of secure attachment. While our results need to be replicated in a larger cohort, this study is the first to explore the construct of reorganization and its potential relationship with child attachment. If confirmed in future studies, it may provide clinical insight into the intergenerational transmission of insecure attachment within the context of unresolved trauma. PMID:25225490

Maternal Sensitivity, Child Functional Level, and Attachment in Down Syndrome.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkinson, Leslie; Chrisholm, Vivienne C.; Scott, Brian; Goldberg, Susan; Vaughn, Brian E.; Blackwell, Janis; Dickens, Susan; Tam, Frances

1999-01-01

Investigated the influence of child intellectual/adaptive functioning and maternal sensitivity on attachment security, using a sample of children with Down syndrome. Found a relationship between attachment security in DS related to the interaction of maternal sensitivity and cognitive competence. (JPB)

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INFANT NIGHTTIME-SLEEP LOCATION AND ATTACHMENT SECURITY: NO EASY VERDICT.

PubMed

Mileva-Seitz, Viara R; Luijk, Maartje P C M; van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Hofman, Albert; Verhulst, Frank C; Tiemeier, Henning

2016-01-01

We tested whether mother-infant bed-sharing is associated with increased secure infant-mother attachment, a previously unexplored association. Frequency of bed-sharing and mothers' nighttime comforting measures at 2 months were assessed with questionnaires in 550 Caucasian mothers from a population-based cohort. Attachment security was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) at 14 months. When using a dichotomous variable, "never bed-sharing" (solitary sleepers) versus "any bed-sharing," the relative risk of being classified as insecurely attached for solitary-sleeping infants (vs. bed-sharers) was 1.21 (95% confidence interval: 1.05-1.40). In multivariate models, solitary sleeping was associated with greater odds of insecure attachment, adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.50, 95% CI = 1.02-2.20) and, in particular, with greater odds of resistant attachment, adjusted OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.10-2.76); and with a lower attachment security score, β = -0.12, t(495) = -2.61, p = .009. However, we found no evidence of a dose-response association between bed-sharing and secure attachment when using a trichotomous bed-sharing variable based on frequency of bed-sharing. Our findings demonstrate some evidence that solitary sleeping is associated with insecure attachment. However, the lack of a dose-response association suggests that further experimental study is necessary before accepting common notions that sharing a bed leads to children who are better or not better adjusted. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Secure Base Script and Psychological Dysfunction in Japanese Young Adults in the 21st Century: Using the Attachment Script Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Umemura, Tomotaka; Watanabe, Manami; Tazuke, Kohei; Asada-Hirano, Shintaro; Kudo, Shimpei

2018-01-01

The universality of secure base construct, which suggests that one's use of an attachment figure as a secure base from which to explore the environment is an evolutionary outcome, is one of the core ideas of attachment theory. However, this universality idea has been critiqued because exploration is not as valued in Japanese culture as it is in…

Attachment based treatments for adolescents: the secure cycle as a framework for assessment, treatment and evaluation.

PubMed

Kobak, Roger; Zajac, Kristyn; Herres, Joanna; Krauthamer Ewing, E Stephanie

2015-01-01

The emergence of attachment-based treatments (ABTs) for adolescents highlights the need to more clearly define and evaluate these treatments in the context of other attachment based treatments for young children and adults. We propose a general framework for defining and evaluating ABTs that describes the cyclical processes that are required to maintain a secure attachment bond. This secure cycle incorporates three components: (1) the child or adult's IWM of the caregiver; (2) emotionally attuned communication; and (3) the caregiver's IWM of the child or adult. We briefly review Bowlby, Ainsworth, and Main's contributions to defining the components of the secure cycle and discuss how this framework can be adapted for understanding the process of change in ABTs. For clinicians working with adolescents, our model can be used to identify how deviations from the secure cycle (attachment injuries, empathic failures and mistuned communication) contribute to family distress and psychopathology. The secure cycle also provides a way of describing the ABT elements that have been used to revise IWMs or improve emotionally attuned communication. For researchers, our model provides a guide for conceptualizing and measuring change in attachment constructs and how change in one component of the interpersonal cycle should generalize to other components.

Adult attachment styles and the psychological response to infant bereavement

PubMed Central

Shevlin, Mark; Boyda, David; Elklit, Ask; Murphy, Siobhan

2014-01-01

Background Based on Bowlby's attachment theory, Bartholomew proposed a four-category attachment typology by which individuals judged themselves and adult relationships. This explanatory model has since been used to help explain the risk of psychiatric comorbidity. Objective The current study aimed to identify attachment typologies based on Bartholomew's attachment styles in a sample of bereaved parents on dimensions of closeness/dependency and anxiety. In addition, it sought to assess the relationship between the resultant attachment typology with a range of psychological trauma variables. Method The current study was based on a sample of 445 bereaved parents who had experienced either peri- or post-natal death of an infant. Adult attachment was assessed using the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS) while reaction to trauma was assessed using the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC). A latent profile analysis was conducted on scores from the RAAS closeness/dependency and anxiety subscales to ascertain if there were underlying homogeneous attachment classes. Emergent classes were used to determine if these were significantly different in terms of mean scores on TSC scales. Results A four-class solution was considered the optimal based on fit statistics and interpretability of the results. Classes were labelled “Fearful,” “Preoccupied,” “Dismissing,” and “Secure.” Females were almost eight times more likely than males to be members of the fearful attachment class. This class evidenced the highest scores across all TSC scales while the secure class showed the lowest scores. Conclusions The results are consistent with Bartholomew's four-category attachment styles with classes representing secure, fearful, preoccupied, and dismissing types. While the loss of an infant is a devastating experience for any parent, securely attached individuals showed the lowest levels of psychopathology compared to fearful, preoccupied, or dismissing attachment styles. This may suggest that a secure attachment style is protective against trauma-related psychological distress. PMID:24839541

NARRATIVE AND META-ANALYTIC REVIEW OF INTERVENTIONS AIMING TO IMPROVE MATERNAL-CHILD ATTACHMENT SECURITY.

PubMed

Letourneau, Nicole; Tryphonopoulos, Panagiota; Giesbrecht, Gerald; Dennis, Cindy-Lee; Bhogal, Sanjit; Watson, Barry

2015-01-01

Early secure maternal-child attachment relationships lay the foundation for children's healthy social and mental development. Interventions targeting maternal sensitivity and maternal reflective function during the first year of infant life may be the key to promoting secure attachment. We conducted a narrative systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effectiveness of interventions aimed at promoting maternal sensitivity and reflective function on maternal-child attachment security, as measured by the gold standard Strange Situation (M. Ainsworth, M. Blehar, B. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) and Q-set (E. Waters & K. Deane, 1985). Studies were identified from electronic database searches and included randomized or quasi-randomized controlled parallel-group designs. Participants were mothers and their infants who were followed up to 36 months' postpartum. Ten trials, involving 1,628 mother-infant pairs, were included. Examination of the trials that provided sufficient data for combination in meta-analysis revealed that interventions of both types increased the odds of secure maternal-child attachment, as compared with no intervention or standard intervention (n = 7 trials; odds ratio: 2.77; 95% confidence interval: 1.69, 4.53, n = 965). Of the three trials not included in the meta-analyses, two improved the likelihood of secure attachment. We conclude that interventions aimed at improving maternal sensitivity alone or in combination with maternal reflection, implemented in the first year of infants' lives, are effective in promoting secure maternal-child attachments. Intervention aimed at the highest risk families produced the most beneficial effects. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Attachment security representations in institutionalized children and children living with their families: links to problem behaviour.

PubMed

Torres, Nuno; Maia, Joana; Veríssimo, Manuela; Fernandes, Marilia; Silva, Filipa

2012-01-01

The present work analyses differences in the attachment representations of institutionalized children as compared with children from low and high educational level living with their natural families. Participants were 91 Portuguese children, 52% girls, aged 48-96 months. There were three different groups: 19 institutionalized children, 16 low educational level families' children and 56 from high educational level families'. Attachment representations were assessed for Security of the narratives of the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT). Psychopathological symptoms were assessed using the Child Behaviour Checklist for parents and caretakers. Verbal skills were assessed using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence--Revised. Results show that institutionalized children have significantly lower security of attachment representations, less verbal skills and higher aggressive behaviour than the other two groups. Attachment representations were associated with social/withdrawal and aggression, independently of age, verbal skills and parents' education. The main effect of institutionalization on externalizing aggressive behaviour was completely mediated by the security of attachment representations.  Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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.

A matter of attachment? How adoptive parents foster post-institutionalized children's social and emotional adjustment.

PubMed

Barone, Lavinia; Lionetti, Francesca; Green, Jonathan

2017-08-01

The current study investigates the contribution of children's age at adoption (M = 46.52 months, SD = 11.52 months) and parents' attachment on post-institutionalized children's attachment and social-emotional adjustment. A total of 132 subjects, 48 post-institutionalized children aged 3-5 years, and their adoptive parents, took part in the study. One year from adoption, children's attachment distribution was as follows: 31% secure, 42% disorganized, and 27% insecure. Parents' secure attachment increased children's probability of presenting a secure attachment pattern; specifically, mothers' attachment patterns were most strongly associated with those of their adopted children, with fathers' making an additional contribution. Two years from adoption, secure children showed more adequate social competences than their insecure and disorganized peers and presented better emotional comprehension. The effect of age at adoption was delimited to a marginal association with behavioral problems. This pattern of associations suggests that attachment - both of adoptive parents and of children - substantially fosters social-emotional adjustment of post-institutionalized children who have experienced a period in emotionally neglecting environments beyond their first year of life, regardless of their age at adoption. Implications for policies and practices are discussed.

The Effect of Secure Attachment State and Infant Facial Expressions on Childless Adults' Parental Motivation.

PubMed

Ding, Fangyuan; Zhang, Dajun; Cheng, Gang

2016-01-01

This study examined the association between infant facial expressions and parental motivation as well as the interaction between attachment state and expressions. Two-hundred eighteen childless adults (M age = 19.22, 118 males, 100 females) were recruited. Participants completed the Chinese version of the State Adult Attachment Measure and the E-prime test, which comprised three components (a) liking, the specific hedonic experience in reaction to laughing, neutral, and crying infant faces; (b) representational responding, actively seeking infant faces with specific expressions; and (c) evoked responding, actively retaining images of three different infant facial expressions. While the first component refers to the "liking" of infants, the second and third components entail the "wanting" of an infant. Random intercepts multilevel models with emotion nested within participants revealed a significant interaction between secure attachment state and emotion on both liking and representational response. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the unique contributions of secure attachment state. Findings demonstrated that, after controlling for sex, anxious, and avoidant, secure attachment state positively predicted parental motivations (liking and wanting) in the neutral and crying conditions, but not the laughing condition. These findings demonstrate the significant role of secure attachment state in parental motivation, specifically when infants display uncertain and negative emotions.

Breastfeeding, Parenting, and Infant Attachment Behaviors.

PubMed

Gibbs, Benjamin G; Forste, Renata; Lybbert, Emily

2018-04-01

Objectives Infants and toddlers need secure attachments in order to develop the social competence required to successfully navigate later peer and adult relationships. Breastfeeding is a parenting factor that has been associated with child emotional development-specifically the attachment between children and their mothers. Yet, this link may simply be the result of other parenting behaviors that are associated with breastfeeding. Thus, our objective is to examine whether the link between infant attachment behaviors and breastfeeding endures when accounting for a broad array of in-depth measures of parenting. Methods We use the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of children from 9 months to 2 years of age collected by the National Center for Education Statistics. Using Ordinary Least Squares regression, data analyses examine the association between the Toddler Attachment Sort-45 (TAS-45) measures of toddler-parent attachment (infant attachment security and temperamental dependency) and breastfeeding practices. We also examine individual items of the TAS-45 to isolate specific attachment behaviors that have the strongest associations with breastfeeding. Results We find an enduring link between children who are predominantly breastfed for six or more months and infant attachment security. However, we find no evidence that breastfeeding is linked to a child's temperamental dependency. Of the nine items used to examine infant attachment behaviors, we find that breastfed children are rated as having slightly higher scores on two measures ("warm and cuddly," "cooperative") and lower scores on one measure ("demanding/angry"). Conclusions for Practice Breastfeeding has an important link to the child's use of their caregiver as a secure base for exploration and a place of comfort when distressed (infant attachment security). Yet, breastfeeding does not appear to reduce a child's temperamental dependency or level of clinginess as measured by how demanding, fussy or distressed the child becomes when separated.

Intergenerational transmission of attachment for infants raised in a prison nursery.

PubMed

Byrne, M W; Goshin, L S; Joestl, S S

2010-07-01

Within a larger intervention study, attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure for 30 infants who co-resided with their mothers in a prison nursery. Sixty percent of infants were classified secure, 75% who co-resided a year or more and 43% who co-resided less than a year, all within the range of normative community samples. The year-long co-residing group had significantly more secure and fewer disorganized infants than predicted by their mothers' attachment status, measured by the Adult Attachment Interview, and a significantly greater proportion of secure infants than meta-analyzed community samples of mothers with low income, depression, or drug/alcohol abuse. Using intergenerational data collected with rigorous methods, this study provides the first evidence that mothers in a prison nursery setting can raise infants who are securely attached to them at rates comparable to healthy community children, even when the mother's own internal attachment representation has been categorized as insecure.

Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment for Infants Raised in a Prison Nursery

PubMed Central

Byrne, M. W.; Goshin, L. S.; Joestl, S. S.

2010-01-01

Within a larger intervention study, attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure for 30 infants who co-resided with their mothers in a prison nursery. Sixty percent of infants were classified secure, 75% who co-resided a year or more and 43% who co-resided less than a year, all within the range of normative community samples. The year-long co-residing group had significantly more secure and fewer disorganized infants than predicted by their mothers’ attachment status, measured by the Adult Attachment Interview, and a significantly greater proportion of secure infants than meta-analyzed community samples of mothers with low income, depression, or drug/alcohol abuse. Using intergenerational data collected with rigorous methods, this study provides the first evidence that mothers in a prison nursery setting can raise infants who are securely attached to them at rates comparable to healthy community children, even when the mother’s own internal attachment representation has been categorized as insecure. PMID:20582846

Origins of Secure Base Script Knowledge and the Developmental Construction of Attachment Representations.

PubMed

Waters, Theodore E A; Ruiz, Sarah K; Roisman, Glenn I

2017-01-01

Increasing evidence suggests that attachment representations take at least two forms: a secure base script and an autobiographical narrative of childhood caregiving experiences. This study presents data from the first 26 years of the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (N = 169), examining the developmental origins of secure base script knowledge in a high-risk sample and testing alternative models of the developmental sequencing of the construction of attachment representations. Results demonstrated that secure base script knowledge was predicted by observations of maternal sensitivity across childhood and adolescence. Furthermore, findings suggest that the construction of a secure base script supports the development of a coherent autobiographical representation of childhood attachment experiences with primary caregivers by early adulthood. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Understanding Cortisol Reactivity across the Day at Child Care: The Potential Buffering Role of Secure Attachments to Caregivers

PubMed Central

Badanes, Lisa S.; Dmitrieva, Julia; Watamura, Sarah Enos

2011-01-01

Full-day center-based child care has been repeatedly associated with rising cortisol across the child care day. This study addressed the potential buffering role of attachment to mothers and lead teachers in 110 preschoolers while at child care. Using multi-level modeling and controlling for a number of child, family, and child care factors, children with more secure attachments to teachers were more likely to show falling cortisol across the child care day. Attachment to mothers interacted with child care quality, with buffering effects found for children with secure attachments attending higher quality child care. Implications for early childhood educators are discussed. PMID:22408288

What's love got to do with it: Relationship functioning and mental and physical quality of life among pregnant adolescent couples.

PubMed

Kershaw, Trace; Murphy, Alexandrea; Divney, Anna; Magriples, Urania; Niccolai, Linda; Gordon, Derrick

2013-12-01

The study objective was to describe relationship adjustment and its association with mental and physical quality of life for young couples expecting a baby. 296 young pregnant couples recruited from urban obstetric clinics reported on relationship strengths (e.g., equity, romantic love, and attractiveness), relationship risks (e.g., attachment, intimate partner violence), external family support, relationship adjustment, and mental and physical quality of life. Using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model we assessed both actor and partner effects of relationship variables on relationship adjustment and quality of life. Sixty-one percent of couples had at least one member with moderate or severe relationship distress. Lower attachment avoidance, lower attachment anxiety, higher relationship equity, lack of intimate partner violence, feelings of love, perceived partner attractiveness, and family support of the relationship related to better relationship adjustment. Associations were fairly consistent across gender. Better relationship adjustment related to more positive mental and physical quality of life for both young women and men. Our results highlight the potential importance of strong relationships on the well-being of expecting parents. Our results suggest that secure attachments, equitable relationships, feelings of love, and a lack of violence may be particularly important in having strong relationships and improved mental and physical health during pregnancy.

What’s Love Got to Do with It: Relationship Functioning and Mental and Physical Quality of Life Among Pregnant Adolescent Couples

PubMed Central

Murphy, Alexandrea; Divney, Anna; Magriples, Urania; Niccolai, Linda; Gordon, Derrick

2014-01-01

The study objective was to describe relationship adjustment and its association with mental and physical quality of life for young couples expecting a baby. 296 young pregnant couples recruited from urban obstetric clinics reported on relationship strengths (e.g., equity, romantic love, and attractiveness), relationship risks (e.g., attachment, intimate partner violence), external family support, relationship adjustment, and mental and physical quality of life. Using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model we assessed both actor and partner effects of relationship variables on relationship adjustment and quality of life. Sixty-one percent of couples had at least one member with moderate or severe relationship distress. Lower attachment avoidance, lower attachment anxiety, higher relationship equity, lack of intimate partner violence, feelings of love, perceived partner attractiveness, and family support of the relationship related to better relationship adjustment. Associations were fairly consistent across gender. Better relationship adjustment related to more positive mental and physical quality of life for both young women and men. Our results highlight the potential importance of strong relationships on the well-being of expecting parents. Our results suggest that secure attachments, equitable relationships, feelings of love, and a lack of violence may be particularly important in having strong relationships and improved mental and physical health during pregnancy. PMID:24091562

Infant-Mother Attachment among the Dogon of Mali.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

True, Mary McMahan; Pisani, Lelia; Oumar, Fadimata

2001-01-01

Examined infant-mother attachment in Mali's Dogon ethnic group. Found that distribution of Strange Situation classifications was 67 percent secure, 0 percent avoidant, 8 percent resistant, and 25 percent disorganized. Infant attachment security related to quality of mother-infant communication. Mothers of disorganized infants had significantly…

Relations among early adolescents' parent-adolescent attachment, perceived social competence, and friendship quality.

PubMed

Boling, Melissa W; Barry, Carolyn McNamara; Kotchick, Beth A; Lowry, Jen

2011-12-01

To assess whether the relation between attachment and friendship quality may be explained by social competence, 113 students in Grades 7 and 8 from the Baltimore metropolitan area completed self-report questionnaires on the variables of interest. In hierarchical regression analyses, both maternal Affective Quality of Attachment and the interaction of School with paternal Affective Quality of Attachment predicted social competence. Also, the interaction of School with paternal Affective Quality of Attachment predicted negative friendship features, whereas social competence predicted positive friendship features. These findings provide support for a pathway between adolescents' attachment to both parents and adolescents' perceived social competence and, in turn, their friendship quality.

Attention focus and self-touch in toddlers: The moderating effect of attachment security.

PubMed

Ito-Jäger, Sachiyo; Howard, Amanda R; Purvis, Karyn B; Cross, David R

2017-08-01

The superior self-regulation and attention-regulation abilities of securely attached children have been repeatedly demonstrated. However, the mechanisms that allow securely attached children to exhibit higher levels of attention focus than insecurely attached (anxious-ambivalent and anxious-avoidant) children need to be explored. One possible mechanism that has been hypothesized to play a role in focusing attention is self-touch. Previous research has shown that 10-year-old children exhibit more bilateral self-touch (i.e., both hands are simultaneously moving onto each other or on the body, and both hands are in contact with each other or with the body), but not lateral self-touch (i.e., one hand is moving on the other hand or on the body, and the hand is in contact with the other hand or with the body), when they focus attention on a task. Because bilateral coordination is still developing during childhood, we expected that lateral self-touch, instead of bilateral self-touch, may be associated with attention focus for toddlers. The objectives of the present study were to examine whether securely attached toddlers exhibit more self-touch, particularly lateral self-touch, while they focus on a task than while they do not focus on a task. We expected to find that the association between lateral self-touch and attention focus is not as strong for insecurely attached toddlers. Data from forty-nine mother-child dyads were employed for analyses. The attachment classification of the children was determined using the Strange Situation. The duration of attention focus and self-touch behavior during a reading task were coded. An association between lateral self-touch and attention focus was found for children of all attachment classifications. This association was particularly strong for securely attached children. We discuss the possibility that securely attached toddlers may use lateral self-touch to regulate attention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Secure Attachments on Preschool Children's Conflict Management Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kesner, John

This study examined the relationship between the security of children's attachment relationships to parents and teachers and how children negotiate and manage conflicts. Sixty-six preschool-aged children participated in story completion tasks regarding their attachment relationship with parents and teachers, and in hypothetical situations…

Genetic Contributions to Continuity and Change in Attachment Security: A Prospective, Longitudinal Investigation from Infancy to Young Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raby, K. Lee; Cicchetti, Dante; Carlson, Elizabeth A.; Egeland, Byron; Collins, W. Andrew

2013-01-01

Background: Longitudinal research has demonstrated that individual differences in attachment security show only modest continuity from infancy to adulthood. Recent findings based on retrospective reports suggest that individuals' genetic variation may moderate the developmental associations between early attachment-relevant relationship…

Perceived Security Determinants in E-Commerce among Turkish University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yenisey, M.M.; Ozok, A.A.; Salvendy, G.

2005-01-01

Perceived security is defined as the level of security that users feel while they are shopping on e-commerce sites. The aims of this study were to determine items that positively influence this feeling of security by users during shopping, and to develop guidelines for perceived security in e-commerce. An experiment allowed users with different…

Promoting or suppressing resilience to mental health outcomes in at risk young people: The role of parental and peer attachment and school connectedness.

PubMed

Oldfield, Jeremy; Stevenson, Andrew; Ortiz, Emily; Haley, Bethany

2018-04-01

Adolescent attachment relationships formed with parents are salient predictors of mental health. Few studies, however, have demonstrated whether peer attachment or school connectedness can predict resilience to mental health difficulties when a young person is at risk due to poor parental attachment. Ninety adolescents (44 females and 46 males) living in economically disadvantaged areas and attending informal schooling projects in and around Guatemala City participated. Participants completed self-report measures of parental and peer attachment, school connectedness and mental health. Resilience to mental health difficulties was predicted by more secure school connectedness but lower levels of secure peer attachment. School connectedness may provide a role in promoting resilience for mental health for adolescents living in risk, whereas the potential negative influence that secure attachments to peers exerts, in context of poor parental attachment, needs to be explored further. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic and caregiving-based contributions to infant attachment: unique associations with distress reactivity and attachment security.

PubMed

Raby, K Lee; Cicchetti, Dante; Carlson, Elizabeth A; Cutuli, J J; Englund, Michelle M; Egeland, Byron

2012-09-01

In the longitudinal study reported here, we examined genetic and caregiving-based contributions to individual differences in infant attachment classifications. For 154 mother-infant pairs, we rated mothers' responsiveness to their 6-month-old infants during naturalistic interactions and classified infants' attachment organization at 12 and 18 months using the Strange Situation procedure. These infants were later genotyped with respect to the serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR). Maternal responsiveness uniquely predicted infants' attachment security. Infants' 5-HTTLPR variation uniquely predicted their subtype of attachment security at 12 months and their subtype of attachment insecurity at 12 and 18 months. The short allele for 5-HTTLPR was associated with attachment classifications characterized by higher emotional distress. These findings suggest that 5-HTTLPR variation contributes to infants' emotional reactivity and that the degree to which caregivers are responsive influences how effectively infants use their caregivers for emotion regulation. Theoretical implications for the study of genetic and caregiving influences are discussed.

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.

Attachment, self-esteem, worldviews, and terror management: evidence for a tripartite security system.

PubMed

Hart, Joshua; Shaver, Phillip R; Goldenberg, Jamie L

2005-06-01

On the basis of prior work integrating attachment theory and terror management theory, the authors propose a model of a tripartite security system consisting of dynamically interrelated attachment, self-esteem, and worldview processes. Four studies are presented that, combined with existing evidence, support the prediction derived from the model that threats to one component of the security system result in compensatory defensive activation of other components. Further, the authors predicted and found that individual differences in attachment style moderate the defenses. In Studies 1 and 2, attachment threats motivated worldview defense among anxiously attached participants and motivated self-enhancement (especially among avoidant participants), effects similar to those caused by mortality salience. In Studies 3 and 4, a worldview threat and a self-esteem threat caused attachment-related proximity seeking among fearful participants and avoidance of proximity among dismissing participants. The authors' model provides an overarching framework within which to study attachment, self-esteem, and worldviews.

Effortful control mediates relations between children's attachment security and their regard for rules of conduct

PubMed Central

Nordling, Jamie Koenig; Boldt, Lea J.; O'Bleness, Jessica; Kochanska, Grazyna

2015-01-01

Although attachment security has been associated with children's rule-compatible conduct, the mechanism through which attachment influences early regard for rules is not well established. We hypothesized that effortful control would mediate the link between security and indicators of children's emerging regard for rules (discomfort following rule violations, internalization of parents' and experimenter's rules, few externalizing behaviors). In a longitudinal study, the Attachment Q-Set was completed by parents, effortful control was observed, and Regard for Rules was observed and rated by parents. The proposed model fit the data well: Children's security to mothers predicted their effortful control, which in turn had a direct link to a greater Regard for Rules. Children's security with fathers did not predict effortful control. The mother-child relationship appears particularly important for positive developmental cascades of self-regulation and socialization. PMID:27158193

Breastfeeding and its relation to maternal sensitivity and infant attachment.

PubMed

Tharner, Anne; Luijk, Maartje P C M; Raat, Hein; Ijzendoorn, Marinus H; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; Moll, Henriette A; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Hofman, Albert; Verhulst, Frank C; Tiemeier, Henning

2012-06-01

To examine the association of breastfeeding with maternal sensitive responsiveness and infant-mother attachment security and disorganization. We included 675 participants of a prospective cohort study. Questionnaires about breastfeeding practices were administered at 2 and 6 months postpartum. At 14 months, maternal sensitive responsiveness was assessed in a 13-minute laboratory procedure using Ainsworth's sensitivity scales, and attachment quality was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure. Mothers were genotyped for oxytocin receptor genes OXTR rs53576 and OXTR rs2254298. Linear regressions and analyses of covariance adjusted for various background variables were conducted. We tested for mediation and moderation by maternal sensitive responsiveness and maternal oxytocin receptor genotype. Continuous analyses showed that longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with more maternal sensitive responsiveness (B = 0.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02; 0.20, p < .05), more attachment security (B = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.02; 0.46, p < .05), and less attachment disorganization (B = -0.20, 95% CI -0.36; -0.03, p < .05). Duration of breastfeeding was not related to the risk of insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant versus secure attachment classification, but longer duration of breastfeeding predicted a lower risk of disorganized versus secure attachment classification (n = 151; odds ratio [OR] = 0.81, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.99, p = .04). Maternal sensitive responsiveness did not mediate the associations, and maternal oxytocin receptor genotype was not a significant moderator. Although duration of breastfeeding was not associated with differences in infant-mother attachment classifications, we found subtle positive associations between duration of breastfeeding and sensitive responsiveness, attachment security, and disorganization.

A novel examination of atypical major depressive disorder based on attachment theory.

PubMed

Levitan, Robert D; Atkinson, Leslie; Pedersen, Rebecca; Buis, Tom; Kennedy, Sidney H; Chopra, Kevin; Leung, Eman M; Segal, Zindel V

2009-06-01

While a large body of descriptive work has thoroughly investigated the clinical correlates of atypical depression, little is known about its fundamental origins. This study examined atypical depression from an attachment theory framework. Our hypothesis was that, compared to adults with melancholic depression, those with atypical depression would report more anxious-ambivalent attachment and less secure attachment. As gender has been an important consideration in prior work on atypical depression, this same hypothesis was further tested in female subjects only. One hundred ninety-nine consecutive adults presenting to a tertiary mood disorders clinic with major depressive disorder with either atypical or melancholic features according to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis-I Disorders were administered a self-report adult attachment questionnaire to assess the core dimensions of secure, anxious-ambivalent, and avoidant attachment. Attachment scores were compared across the 2 depressed groups defined by atypical and melancholic features using multivariate analysis of variance. The study was conducted between 1999 and 2004. When men and women were considered together, the multivariate test comparing attachment scores by depressive group was statistically significant at p < .05. Between-subjects testing indicated that atypical depression was associated with significantly lower secure attachment scores, with a trend toward higher anxious-ambivalent attachment scores, than was melancholia. When women were analyzed separately, the multivariate test was statistically significant at p < .01, with both secure and anxious-ambivalent attachment scores differing significantly across depressive groups. These preliminary findings suggest that attachment theory, and insecure and anxious-ambivalent attachment in particular, may be a useful framework from which to study the origins, clinical correlates, and treatment of atypical depression. Gender may be an important consideration when considering atypical depression from an attachment perspective. Copyright 2009 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Emotional availability and attachment across generations: variations in patterns associated with infant health risk status.

PubMed

Cassibba, R; van IJzendoorn, M H; Coppola, G

2012-07-01

The presence of limits or distortions in the children's communicative behaviours (due to a chronic illness) may interfere with the possibility to build secure attachment relationships. Moreover, the distress that the atypical chronic illness condition brings to family life may interfere the intergenerational transmission of attachment. This study evaluated the associations between maternal attachment representations, emotional availability and mother-child attachment in a clinical and in a comparison group. Forty infants (23 female) in their 14th month of life and their mothers participated in this study, 20 dyads with clinical infants (10 premature infants and 10 infants affected by atopic dermatitis) and 20 full-term and healthy comparison infants. The Adult Attachment Interview, the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS) and the Strange Situation Procedure were used to assess, respectively, the security of mothers' attachment representations, the emotional availability and the quality of mother-child attachment. We found that the two groups (clinical vs. comparison) did not differ with respect to the Adult Attachment Interview and the Emotional Availability Scales measures. A significant difference was found in the distribution of the infant-mother attachment patterns, with a higher incidence of insecure infants in the clinical group. In the typically developing group, more secure maternal attachment representations predicted more emotional availability in mother-infant interactions, which predicted more secure infant-mother attachments. However, we did not find similar support for intergenerational transmission of attachment in the clinical group. We speculate that constant concerns about the child's health condition and communicative difficulties of clinical infants may hamper or even mitigate the intergenerational transmission of attachment. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Maternal depression, children's attachment security, and representational development: an organizational perspective.

PubMed

Toth, Sheree L; Rogosch, Fred A; Sturge-Apple, Melissa; Cicchetti, Dante

2009-01-01

Relations among maternal depression, child attachment, and children's representations of parents and self were examined. Participants included toddlers and their mothers with a history of major depressive disorder (n= 63) or no history of mental disorder (n= 68). Attachment was assessed at 20 and 36 months and representations of parents and self were assessed at 36 and 48 months. Depressive symptoms were assessed at all 3 time points. While early-occurring maternal depression had a negative impact on children's negative and positive representations of parents, attachment security mediated the relation between depressive symptoms and negative representations. Attachment security served as an intervening variable between maternal depression and changes in children's negative representations of self. Implications for prevention are highlighted.

Physical attractiveness, attitudes toward career, and mate preferences among young Chinese women.

PubMed

Zhang, Hong; Teng, Fei; Chan, Darius K-S; Zhang, Denghao

2014-02-13

We examined young Chinese women's mate preferences as a function of their self-perceived attractiveness and career attitudes. A total of 264 young Chinese women rated their own attractiveness, reported their attitudes toward career, and rated the importance of 20 mate characteristics. The characteristics encompassed four facets that individuals typically consider when seeking a long-term mate: good-genes indicators, good investment ability indicators, good parenting indicators, and good partner indicators. We found that both self-perceived attractiveness and attitudes toward career were positively associated with the importance attached to several of the characteristics. Moreover, women who had high career focus but low self-perceived attractiveness attached more value to intelligence, ambition, and industriousness than women who had low career focus but high self-perceived attractiveness; women with low career focus but high self-perceived attractiveness attached more value to physical attractiveness in a mate than women with high career focus but low self-perceived attractiveness. We discussed the limitations of our research and directions for future research.

Attachment, self-worth, and peer-group functioning in middle childhood.

PubMed

Booth-Laforce, Cathryn; Oh, Wonjung; Kim, Angel Hayoung; Rubin, Kenneth H; Rose-Krasnor, Linda; Burgess, Kim

2006-12-01

We evaluated links between peer-group functioning and indicators of attachment security in relation to both mother and father in middle childhood, among 73 10-year-olds (37 girls). Children's perceptions of security with both parents, coping styles with mother, and self-worth were assessed. Classmates, teachers, and mothers evaluated the participants' peer-related behavioral characteristics. Children's perceptions of security to both parents were related to others' appraisals of their social competence; perceptions of security to father were related to lower aggression. We did not find child gender effects, but children had higher security scores in relation to mother than to father. Self-worth perceptions mediated the relation between attachment and social competence.

An evaluation of the construct of earned security in adolescents: evidence from an inpatient sample.

PubMed

Venta, Amanda; Sharp, Carla; Shmueli-Goetz, Yael; Newlin, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

In adult attachment research, a group of individuals who convey secure attachments despite recalling difficult early caregiver relationships has been identified. The term earned security refers to individuals in this group, whereas continuous security refers to individuals who convey secure attachments and describe caring early relationships. Evidence on the validity of earned security in adults is mixed--with one longitudinal study showing that earned secure adults, despite contrary recollections, are actually more likely to have experienced positive caregiving than continuous secure adults. There is currently no evidence of earned security in adolescence, and exploring it in this age group may help shed light on the overall problem of the validity of this construct. Therefore, the broad aim of this study was to examine the construct of earned security in a group of inpatient adolescents. First, the authors aimed to identify a group of adolescents with secure attachments and memories of difficult caregiver relationships (i.e., proposed earned secure group) in a sample of 240 inpatient adolescents. Next, to explore external validity, the authors examined whether this group differed from others with regard to internalizing distress and emotion regulation. Findings indicated that a subset of secure adolescents recall difficult caregiving, as has been noted in adults, and that they differ from others with regard to emotion regulation. Despite this preliminary evidence that earned security can be identified in adolescents, the authors conclude with a discussion of the caveats of applying this construct in adolescents as well as adults.

24 CFR 350.11 - Notice of Attachment for Ginnie Mae Securities in Book-entry System.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Securities in Book-entry System. 350.11 Section 350.11 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to... AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT BOOK-ENTRY PROCEDURES § 350.11 Notice of Attachment for Ginnie Mae Securities in Book-entry System. The interest of a debtor in a Security Entitlement may be reached by a creditor only...

24 CFR 350.11 - Notice of Attachment for Ginnie Mae Securities in Book-entry System.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Securities in Book-entry System. 350.11 Section 350.11 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to... AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT BOOK-ENTRY PROCEDURES § 350.11 Notice of Attachment for Ginnie Mae Securities in Book-entry System. The interest of a debtor in a Security Entitlement may be reached by a creditor only...

24 CFR 350.11 - Notice of Attachment for Ginnie Mae Securities in Book-entry System.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Securities in Book-entry System. 350.11 Section 350.11 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to... AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT BOOK-ENTRY PROCEDURES § 350.11 Notice of Attachment for Ginnie Mae Securities in Book-entry System. The interest of a debtor in a Security Entitlement may be reached by a creditor only...

The neural correlates of attachment security in typically developing children.

PubMed

Choi, Eun Jung; Taylor, Margot J; Hong, Soon-Beom; Kim, Changdai; Yi, Soon-Hyung

2018-07-01

This study investigated neural correlates of children's attachment security using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Fifty-one boys' attachment styles (age mean = 9.5 years, SD = 0.61) were assessed with the Separation Anxiety Test (SAT). We created an fMRI version of the SAT to activate children's attachment system in fMRI environment and contrasted two conditions in which children were instructed to infer the specific feeling of the boy in the picture or to identify objects or physical activities. In the final fMRI analysis (N = 21), attachment security could be detected at the neural level corresponding to the behavioural differences in the attachment interview. Securely attached children showed greater activation in the frontal, limbic and basal ganglia area which included the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, amygdala, cingulate cortex and striatum, compared to other children who had lower quality of attachment. These regions have a key role in socio-emotional information processing and also represent a brain network related to approach and avoidance motivation in humans. Especially the striatum, strongly linked to reward processing underpinning social approach and avoidance motivation, showed the largest effects in these differences and also positively correlated with emotional openness scores in SAT. This suggests that the quality of attachment configures the approach and avoidance motivational system in our brain mediated by the striatum. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role of attachment in recovery after a school-shooting trauma.

PubMed

Turunen, Tuija; Haravuori, Henna; Punamäki, Raija-Leena; Suomalainen, Laura; Marttunen, Mauri

2014-01-01

Survivors of life-endangering trauma use varying resources that help them to recover. Attachment system activates in the times of distress, and is expected to associate with stress responses, arousal regulation, and mental health. We examined the associations of attachment style with posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) symptoms and dissociative symptoms, and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among students exposed to a school shooting in Finland in a three-wave follow-up setting. Participants were students (M age=24.9 years; 95% female) who were followed 4 (T1, N=236), 16 (T2, N=180), and 28 months (T3, N=137) after the shooting. The assessments included the Attachment Style Questionnaire, the Impact of Event Scale, part of the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Securely attached survivors had lower levels of posttraumatic stress and dissociative symptoms than preoccupied at T1 and T2 as hypothesized. At T3 survivors with avoidant attachment style had higher levels of intrusive and hyperarousal symptoms than those with secure style. Concerning PTG, survivors with avoidant attachment style scored lower in PTG at T3 than survivors with both secure and preoccupied style. Secure attachment style was beneficial in trauma recovery. A challenge to the health care systems is to acknowledge that survivors with preoccupied and avoidant attachment styles react uniquely to trauma, and thus need help in different doses, modalities, and timings.

Effects of Infant Massage on Attachment Security: An Experimental Manipulation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jump, Vonda K.

The formation of attachments is an important phenomenon occurring in the realm of socioemotional development. This study examined the impact of infant massage on infants' subsequent attachment security. Fifty-seven mother-infant dyads (48 dyads from Head Start, 9 from the community at large) were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group…

Predicting Preschoolers' Attachment Security from Parenting Behaviours, Parents' Attachment Relationships and Their Use of Social Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coyl, Diana D.; Newland, Lisa A.; Freeman, Harry

2010-01-01

Associations between preschoolers' attachment security, parenting behaviours (i.e. parent-child involvement, parenting consistency and co-parenting consistency) and parenting context (i.e. parents' internal working models (IWMs) and use of social support) were examined in a sample of 235 culturally diverse families. The authors predicted that…

Well Played: The Origins and Future of Playfulness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Gwen

2014-01-01

In this article, the author synthesizes research from several disciplines to shed light on play's central role in healthy development. Gordon builds on research in attachment theory that correlates secure attachment in infancy with adult well-being to demonstrate how playfulness might be a lifelong outcome of secure attachment and a primary…

Parental Representations and Attachment Security in Young Israeli Mothers' Bird's Nest Drawings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldner, Limor; Golan, Yifat

2016-01-01

The Bird's Nest Drawing (BND; Kaiser, 1996) is an art-based technique developed to assess attachment security. In an attempt to expand the BND's validity, the authors explored the possible associations between parental representations and the BND's dimensions and attachment classifications in a sample of 80 young Israeli mothers. Positive…

Newborn Irritability Moderates the Association between Infant Attachment Security and Toddler Exploration and Sociability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stupica, Brandi; Sherman, Laura J.; Cassidy, Jude

2011-01-01

This longitudinal investigation of 84 infants examined whether the effect of 12-month attachment on 18- and 24-month exploration and sociability with unfamiliar adults varied as a function of newborn irritability. As expected, results revealed an interaction between attachment (secure vs. insecure) and irritability (highly irritable vs. moderately…

On the Relation between Maternal State of Mind and Sensitivity in the Prediction of Infant Attachment Security

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkinson, Leslie; Goldberg, Susan; Raval, Vaishali; Pederson, David; Benoit, Diane; Moran, Greg; Poulton, Lori; Myhal, Natalie; Zwiers, Michael; Leung, Eman

2005-01-01

Attachment theorists assume that maternal mental representations influence responsivity, which influences infant attachment security. However, primary studies do not support this mediation model. The authors tested mediation using 2 mother-infant samples and found no evidence of mediation. Therefore, the authors explored sensitivity as a…

Secure base representations in middle childhood across two Western cultures: Associations with parental attachment representations and maternal reports of behavior problems.

PubMed

Waters, Theodore E A; Bosmans, Guy; Vandevivere, Eva; Dujardin, Adinda; Waters, Harriet S

2015-08-01

Recent work examining the content and organization of attachment representations suggests that 1 way in which we represent the attachment relationship is in the form of a cognitive script. This work has largely focused on early childhood or adolescence/adulthood, leaving a large gap in our understanding of script-like attachment representations in the middle childhood period. We present 2 studies and provide 3 critical pieces of evidence regarding the presence of a script-like representation of the attachment relationship in middle childhood. We present evidence that a middle childhood attachment script assessment tapped a stable underlying script using samples drawn from 2 western cultures, the United States (Study 1) and Belgium (Study 2). We also found evidence suggestive of the intergenerational transmission of secure base script knowledge (Study 1) and relations between secure base script knowledge and symptoms of psychopathology in middle childhood (Study 2). The results from this investigation represent an important downward extension of the secure base script construct. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Secure Base Representations in Middle Childhood Across Two Western Cultures: Associations with Parental Attachment Representations and Maternal Reports of Behavior Problems

PubMed Central

Waters, Theodore E. A.; Bosmans, Guy; Vandevivere, Eva; Dujardin, Adinda; Waters, Harriet S.

2015-01-01

Recent work examining the content and organization of attachment representations suggests that one way in which we represent the attachment relationship is in the form of a cognitive script. That said, this work has largely focused on early childhood or adolescence/adulthood, leaving a large gap in our understanding of script-like attachment representations in the middle childhood period. We present two studies and provide three critical pieces of evidence regarding the presence of a script-like representation of the attachment relationship in middle childhood. We present evidence that a middle childhood attachment script assessment tapped a stable underlying script using samples drawn from two western cultures, the United States (Study 1) and Belgium (Study 2). We also found evidence suggestive of the intergenerational transmission of secure base script knowledge (Study 1) and relations between secure base script knowledge and symptoms of psychopathology in middle childhood (Study 2). The results from this investigation represent an important downward extension of the secure base script construct. PMID:26147774

Meeting the expectations of your heritage culture: Links between attachment orientations, intragroup marginalization and psychological adjustment.

PubMed

Ferenczi, Nelli; Marshall, Tara C

2016-02-01

Do insecurely attached individuals perceive greater rejection from their heritage culture? Few studies have examined the antecedents and outcomes of this perceived rejection - termed intragroup marginalization - in spite of its implications for the adjustment of cultural migrants to the mainstream culture. This study investigated whether anxious and avoidant attachment orientations among cultural migrants were associated with greater intragroup marginalization and, in turn, with lower subjective well-being and flourishing and higher acculturative stress. Anxious attachment was associated with heightened intragroup marginalization from friends and, in turn, with increased acculturative stress; anxious attachment was also associated with increased intragroup marginalization from family. Avoidant attachment was linked with increased intragroup marginalization from family and, in turn, with decreased subjective well-being.

Selective processing of threatening information: effects of attachment representation and anxiety disorder on attention and memory.

PubMed

Zeijlmans van Emmichoven, Ingeborg A; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H; de Ruiter, Corine; Brosschot, Jos F

2003-01-01

To investigate the effect of the mental representation of attachment on information processing, 28 anxiety disorder outpatients, as diagnosed by the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Revised, were administered the Adult Attachment Interview and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. They also completed an emotional Stroop task with subliminal and supraliminal exposure conditions, a free recall memory task, and a recognition test. All tasks contained threatening, neutral, and positively valenced stimuli. A nonclinical comparison group of 56 participants completed the same measures. Results on the Stroop task showed color-naming interference for threatening words in the supraliminal condition only. Nonclinical participants with insecure attachment representations showed a global response inhibition to the Stroop task. Clinical participants with secure attachment representations showed the largest Stroop interference of the threatening words compared to the other groups. Results on the free recall task showed superior recall of all types of stimuli by participants with secure attachment representations. In the outpatient group, participants with secure attachment representations showed superior recall of threatening words on the free recall task, compared to insecure participants. Results on the recognition task showed no differences between attachment groups. We conclude that secure attachment representations are characterized by open communication about and processing of threatening information, leading to less defensive exclusion of negative material during the attentional stage of information processing and to better recall of threatening information in a later stage. Attachment insecurity, but not the type of insecurity, seems a decisive factor in attention and memory processes.

Working models of attachment to parents and partners: implications for emotional behavior between partners.

PubMed

Mehta, Neera; Cowan, Philip A; Cowan, Carolyn P

2009-12-01

This study examined whether working models of attachment are associated with observed positive emotion, sadness, and anger during marital conflict. Individuals (n = 176) from a longitudinal study of families participated in the current cross-sectional study. Narrative interviews assessed the unique and combined contribution of attachment representations based on parents (adult attachment) and partner (couple attachment). The influence of partner's attachment, depression symptoms, and sex of participant was also examined. Hierarchical linear models demonstrated that one's couple attachment security predicts one's observed positive emotion, whereas the partner's couple attachment security predicts one's observed negative emotion. Partner's depression symptoms moderated the effects of partner's couple attachment. Adult attachment was not related to observed emotional behavior between partners. These findings have important clinical implications for individual, couple, and family therapy.

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

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.

The relationship of attachment insecurity to subjective stress and autonomic function during standardized acute stress in healthy adults.

PubMed

Maunder, Robert G; Lancee, William J; Nolan, Robert P; Hunter, Jonathan J; Tannenbaum, David W

2006-03-01

The purpose of this study was to test predicted relationships between adult attachment and stress using subjective and physiological measures. Sixty-seven healthy adults completed measures of adult attachment and perceived chronic stress. Subjective stress and the high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) spectral bandwidths of heart rate variability (HRV) were measured during a standardized stress protocol. Attachment anxiety is associated with between-subject differences in chronic perceived stress (P=.001) and subjective acute stress (P=.01). There is a main effect of attachment avoidance on between-subject differences in HF HRV (P=.004). Attachment avoidance is inversely associated with HF HRV, independent of age and variability in respiration. Attachment anxiety is associated with self-reported distress. Attachment avoidance is inversely associated with HF HRV, a marker of vagal influence on cardiac activity, but is not associated with subjective stress.

The influence of place attachment and experience use history on perceived depreciative visitor behavior and crowding in an urban national park.

PubMed

Eder, Renate; Arnberger, Arne

2012-10-01

Research on recreational place attachment suggests that place identity, or the emotional/symbolic ties people have to places, and place dependence, which describes a functional attachment to a specific place, influence the perception of social and environmental site conditions. Recent research, however, has found that place attachment is not always a predictor of such perceptions. This study investigated the influence of place attachment and experience use history on the perception of depreciative visitor behavior, recreation impacts and crowding in an urban national park. In 2006, 605 on-site visitors to the heavily-used Viennese part of the Danube Floodplains National Park were asked about past experience, place attachment, perceptions of depreciative visitor behavior, crowding, changes in visitor numbers during the past ten years, and recreation impacts on wildlife. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two dimensions of place attachment. Linear regression analyses found that place identity and place dependence were related to some perceived depreciative visitor behaviors and visitor number changes but not to crowding, while experience use history additionally related to perceived crowding. Visitors with higher place attachment and past experience were more sensitive to social and environmental site conditions. Management implications of the findings are discussed.

Adolescent Attachment Trajectories with Mothers and Fathers: The Importance of Parent-Child Relationship Experiences and Gender

PubMed Central

Ruhl, Holly; Dolan, Elaine A.; Buhrmester, Duane

2014-01-01

This longitudinal study investigated how attachment with mothers and fathers changes during adolescence, and how gender and parent-child relationship experiences are associated with attachment trajectories. The relative importance of specific positive and negative relationship experiences on attachment trajectories was also examined. An initial sample of 223 adolescents reported on relationship experiences and attachment avoidance and anxiety with mothers and fathers in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 (final N=110; Mage=11.90 years at onset, SD=.43). Mothers and fathers reported on relationship experiences with adolescents. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that security with parents increased during adolescence. Positive relationship experiences (companionship, satisfaction, approval, support) predicted increases in security and negative experiences (pressure, criticism) predicted decreases in security. Females reported less avoidance than males. PMID:26347590

Correlates of child-father and child-mother attachment in the preschool years.

PubMed

Bureau, Jean-François; Martin, Jodi; Yurkowski, Kim; Schmiedel, Sabrina; Quan, Jeffry; Moss, Ellen; Deneault, Audrey-Ann; Pallanca, Dominique

2017-04-01

The increase in fathers' involvement in childrearing, particularly beyond infancy, warrants research exploring factors influencing the quality of child-father attachment relationships, and the impact of these relationships on children's social development. The current investigation explored various correlates of preschoolers' child-father attachment security to both parents, including contextual factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, child temperament, parenting stress), parental play sensitivity, and child social adaptation. Participants included 107 preschool-aged children (59 girls; M = 46.67 months, SD = 8.57) and their fathers and mothers. Results revealed that both mothers' and fathers' play sensitivity were associated with child attachment security after controlling for different contextual factors. Furthermore, the magnitude of the association between child conduct problems and child-father attachment insecurity was stronger than the corresponding association with child-mother attachment insecurity. Findings provide important information on caregiving factors associated with child-father attachment security in the preschool years and the importance of this bond to children's social adaptation.

Attachment, authenticity, and honesty: dispositional and experimentally induced security can reduce self- and other-deception.

PubMed

Gillath, Omri; Sesko, Amanda K; Shaver, Phillip R; Chun, David S

2010-05-01

Attachment security is hypothesized to promote authenticity and sincerity, or honesty, whereas insecurity is hypothesized to increase various forms of inauthenticity and dishonesty. The authors tested these ideas in 8 studies of dispositional and situational attachment insecurities and their influence on inauthenticity and dishonesty. The first 4 studies showed that authenticity is related to scoring low on the 2 dimensions of dispositional attachment insecurity-anxiety and avoidance-and that these 2 dimensions are associated with different aspects of inauthenticity. The first set of studies also showed that conscious and unconscious security priming increased state authenticity (compared with neutral or insecurity priming). The last 4 studies showed that attachment insecurity is related to dishonesty (lying and cheating) and that security priming reduces the tendency to lie or cheat and does so more effectively than positive mood priming. Implications for understanding the role of authenticity and inauthenticity in various relationship contexts are discussed. 2010 APA, all rights reserved

Attachment Based Treatments for Adolescents: The Secure Cycle as a Framework for Assessment, Treatment and Evaluation

PubMed Central

Kobak, Roger; Zajac, Kristyn; Herres, Joanna; KrauthamerEwing, E. Stephanie

2016-01-01

The emergence of ABTs for adolescents highlights the need to more clearly define and evaluate these treatments in the context of other attachment based treatments for young children and adults. We propose a general framework for defining and evaluating ABTs that describes the cyclical processes that are required to maintain a secure attachment bond. This secure cycle incorporates three components: 1) the child or adult’s IWM of the caregiver; 2) emotionally attuned communication; and 3) the caregiver’s IWM of the child or adult. We briefly review Bowlby, Ainsworth, and Main’s contributions to defining the components of the secure cycle and discuss how this framework can be adapted for understanding the process of change in ABTs. For clinicians working with adolescents, our model can be used to identify how deviations from the secure cycle (attachment injuries, empathic failures and mistuned communication) contribute to family distress and psychopathology. The secure cycle also provides a way of describing the ABT elements that have been used to revise IWMs or improve emotionally attuned communication. For researchers, our model provides a guide for conceptualizing and measuring change in attachment constructs and how change in one component of the interpersonal cycle should generalize to other components. PMID:25744572

Attachment-security prime effect on skin-conductance synchronization in psychotherapists: An empirical study.

PubMed

Palmieri, Arianna; Kleinbub, Johann R; Calvo, Vincenzo; Benelli, Enrico; Messina, Irene; Sambin, Marco; Voci, Alberto

2018-03-01

Physiological synchronization (PS) is a phenomenon of simultaneous activity between two persons' physiological signals. It has been associated with empathy, shared affectivity, and efficacious therapeutic relationships. The aim of the present study was to explore the possible connections between PS and the attachment system, seeking preliminary evidence of this link by means of an experimental manipulation of the sense of attachment security in psychotherapists according to a protocol by Mikulincer and Shaver (2001), which has been proven to elicit empathetic behavior. We compared the synchronization of skin-conductance signals in brief psychological interviews between 18 psychodynamic therapists and 18 healthy volunteers. A sense of attachment-security priming was administered to half of the therapists, whereas the other half received a positive-affect control prime. Lag analysis was performed to investigate the "leading" or "following" attitudes of the participants in the two conditions. Mixed-model regressions and evidence-ratio model comparisons were used to investigate the effects of the manipulation on PS. Therapist attachment anxiety and avoidance traits were considered covariates. The attachment-security prime showed a significant effect on PS lag dynamics, but not on overall PS amount. Lag analysis showed that the therapists in the attachment-security condition were significantly more prone to assume a leading attitude in the physiological coupling than the therapists in the control condition. Therapist attachment anxiety and avoidance had no apparent effect. Our result paves the way for further exploration of the clinical relationship from a physiological standpoint. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

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.

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…

Representations of Attachment Security in the Bird's Net Drawings of Clients with Substance Abuse Disorders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Francis, Denille M.; Kaiser, Donna; Deaver, Sarah P.

2003-01-01

Presents results of a study of the graphic indicators in drawings by patients with substance abuse disorders. The Bird's Nest Drawing, an assessment task previously devised to elicit pictorial representations of attachment security, was used to examine attachment patterns of volunteers. Results showed that those with substance abuse diagnoses were…

Links between Risk and Attachment Security: Models of Influence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raikes, H. Abigail; Thompson, Ross A.

2005-01-01

The relation between maternal behavior and child attachment security is weaker among low SES samples, but it is unclear how stressors/risks associated with low SES alter the dynamics of attachment relationships. Results of this study of 63 low income mothers and their 24-36-month-old children indicated that the influence of multiple economic risks…

Getting Acquainted: Actor and Partner Effects of Attachment and Temperament on Young Children's Peer Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McElwain, Nancy L.; Holland, Ashley S.; Engle, Jennifer M.; Ogolsky, Brian G.

2014-01-01

Guided by a dyadic view of children's peer behavior, this study assessed actor and partner effects of attachment security and temperament on young children's behavior with an unfamiliar peer. At 33 months of age, child-mother attachment security was assessed via a modified Strange Situation procedure, and parents reported on child temperament…

Circle of Security in Child Care: Putting Attachment Theory into Practice in Preschool Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Glen; Hoffman, Kent; Powell, Bert

2017-01-01

This article describes the Circle of Security-Classroom (COS-C) approach to applying attachment theory in preschool settings. Early childhood is an incubator for a wide range of development including the underpinnings of school readiness. Secure teacher-child relationships support this process. However, most preschool staff members lack guidance…

Insightfulness and later infant attachment in clinically depressed and nonclinical mothers.

PubMed

Ramsauer, Brigitte; Lotzin, Annett; Quitmann, Julia H; Becker-Stoll, Fabienne; Tharner, Anne; Romer, Georg

2014-01-01

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the relationship between maternal insightfulness and sensitivity and subsequent infant attachment security and disorganization in clinically depressed and nonclinical mother-infant groups. Nineteen depressed mothers with infants ages 3 to 11 months participated in this study. Twenty nonclinical mother-infant dyads were matched to the clinical sample according to infant sex and age. Maternal depression was assessed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), insightfulness using the Insightfulness Assessment (IA), and sensitivity using the Maternal Sensitivity Scales (M.D.S. Ainsworth, 1969). IA classifications and subscales were considered separately. Later infant attachment was assessed by the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978). Depressed mothers tended to have less securely attached children than did nonclinical mothers. Within the clinical sample, the insightfulness categories correlated slightly moderately with attachment security, but were not related to attachment disorganization. Within the nonclinical sample, the IA categories were slightly moderately associated with attachment security and with disorganization. On IA subscales, relationship patterns differed in clinically depressed and nonclinical mother-infant dyads. These findings provide the first evidence of the predictive power of the IA categorization and subscales on subsequent infant attachment. They also may allow the development of different foci of intervention for enhancing insightful caregiving. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

The role of attachment in recovery after a school-shooting trauma

PubMed Central

Turunen, Tuija; Haravuori, Henna; Punamäki, Raija-Leena; Suomalainen, Laura; Marttunen, Mauri

2014-01-01

Background Survivors of life-endangering trauma use varying resources that help them to recover. Attachment system activates in the times of distress, and is expected to associate with stress responses, arousal regulation, and mental health. Objective We examined the associations of attachment style with posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) symptoms and dissociative symptoms, and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among students exposed to a school shooting in Finland in a three-wave follow-up setting. Method Participants were students (Mage=24.9 years; 95% female) who were followed 4 (T1, N=236), 16 (T2, N=180), and 28 months (T3, N=137) after the shooting. The assessments included the Attachment Style Questionnaire, the Impact of Event Scale, part of the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Results Securely attached survivors had lower levels of posttraumatic stress and dissociative symptoms than preoccupied at T1 and T2 as hypothesized. At T3 survivors with avoidant attachment style had higher levels of intrusive and hyperarousal symptoms than those with secure style. Concerning PTG, survivors with avoidant attachment style scored lower in PTG at T3 than survivors with both secure and preoccupied style. Conclusion Secure attachment style was beneficial in trauma recovery. A challenge to the health care systems is to acknowledge that survivors with preoccupied and avoidant attachment styles react uniquely to trauma, and thus need help in different doses, modalities, and timings. PMID:25018861

Emotion Understanding in Clinically Anxious Children: A Preliminary Investigation

PubMed Central

Bender, Patrick K.; Pons, Francisco; Harris, Paul L.; Esbjørn, Barbara H.; Reinholdt-Dunne, Marie L.

2015-01-01

Children’s understanding of the nature, origins and consequences of emotions has been intensively investigated over the last 30–40 years. However, few empirical studies have looked at the relation between emotion understanding and anxiety in children and their results are mixed. The aim of the present study was to perform a preliminary investigation of the relationships between emotion understanding, anxiety, emotion dysregulation, and attachment security in clinically anxious children. A sample of 16 clinically anxious children (age 8–12, eight girls/boys) was assessed for emotion understanding (Test of Emotion Comprehension), anxiety (Screening for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders-Revised and Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule), emotion dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) and attachment security (Security Scale). Children who reported more overall anxiety also reported greater difficulties in regulating their emotions, and were less securely attached to their parents. The results also showed that more specific symptoms of anxiety (i.e., OCD and PTSD) correlated not only with emotion dysregulation and attachment insecurity but also with emotion understanding. Finally, there were interrelations among emotion understanding, attachment security, and emotion dysregulation. The present results provide the first comprehensive evidence for a socio-emotional framework and its relevance to childhood anxiety. PMID:26733909

'Haven of safety' and 'secure base': a qualitative inquiry into factors affecting child attachment security in Nairobi, Kenya.

PubMed

Polkovnikova-Wamoto, Anastasia; Mathai, Muthoni; Stoep, Ann Vander; Kumar, Manasi

2016-01-01

Secure attachment in childhood and adolescence protects children from engagement in high risk behaviors and development of mental health problems over the life span. Poverty has been shown to create impoverishment in certain aspects of caregiving and correspondingly to compromise development of secure attachment in children. Nineteen children 8 to 14 years old from two schools in a middle income area and an urban informal settlement area of Nairobi were interviewed using an adapted Child Attachment Interview (CAI) protocol. CAI was developed to provide a glimpse into the 'meta-theories' children have about themselves, parents, parenting and their attachment ties with parents and extended family members. Narratives obtained with the CAI were analyzed using thematic analysis. Both Bowlby's idea of 'secure base' as well as Bronfrenbrenner's 'ecological niche' are used as reference points to situate child attachment and parenting practices in the larger Kenyan context. We found that with slight linguistic alterations CAI can be used to assess attachment security of Kenyan children in this particular age range. We also found that the narration ability in both groups of children was generally good such that formal coding was possible, despite cultural differences. Our analysis suggested differences in narrative quality across the children from middle class and lower socio-economic class schools on specific themes such as: sensitivity of parenting (main aspects of sensitivity were associated with disciplinary methods and child's access to education), birth order , parental emotional availability , and severity of inter-parental conflicts and child's level of exposure. The paper puts in context a few cultural practices such as greater household responsibility accorded to the eldest child and stern to harsh disciplinary methods adopted by parents in the Kenyan setting.

Attention Bias of Avoidant Individuals to Attachment Emotion Pictures.

PubMed

Liu, Ying; Ding, Yi; Lu, Luluzi; Chen, Xu

2017-01-27

How attachment style affects emotion processing is tightly connected with individuals' attention bias. This experiment explored avoidant individuals' attentional engagement and attentional disengagement using a cue-target paradigm in fMRI. The experimental group consisted of 17 avoidant participants, while the control group consisted of 16 secure participants; these were identified by the Experiences in Close Relationships inventory and the Relationship Questionnaire. Each reacted to pictures of positive parent-child attachment, negative parent-child attachment, positive romantic attachment, negative romantic attachment, and neutral non-attachment. Behaviorally, avoidant individuals were slower than secure individuals in responding to emotions and their attentional disengagement effect for negative parent-child emotions was stronger than positive ones. fMRI results showed that avoidant compared to secure individuals activated more strongly in the right superior temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, and the left medial frontal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, supplementary motor area, and cingulate gyrus. They also showed stronger activation in disengaging from positive than negative emotions in the bilateral fusiform and middle occipital gyri. In conclusion, avoidant individuals could detect emotions as effective as secure individuals in attentioal engaging stages. They can disengage from positive emotions with effective cognitive resources and were harder to get rid of negative emotions with insufficient resource.

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.

Attachment figures when death is approaching: a study applying attachment theory to adult patients' and family members' experiences during palliative home care.

PubMed

Milberg, Anna; Friedrichsen, Maria

2017-07-01

Attachment theory is currently receiving much attention in relation to how adults cope with severe illness. The study aims were using the experiences of patients and family members to explore attachment figures (a central concept within the theory) during palliative home care. Twelve patients and 14 family members were interviewed during ongoing palliative home care. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Four types of attachment figures were identified: (i) family and friends, (ii) health care practitioners, (iii) pets and (iv) God. Both non-physical and physical contact with the attachment figures facilitated a sense of security. In addition, the patient/family members and their attachment figures were described by some as a "we", and when one part of the "we" felt insecure, this made the other also feel insecure. The patients' unstable and progressing illnesses constituted a threat to the patients' and family members' sense of security. The availability of the attachment figures made them feel secure, and they could then divert their attention from the patients' illnesses to other things in everyday life, e.g. socialising with family and friends. Some family members also had to cope with the loss of their own attachment figure, when the patient, who had previously been a source of security for them, was no longer able to offer protection and comfort due to the progression of the illness. Important aspects of attachment figures in the end-of-life context were identified, and their clinical implications will be discussed.

The relation of infant attachment to attachment and cognitive and behavioural outcomes in early childhood.

PubMed

Ding, Yan-hua; Xu, Xiu; Wang, Zheng-yan; Li, Hui-rong; Wang, Wei-ping

2014-09-01

In China, research on the relation of mother-infant attachment to children's development is scarce. This study sought to investigate the relation of mother-infant attachment to attachment, cognitive and behavioural development in young children. This study used a longitudinal study design. The subjects included healthy infants (n=160) aged 12 to 18 months. Ainsworth's "Strange Situation Procedure" was used to evaluate mother-infant attachment types. The attachment Q-set (AQS) was used to evaluate the attachment between young children and their mothers. The Bayley scale of infant development-second edition (BSID-II) was used to evaluate cognitive developmental level in early childhood. Achenbach's child behaviour checklist (CBCL) for 2- to 3-year-olds was used to investigate behavioural problems. In total, 118 young children (73.8%) completed the follow-up; 89.7% of infants with secure attachment and 85.0% of infants with insecure attachment still demonstrated this type of attachment in early childhood (κ=0.738, p<0.05). Infants with insecure attachment collectively exhibited a significantly lower mental development index (MDI) in early childhood than did infants with secure attachment, especially the resistant type. In addition, resistant infants were reported to have greater social withdrawal, sleep problems and aggressive behaviour in early childhood. There is a high consistency in attachment development from infancy to early childhood. Secure mother-infant attachment predicts a better cognitive and behavioural outcome; whereas insecure attachment, especially the resistant attachment, may lead to a lower cognitive level and greater behavioural problems in early childhood. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavioral Inhibition as a Precursor of Peer Social Competence in Early School Age: The Interplay With Attachment and Nonparental Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohlin, Gunilla; Hagekull, Berit; Andersson, Kerstin

2005-01-01

A sample of 81 children was followed longitudinally to assess the contributions of behavioral inhibition, early attachment security, and experience of nonparental care to individual differences in social competence. Additive, mediational, and moderator models were tried. Attachment security was assessed in the Strange Situation at 15 months of…

The "Double-Bind of Dependency": Early Relationships in Men with Learning Disabilities in Secure Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rayner, Kelly; Wood, Harry; Beail, Nigel

2015-01-01

Although the development of secure attachments has been shown to be more problematic for people with learning disabilities, there is a shortage of research into the attachment experience of people with learning disabilities who have broken the law. The present study used thematic analysis to explore the attachment experiences of 10 men with…

"Right from the Start": Randomized Trial Comparing an Attachment Group Intervention to Supportive Home Visiting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niccols, Alison

2008-01-01

Background: Infant attachment security is a protective factor for future mental health, and may be promoted by individual interventions. Given service demands, it is important to determine if a group-based intervention for parents could be used to enhance infant attachment security. Methods: In a randomized trial involving 76 mothers, an 8-session…

Mind-Mindedness of Male and Female Caregivers in Childcare and the Relation to Sensitivity and Attachment: An Exploratory Study.

PubMed

Colonnesi, Cristina; van Polanen, Marleen; Tavecchio, Louis W C; Fukkink, Ruben G

2017-08-01

Mind-mindedness refers to the caregiver's ability to be attuned to the child's mental states. Within the parent-child relationship, mind-mindedness relates to parents' sensitive caregiving, and to children's secure attachment. However, the same relations are still unexplored in out-of-home care settings. We investigated the associations between childcare professionals' mind-mindedness, sensitive responsiveness and respect for autonomy, and child-caregiver attachment security. Moreover, we examined whether these relations are influenced by caregivers' and children's gender. Participants were 17 caregiver couples (17 males, 17 females) and 34 three-year-old children (17 boys, 17 girls), recruited in childcare centers. Mind-mindedness toward the boy or the girl (dyadic) or both children (non-dyadic), sensitive responsiveness and respect for autonomy were assessed during a semi-structured play. Attachment security was assessed through observations. Male and female caregivers had equivalent scores of mind-mindedness, sensitive responsiveness, and respect for autonomy. Similarly, children were securely attached to male and female caregivers. Girls' and boys' secure attachment was predicted by caregivers' use of non-dyadic mind-related comments. For girls, but not for boys, the relation was partially mediated by caregivers' respect for autonomy. The results are discussed in terms of their relevance for the quality of child-caregiver relationships, and children's socio-emotional development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A theory led narrative review of one-to-one health interventions: the influence of attachment style and client-provider relationship on client adherence.

PubMed

Nanjappa, S; Chambers, S; Marcenes, W; Richards, D; Freeman, R

2014-10-01

A theory-led narrative approach was used to unpack the complexities of the factors that enable successful client adherence following one-to-one health interventions. Understanding this could prepare the provider to anticipate different adherence behaviours by clients, allowing them to tailor their interventions to increase the likelihood of adherence. The review was done in two stages. A theoretical formulation was proposed to explore factors which influence the effectiveness of one-to-one interventions to result in client adherence. The second stage tested this theory using a narrative synthesis approach. Eleven studies across the health care arena were included in the synthesis and explored the interplay between client attachment style, client-provider interaction and client adherence with health interventions. It emerged that adherence results substantially because of the relationship that the client has with the provider, which is amplified or diminished by the client's own attachment style. This occurs because the client's attachment style shapes how they perceive and behave in relationships with the health-care providers, who become the 'secure base' from which the client accepts, assimilates and adheres with the recommended health intervention. The pathway from one-to-one interventions to adherence is explained using moderated mediation and mediated moderation models. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A Research Study on Secure Attachment Using the Primary Caregiving Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebbeck, Marjory; Phoon, Dora Mei Yong; Tan-Chong, Elizabeth Chai Kim; Tan, Marilyn Ai Bee; Goh, Mandy Lian Mui

2015-01-01

A child's positive sense of well-being is central to their overall growth and development. With an increasing number of mothers in the workforce, many infants and toddlers spend much time in child care services. Hence it is crucial that caregivers provide a secure base for the child to develop secure attachment with educarers. Given multiple…

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.

Within-person variation in security of attachment: a self-determination theory perspective on attachment, need fulfillment, and well-being.

PubMed

La Guardia, J G; Ryan, R M; Couchman, C E; Deci, E L

2000-09-01

Attachment research has traditionally focused on individual differences in global patterns of attachment to important others. The current research instead focuses primarily on within-person variability in attachments across relational partners. It was predicted that within-person variability would be substantial, even among primary attachment figures of mother, father, romantic partner, and best friend. The prediction was supported in three studies. Furthermore, in line with self-determination theory, multilevel modeling and regression analyses showed that, at the relationship level, individuals' experience of fulfillment of the basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness positively predicted overall attachment security, model of self, and model of other. Relations of both attachment and need satisfaction to well-being were also explored.

Examining attachment to God and health risk-taking behaviors in college students.

PubMed

Horton, Karissa D; Ellison, Christopher G; Loukas, Alexandra; Downey, Darcy L; Barrett, Jennifer B

2012-06-01

Drawing on insights from attachment theory, this study examined whether three types of attachment to God--secure, avoidant, and anxious--were associated with health-risk behaviors, over and above the effects of religious attendance, peer support, and demographic covariates, in a sample of 328 undergraduate college students. Contrary to prior theory, secure attachment to God is not inversely associated with recent alcohol or marijuana use, or substance use prior to last sexual intercourse. Instead, avoidant and anxious attachment to God are associated with higher levels of drinking; anxious attachment to God is associated with marijuana use; and avoidant attachment to God is associated with substance use prior to last sexual intercourse. These patterns are gender-specific; problematic attachment to God is linked with negative outcomes solely among men.

Continuity and Discontinuity of Attachment from Infancy through Adolescence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Claire E.

2000-01-01

Examined relations between infant security of attachment, negative life events, and adolescent attachment classification in sample from the Family Lifestyles Project. Found that stability of attachment classification was 77 percent. Infant attachment classification predicted adolescent attachment classification. Found no differences between…

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.

Positive Aspects of Fathering and Mothering, and Children's Attachment in Kindergarten

PubMed Central

George, Melissa R.W.; Cummings, E. Mark; Davies, Patrick T.

2010-01-01

Past research suggests that maternal and paternal parenting processes differentially contribute to children's adjustment. However, the contribution of paternal warmth and responsiveness, to childhood attachment security is less understood, especially beyond the preschool years. The current study examined relations between parenting and attachment among 236 families with children in kindergarten. Parental warmth was virtually unrelated to attachment security and avoidance with mothers and fathers, while paternal and maternal responsiveness to children's emotional distress were uniquely predictive of father- and mother-child attachments, respectively. Although less responsive parenting was related to insecure attachment for both mothers and fathers, the parenting mechanisms associated with insecure attachment differed. Low paternal responsiveness was linked with continuous and categorical assessments of insecure-avoidant attachment, while low maternal responsiveness was associated with insecure-ambivalent attachment. Further research is needed to delineate why these patterns differ for fathers and mothers in order to understand fathers' unique effects on childhood attachment. PMID:20657740

Maternal sensitivity and infant attachment security in Korea: cross-cultural validation of the Strange Situation.

PubMed

Jin, Mi Kyoung; Jacobvitz, Deborah; Hazen, Nancy; Jung, Sung Hoon

2012-01-01

The present study sought to analyze infant and maternal behavior both during the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) and a free play session in a Korean sample (N = 87) to help understand whether mother-infant attachment relationships are universal or culture-specific. Distributions of attachment classifications in the Korean sample were compared with a cross-national sample. Behavior of mothers and infants following the two separation episodes in the SSP, including mothers' proximity to their infants and infants' approach to the caregiver, was also observed, as was the association between maternal sensitivity observed during free play session and infant security. The percentage of Korean infants classified as secure versus insecure mirrored the global distribution, however, only one Korean baby was classified as avoidant. Following the separation episodes in the Strange Situation, Korean mothers were more likely than mothers in Ainsworth's Baltimore sample to approach their babies immediately and sit beside them throughout the reunion episodes, even when their babies were no longer distressed. Also, Korean babies less often approached their mothers during reunions than did infants in the Baltimore sample. Finally, the link between maternal sensitivity and infant security was significant. The findings support the idea that the basic secure base function of attachment is universal and the SSP is a valid measure of secure attachment, but cultural differences in caregiving may result in variations in how this function is manifested.

Attachment to parents, social anxiety, and close relationships of female students over the transition to college.

PubMed

Parade, Stephanie H; Leerkes, Esther M; Blankson, A Nayena

2010-02-01

The current study examined the process by which attachment to parents influences satisfaction with and ease in forming friendships at college. One hundred seventy-two female college freshmen completed a measure of parental attachment security the summer before their first semester of college (July 2006) and measures to assess satisfaction with and ease in forming close relationships at the end of their first semester (December 2006). Students ranged in age from 18 to 20 years (M = 18.09, SD = 0.33) and were diverse in their racial makeup (30% racial minority). Consistent with predictions derived from attachment theory, secure attachment to parents was positively associated with ease in forming friendships among racial minority and white participants and satisfaction with friendships among minority participants. Moreover, indirect effects of parental attachment security on relationship outcomes through social anxiety were significant for minority participants but not for white participants. Findings may be useful in the development of retention programs targeted at incoming university freshmen, particularly minority students.

The transmission of trauma in refugee families: associations between intra-family trauma communication style, children's attachment security and psychosocial adjustment.

PubMed

Dalgaard, Nina Thorup; Todd, Brenda Kathryn; Daniel, Sarah I F; Montgomery, Edith

2016-01-01

This study explores the transmission of trauma in 30 Middle Eastern refugee families in Denmark, where one or both parents were referred for treatment of PTSD symptoms and had non-traumatized children aged 4-9 years. The aim of the study was to explore potential risk and protective factors by examining the association between intra-family communication style regarding the parents' traumatic experiences from the past, children's psychosocial adjustment and attachment security. A negative impact of parental trauma on children might be indicated, as children's Total Difficulties Scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were significantly higher than the Danish norms. A negative association between children's attachment security as measured by the Attachment and Traumatization Story Task and higher scores on the SDQ Total Difficulties Scale approached significance, suggesting that the transmission of trauma may be associated with disruptions in children's attachment representations. Furthermore a significant association between parental trauma communication and children's attachment style was found.

Parental attachment and Chinese adolescents' delinquency: The mediating role of moral disengagement.

PubMed

Bao, Zhenzhou; Zhang, Wei; Lai, Xuefen; Sun, Wenqiang; Wang, Yanhui

2015-10-01

There is substantial literature documenting the negative association between secure parental attachment and lower adolescent delinquency, but little is known about the mediating mechanisms (i.e., how does parental attachment relate to delinquency?) underlying this relation. The present study examined whether secure parental attachment would be indirectly related to lower adolescent delinquency through lower adolescent moral disengagement. A total of 1766 adolescents (44% male; mean age = 14.25 years, SD = 1.54) living in an urban area of southern China completed anonymous questionnaires regarding parental attachment, moral disengagement and delinquency. After controlling for gender, age, socioeconomic status, and school variable, it was found that secure parental attachment was negatively associated with adolescent delinquency and this negative association was fully mediated by the extent of adolescent moral disengagement. These findings contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of adolescent delinquency and have important implications for intervention. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do infant behaviors following immunization predict attachment? An exploratory study.

PubMed

Horton, Rachel; Pillai Riddell, Rebecca; Moran, Greg; Lisi, Diana

2016-01-01

The relationship between infant behaviors during routine immunization, pre- and post-needle, and infant attachment was explored. A total of 130 parent-infant dyads were recruited from a larger longitudinal study and videotaped during routine immunization at 12 months and the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) at 14 months. Six infant behaviors were coded for 1-minute pre-needle and 3-minutes post-needle. Attachment was operationalized according to the secure/avoidant/resistant/disorganized categories. As expected, none of the pre-needle behaviors predicted attachment. Proximity-seeking post-needle significantly discriminated attachment categorizations. Secure infants were more likely to seek proximity to caregivers post-needle in comparison with avoidant and disorganized infants. Proximity-seeking following immunization was positively correlated with proximity-seeking during the SSP and negatively correlated with avoidance and disorganization during the SSP. Infant proximity-seeking during immunization is associated with attachment security and parallels behaviors observed during the SSP. More research is needed to identify behavioral markers of disorganization.

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

Dopaminergic, Serotonergic, and Oxytonergic Candidate Genes Associated with Infant Attachment Security and Disorganization? In Search of Main and Interaction Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luijk, Maartje P. C. M.; Roisman, Glenn I.; Haltigan, John D.; Tiemeier, Henning; Booth-LaForce, Cathryn; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Belsky, Jay; Uitterlinden, Andre G.; Jaddoe, Vincent W. V.; Hofman, Albert; Verhulst, Frank C.; Tharner, Anne; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.

2011-01-01

Background and methods: In two birth cohort studies with genetic, sensitive parenting, and attachment data of more than 1,000 infants in total, we tested main and interaction effects of candidate genes involved in the dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin systems ("DRD4", "DRD2", "COMT", "5-HTT", "OXTR") on attachment security and disorganization.…

Adult Attachment Security and Young Adults' Dating Relationships over Time: Self-Reported, Observational, and Physiological Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holland, Ashley S.; Roisman, Glenn I.

2010-01-01

This study examined the developmental significance of adult attachment security--as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview--for romantic relationship functioning concurrently and approximately 1 year later in a sample of heterosexual dating couples between the ages of 18 and 25 (115 dyads at Time 1 [T1] and 57 dyads at T2, 74% White). The…

Motivations for Providing a Secure Base: Links with Attachment Orientation and Secure Base Support Behavior

PubMed Central

Feeney, Brooke C.; Collins, Nancy L.; Van Vleet, Meredith; Tomlinson, Jennifer

2015-01-01

This investigation examined the importance of underlying motivations in predicting secure base support behavior, as well as the extent to which support motivations are predicted by individual differences in attachment orientation. Participants were 189 married couples who participated in two laboratory sessions: During a questionnaire session, couples completed assessments of their underlying motivations for providing, and for not providing, support for their partner's exploration (i.e., goal-strivings), as well as assessments of their typical secure base support behavior. In an observational session, couples engaged in a discussion of one member's personal goals, during which the partner's secure base support was assessed. Results revealed a variety of distinct motivations for providing, and for not providing, secure base support to one's partner, as well as theoretically expected links between these motivations and both secure base behavior and attachment orientation. This work establishes motivations as important mechanisms that underlie the effective or ineffective provision of relational support. PMID:23581972

Attachment insecurity, mentalization and their relation to symptoms in eating disorder patients.

PubMed

Kuipers, Greet S; van Loenhout, Zara; van der Ark, L Andries; Bekker, Marrie H J

2016-01-01

To investigate the relationships of attachment security and mentalization with core and co-morbid symptoms in eating disorder patients. We compared 51 eating disorder patients at the start of intensive treatment and 20 healthy controls on attachment, mentalization, eating disorder symptoms, depression, anxiety, personality disorders, psycho-neuroticism, autonomy problems and self-injurious behavior, using the Adult Attachment Interview, the SCID-I and II and several questionnaires. Compared with the controls, the eating disorder patients showed a higher prevalence of insecure attachment; eating disorder patients more often than controls received the AAI classification Unresolved for loss or abuse. They also had a lower level of mentalization and more autonomy problems. In the patient group eating disorder symptoms, depression, anxiety, psycho-neuroticism and autonomy problems were neither related to attachment security nor to mentalization; self-injurious behavior was associated with lesser attachment security and lower mentalization; borderline personality disorder was related to lower mentalization. In the control group no relations were found between attachment, mentalization and psychopathologic variables. Eating disorder patients' low level of mentalization suggests the usefulness of Mentalization Based Treatment techniques for eating disorder treatment, especially in case of self-injurious behavior and/or co-morbid borderline personality disorder.

A Secure Base from Which to Regulate: Attachment Security in Toddlerhood as a Predictor of Executive Functioning at School Entry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernier, Annie; Beauchamp, Miriam H.; Carlson, Stephanie M.; Lalonde, Gabrielle

2015-01-01

In light of emerging evidence suggesting that the affective quality of parent-child relationships may relate to individual differences in young children's executive functioning (EF) skills, the aim of this study was to investigate the prospective associations between attachment security in toddlerhood and children's EF skills in kindergarten.…

ATTACHMENT IN INFANTS WITH CLEFT LIP AND/OR PALATE: MARGINAL SECURITY AND ITS CHANGES OVER TIME.

PubMed

Borghini, Ayala; Despars, Josée; Habersaat, Stéphanie; Turpin, Hélène; Monnier, Maryline; Ansermet, François; Hohlfeld, Judith; Muller-Nix, Carole

2018-03-01

This study examines the attachment quality and how this changed over time among infants who had cleft lip and palate (CLP), by conducting a prospective longitudinal study addressing the effects of this type of perinatal event on the parent-infant relationship and the emotional development of the infants. At 12 months of age, the Strange Situation Paradigm (SSP; M. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Waters, & T. Wall, 1978) was administered to a sample of 38 CLP infants (born between 2003 and 2010) and 17 healthy controls. At 4 years of age, the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT; I. Bretherton, D. Ridgeway, & J. Cassidy, 1990) was administered to 32 individuals from the CLP sample and 14 from the control group. As reported in the literature, CLP infants display secure attachment behaviors as frequently as do control infants (55%). However, a more detailed analysis of the attachment scales revealed that CLP infants show more avoidance and less proximity seeking. In addition, a closer examination of the subcategories of attachment styles revealed that most CLP infants (71%) displayed distal attachment strategies such as the B1/B2 or A1/A2 subcategories. At 4 years old, CLP infants clearly displayed more deactivation and less security than did the control sample. Moreover, when detailing the evolution of attachment individually, almost 60% of the CLP children showing distal strategies at 12 months became deactivated or disorganized when they reached 4 years. Indeed, subtle differences in attachment behaviors at 12 months old-which can be considered marginally secure at that age-may reveal attachment vulnerabilities, which seem to be more apparent over the course of development. © 2018 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

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 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.

Would you like to play together? Adults' attachment and the mirror game.

PubMed

Feniger-Schaal, Rinat; Noy, Lior; Hart, Yuval; Koren-Karie, Nina; Mayo, Avraham E; Alon, Uri

2016-01-01

Why is it easy for some people to play together and difficult for others? In this interdisciplinary pilot study, we looked at dyadic interaction in motion as a paradigm to explore the expression of attachment in adulthood. We used a device that gives simple, quantitative and automated indicators for the quality of interaction while playing the mirror game. Forty-seven participants played the mirror game with the same gender-matched expert players. In addition, participants were interviewed on the Adult Attachment Interview to assess their quality of attachment. Using high resolution kinematic measures, we found that secure attachment was correlated with high complexity of the game and low synchrony compared to insecure attachment. The findings suggest that security of attachment is related to a more exploratory and less rigid game than insecure-dismissing attachment. These preliminary findings imply that high resolution analysis of simple movement interaction could carry information about attachment behavior.

Nature, Nurture, and Attachment: Implications in Light of Expanding Definitions of Parenthood.

PubMed

Junewicz, Alexandra; Billick, Stephen Bates

2018-01-02

Recent expansion of the legal definition of parenthood in New York State raises the question of whether the presence of a genetic relationship between a parent and child trumps environmental and interpersonal factors in the formation of a strong, secure attachment bond. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize that attachment between a child and secure attachment figure is inherently biological, and that such biological attachment supersedes the existence of a genetic parent-child relationship. First, the paper provides an overview of attachment and its biological basis. It then discusses the impact on attachment of environmental and interpersonal influences, which current research suggests have the power to alter brain biology. There is no clear evidence that a genetic relationship confers a significant advantage in terms of attachment. This paper proposes that the term "biological parent" be redefined to include anyone with whom a child shares a strong attachment bond.

A Net of Friends: Investigating Friendship by Integrating Attachment Theory and Social Network Analysis.

PubMed

Gillath, Omri; Karantzas, Gery C; Selcuk, Emre

2017-11-01

The current article focuses on attachment style-an individual difference widely studied in the field of close relationships-and its application to the study of social networks. Specifically, we investigated whether attachment style predicts perception and management of social networks. In Study 1, we examined the associations of attachment style with perceptions of network tie strength and multiplexity. In Studies 2a and 2b, we investigated the association between attachment style and network management skills (initiating, maintaining, and dissolving ties) and whether network management skills mediated the associations of attachment style with network tie strength and multiplexity. In Study 3, experimentally enhancing attachment security made people more likely to initiate and less likely to dissolve social ties (for the latter, especially among those high on avoidance or anxiety). As for maintenance, security priming also increased maintenance; however, mainly among people high on attachment anxiety or low on attachment avoidance.

Do attachment representations predict depression and anxiety in psychiatrically hospitalized prepubertal children?

PubMed

Goodman, Geoff; Stroh, Martha; Valdez, Adina

2012-01-01

Thirty-six prepubertal inpatients were videotaped completing five stories thematically related to attachment experiences and classified by their attachment representations. Children also completed the Children's Depression Inventory and Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents-Revised. Mothers completed demographic questionnaires. Percentage of secure (B) attachment was only about one tenth of the normative percentage, anxious-ambivalent (C) attachment was between two and three times the normative percentage, and disorganized (D) attachment was almost twice the normative percentage. Both D attachment and the total number of disorganized story responses were associated with negative self-esteem and clinical-range depression. Anxious-avoidant (A) attachment decreased the likelihood, while C and D attachment increased the likelihood, of separation anxiety disorder. Clinical intervention needs to focus on the meaning of parental relationships represented in the child's mind, specifically the negative self-esteem and separation anxiety associated with the lack of felt security provided by the parents.

Continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns across two generations.

PubMed

Raby, K Lee; Steele, Ryan D; Carlson, Elizabeth A; Sroufe, L Alan

2015-01-01

This study examined the intergenerational continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns within a higher-risk longitudinal sample of 55 female participants born into poverty. Infant attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation when participants were 12 and 18 months as well as several decades later with participants' children. Paralleling earlier findings from this sample on the stability of attachment patterns from infancy to young adulthood, results provided evidence for intergenerational continuities in attachment disorganization but not security. Children of adults with histories of infant attachment disorganization were at an increased risk of forming disorganized attachments. Although changes in infant attachment patterns across the two generations were not correlated with individuals' caregiving experiences or interpersonal stresses and supports during childhood and adolescence, higher quality social support during adulthood was associated with intergenerational changes from insecure to secure infant-caregiver attachment relationships.

Continuities and Changes in Infant Attachment Patterns Across Two Generations

PubMed Central

Raby, K. Lee; Steele, Ryan D.; Carlson, Elizabeth A.; Sroufe, L. Alan

2015-01-01

This study examined the intergenerational continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns within a higher-risk longitudinal sample of 55 female participants born into poverty. Infant attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation when participants were 12 and 18 months as well as several decades later with participants’ children. Paralleling earlier findings from this sample on the stability of attachment patterns from infancy to young adulthood, results provided evidence for intergenerational continuities in attachment disorganization but not security. Children of adults with histories of infant attachment disorganization were at an increased risk of forming disorganized attachments. Although changes in infant attachment patterns across the two generations were not correlated with individuals’ caregiving experiences or interpersonal stresses and supports during childhood and adolescence, higher quality social support during adulthood was associated with intergenerational changes from insecure to secure infant-caregiver attachment relationships. PMID:26213155

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

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 lower levels of psychopathology post whiplash trauma. PMID:22893805

Predictors of mother-child interaction quality and child attachment security in at-risk families.

PubMed

De Falco, Simona; Emer, Alessandra; Martini, Laura; Rigo, Paola; Pruner, Sonia; Venuti, Paola

2014-01-01

Child healthy development is largely influenced by parent-child interaction and a secure parent-child attachment is predictively associated with positive outcomes in numerous domains of child development. However, the parent-child relationship can be affected by several psychosocial and socio-demographic risk factors that undermine its quality and in turn play a negative role in short and long term child psychological health. Prevention and intervention programs that support parenting skills in at-risk families can efficiently reduce the impact of risk factors on mother and child psychological health. This study examines predictors of mother-child interaction quality and child attachment security in a sample of first-time mothers with psychosocial and/or socio-demographic risk factors. Forty primiparous women satisfying specific risk criteria participated in a longitudinal study with their children from pregnancy until 18 month of child age. A multiple psychological and socioeconomic assessment was performed. The Emotional Availability Scales were used to measure the quality of emotional exchanges between mother and child at 12 months and the Attachment Q-Sort served as a measure of child attachment security at 18 months. Results highlight both the effect of specific single factors, considered at a continuous level, and the cumulative risk effect of different co-occurring factors, considered at binary level, on mother-child interaction quality and child attachment security. Implication for the selection of inclusion criteria of intervention programs that support parenting skills in at-risk families are discussed.

Parents of Children with ASD Experience More Psychological Distress, Parenting Stress, and Attachment-Related Anxiety.

PubMed

Keenan, Belinda M; Newman, Louise K; Gray, Kylie M; Rinehart, Nicole J

2016-09-01

There has been limited study of the relationship between child attachment and caregiver wellbeing amongst children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined self-reported child attachment quality alongside caregivers' report of their own psychological distress, parenting stress and attachment style, amongst 24 children with high-functioning autism or Asperger's disorder (ASD; aged 7-14 years) and 24 typically developing children (aged 7-12 years), and their primary caregiver. Children with ASD were no less secure, but their caregivers were more stressed and reported more attachment-related anxiety, compared to typically developing dyads. Child attachment security was related to caregiver psychological distress and attachment style, but only amongst typically developing children. Impacts of emotion processing impairments on caregiver-child relationships in ASD are discussed.

In Search of Shared and Nonshared Environmental Factors in Security of Attachment: A Behavior-Genetic Study of the Association between Sensitivity and Attachment Security

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fearon, R. M. Pasco; Van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Fonagy, Peter; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; Schuengel, Carlo; Bokhorst, Caroline L.

2006-01-01

The current article presents results from a twin study of genetic and environmental components of maternal sensitivity and infant attachment and their association. The sample consisted of 136 twin pairs from 2 sites: Leiden, the Netherlands, and London, UK. Maternal sensitivity was assessed in the home at 9-10 months, and infant attachment…

Trajectories of Mothers' Emotional Availability: Relations with Infant Temperament in Predicting Attachment Security

PubMed Central

Kim, Bo-Ram; Chow, Sy-Miin; Bray, Bethany; Teti, Douglas M.

2017-01-01

The present study examined observations of parenting quality (mothers' emotional availability - EA) during infant bedtimes at 4 points across the infants' first year, assessing relations between levels and trajectories of emotional availability and infant attachment at 12 months and the role of infant temperament in moderating these associations. The sample (N = 128) was predominantly Euro-American (82.5%) and at low socioeconomic risk. Latent growth curve modeling with latent basis coefficients indicated substantial individual differences in initial levels and slopes in EA trajectories across the first year. Both levels of maternal EA and EA trajectories across the first year predicted 12-month infant attachment security. Although maternal EA tended to decrease across the first year in the full sample, EA trajectories that showed a “bounce-back” between 6 and 12 months, suggesting more successful maternal adaptation to an expanding infant developmental repertoire, predicted greater infant security at 12 months. In addition, linkages between latent EA trajectories and 12-month attachment were moderated by 3-month infant temperamental reactivity and regulation. These findings indicate that infant attachment security is sensitive to both static and dynamic aspects of parenting quality across the first year, and that infant temperament can interact with both in predicting infant attachment. PMID:27852132

Trajectories of mothers' emotional availability: relations with infant temperament in predicting attachment security.

PubMed

Kim, Bo-Ram; Chow, Sy-Miin; Bray, Bethany; Teti, Douglas M

2017-02-01

The present study examined observations of parenting quality (mothers' emotional availability - EA) during infant bedtimes at 4 points across the infants' first year, assessing relations between levels and trajectories of EA and infant attachment at 12 months and the role of infant temperament in moderating these associations. The sample (N = 128) was predominantly Euro-American (82.5%) and at low socioeconomic risk. Latent growth curve modeling with latent basis coefficients indicated substantial individual differences in initial levels and slopes in EA trajectories across the first year. Both levels of maternal EA and EA trajectories across the first year predicted 12-month infant attachment security. Although maternal EA tended to decrease across the first year in the full sample, EA trajectories that showed a "bounce-back" between 6 and 12 months, suggesting more successful maternal adaptation to an expanding infant developmental repertoire, predicted greater infant security at 12 months. In addition, linkages between latent EA trajectories and 12-month attachment were moderated by 3-month infant temperamental reactivity and regulation. These findings indicate that infant attachment security is sensitive to both static and dynamic aspects of parenting quality across the first year, and that infant temperament can interact with both in predicting infant attachment.

Adolescent place attachment, social capital, and perceived safety: a comparison of 13 countries.

PubMed

Dallago, Lorenza; Perkins, Douglas D; Santinello, Massimo; Boyce, Will; Molcho, Michal; Morgan, Antony

2009-09-01

In adolescence, children become increasingly independent and autonomous, and spend more time in neighborhood settings away from home. During mid-to-late adolescence, youth often become more critical about the place they live. Their attachment to home and even community may decrease as they explore and develop new attachments to other specific places. The aim of this study is to understand how 15-year-old students from 13 countries perceive their local neighborhood area (place attachment, social capital and safety), and how these different community cognitions are interrelated. We hypothesize that their place attachment predicts safety, and that the relationship is mediated in part by social capital. Result show that, despite cross-cultural differences in neighborhood perceptions, the proposed theoretical model fits robustly across all 13 countries.

Are There Really Patterns of Attachment? Comment on Fraley and Spieker (2003).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waters, Everett; Beauchaine, Theodore P.

2003-01-01

Focuses on three questions related to attachment theory: whether it requires distinct patterns of attachment, how taxonomic analysis contributes to understanding individual differences in attachment security, and whether attachment theorists are asking the right questions. Asserts that attachment theory is indifferent to the structure of…

The Relationship of Maternal Behavior and Acculturation to the Quality of Attachment in Hispanic Infants Living in New York City.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fracasso, Maria P.; And Others

1994-01-01

Studied the relationship of parenting behavior and acculturation to the quality of attachment in 26 Puerto Rican and Dominican infants. Results revealed equal numbers of secure and insecure infants, although more boys than girls were secure. Mothers of secure infants were more sensitive and engaged in more frequent abrupt-interfering pick-ups. (KS)

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.

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

Dismissing Children's Perceptions of Their Emotional Experience and Parental Care: Preliminary Evidence of Positive Bias

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borelli, Jessica L.; David, Daryn H.; Crowley, Michael J.; Snavely, Jonathan E.; Mayes, Linda C.

2013-01-01

The tendency to perceive caregivers in highly positive terms and to perceive the self as strong and problem-free are two facets of the positive bias characteristic of a dismissing attachment classification in adulthood. However, this link has not yet been examined in children. We evaluated the association between dismissing attachment and positive…

Adult Attachment, Perceived Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation, and Depression in Gay Males: Examining the Mediation and Moderation Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zakalik, Robyn A.; Wei, Meifen

2006-01-01

This study examined perceived discrimination as both a mediator and moderator between adult attachment (anxiety and avoidance) and levels of depression in a gay male sample. Survey data were collected from 234 self-identified gay males through the Internet and in person through community resources across several states. Results from structural…

Longitudinal Associations between Perceived Parent-Adolescent Attachment Relationship Quality and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms in Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Eijck, Fenna E. A. M.; Branje, Susan J. T.; Hale, William W., III; Meeus, Wim H. J.

2012-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the direction of effects between adolescents' generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms and perceived parent-adolescent attachment relationship quality, as well as the moderating role of gender and age. 1,313 Dutch adolescents (48.5% boys) from two age cohorts of early (n = 923, M[subscript age] = 12 at W1) and…

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

Possession attachment predicts cell phone use while driving.

PubMed

Weller, Joshua A; Shackleford, Crystal; Dieckmann, Nathan; Slovic, Paul

2013-04-01

Distracted driving has become an important public health concern. However, little is known about the predictors of this health-risking behavior. One overlooked risk factor for distracted driving is the perceived attachment that one feels toward his or her phone. Prior research has suggested that individuals develop bonds toward objects, and qualitative research suggests that the bond between young drivers and their phones can be strong. It follows that individuals who perceive a strong attachment to their phone would be more likely to use it, even when driving. In a nationally representative sample of young drivers (17-28 years), participants (n = 1,006) completed a survey about driving behaviors and phone use. Risk perception surrounding cell phone use while driving and perceived attachment to one's phone were assessed by administering factor-analytically derived scales that were created as part of a larger project. Attachment toward one's phone predicted the proportion of trips in which a participant reported using their cell phone while driving, beyond that accounted for by risk perception and overall phone use. Further, attachment predicted self-reported distracted driving behaviors, such as the use of social media while driving. Attachment to one's phone may be an important but overlooked risk factor for the engagement of potentially health-risking driving behaviors. Understanding that phone attachment may adversely affect driving behaviors has the potential to inform prevention and intervention efforts designed to reduce distracted driving behaviors, especially in young drivers. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Individual Variation in Attachment Security and Strange Situation Behavior: The Role of Maternal and Infant Temperament.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Ruth A.; And Others

1986-01-01

Results suggest that various aspects of Strange Situation behavior are related to both maternal and infant temperament, and that maternal temperament is a predictor of attachment security, particularly for Type A mother-avoidant infants. (Author/RH)

Couple relationship quality and offspring attachment security: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

PubMed

Tan, Evelyn S; McIntosh, Jennifer E; Kothe, Emily J; Opie, Jessica E; Olsson, Craig A

2018-08-01

This paper provides a meta-analytic examination of strength and direction of association between parents' couple relationship quality and early childhood attachment security (5 years and under). A comprehensive search of four EBSCOhost databases, Informit, Web of Science, and grey literature yielded 24 studies meeting eligibility criteria. Heterogeneity of the couple quality construct and measurement was marked. To disaggregate potentially differentially acting factors, we grouped homogeneous studies, creating two predictor variables defined as "positive dyadic adjustment" and "inter-parental conflict". Associations of each construct with offspring attachment security were examined in two separate meta-analyses. Inter-parental conflict was inversely associated (8 studies, k = 17, r = -0.28, CI = [-0.39 to -0.18]), and dyadic adjustment was not associated with offspring attachment security (5 studies, k = 12, r = 0.14, CI = [-0.03 to 0.32]). The study supports finer distinctions of couple relationship constructs and measurement in developmental research, assessment, and intervention.

Children’s Attachment to Both Parents from Toddler Age to Middle Childhood: Links to Adaptive and Maladaptive Outcomes

PubMed Central

Boldt, Lea J.; Kochanska, Grazyna; Yoon, Jeung Eun; Nordling, Jamie Koenig

2014-01-01

We examined children’s attachment security with their mothers and fathers in a community sample (N = 100). At 25 months, mothers, fathers, and trained observers completed Attachment Q-Set (AQS). At 100 months, children completed Kerns Security Scale (KSS) for each parent. Children’s adaptation (behavior problems and competence in broader ecologies of school and peer group, child- and parent-reported) was assessed at 100 months. By and large, the child’s security with the mother and father was modestly to robustly concordant across both relationships, depending on the assessment method. Observers’ AQS security scores predicted children’s self-reported security 6 years later. For children with low AQS security scores with mothers, variations in security with fathers had significant implications for adaptation: Those whose security with fathers was also low reported the most behavior problems and were seen as least competent in broader ecologies, but those whose security with fathers was high reported few problems and were seen as competent. Security with fathers, observer-rated and child-reported, predicted children’s higher competence in broader ecologies. A cumulative index of the history of security from toddler age to middle childhood, integrating measures across both relationships and diverse methodologies, was significantly associated with positive adaptation at 100 months. PMID:24605850

[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.

Attachment-based interventions for families with young children.

PubMed

Woodhouse, Susan S

2018-05-21

Given a large body of research indicating links between child attachment and later mental health outcomes, interventions that promote children's secure attachment to their caregivers have the potential to contribute to prevention of psychopathology and promotion of well-being. A number of attachment-based interventions have been developed to support parents, enhance caregiving quality, and promote children's attachment security with the aim of improving children's mental health. There is now a growing evidence base to support the efficacy of a number of these interventions. The present literature review and introduction to the special issue on attachment-based interventions for families with young children describes key aspects of attachment theory and research that form the theoretical and empirical background for attachment-based interventions, and introduces seven case studies illustrating five different attachment-based interventions. The case studies represent a variety of attachment-based models, including both group and individual treatments, and show applications across a range of caregiver contexts. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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.

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.

Interlinkages between attachment and the Five-Factor Model of personality in middle childhood and young adulthood: a longitudinal approach.

PubMed

Fransson, Mari; Granqvist, Pehr; Bohlin, Gunilla; Hagekull, Berit

2013-01-01

In this paper, we examine concurrent and prospective links between attachment and the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality from middle childhood to young adulthood (n = 66). At age 8.5 years, attachment was measured with the Separation Anxiety Test and at 21 years with the Adult Attachment Interview, whereas the personality dimensions were assessed with questionnaires at both time points. The results showed that attachment and personality dimensions are meaningfully related, concurrently and longitudinally. Attachment security in middle childhood was positively related to extraversion and openness, both concurrently and prospectively. Unresolved/disorganized (U/d) attachment was negatively related to conscientiousness and positively related to openness in young adulthood. U/d attachment showed a unique contribution to openness above the observed temporal stability of openness. As attachment security was also associated with openness, the duality of this factor is discussed together with other theoretical considerations regarding attachment theory in relation to the FFM.

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.

New insight on intergenerational attachment from a relationship-based analysis.

PubMed

Bailey, Heidi N; Tarabulsy, George M; Moran, Greg; Pederson, David R; Bento, Sandi

2017-05-01

Research on attachment transmission has focused on variable-centered analyses, where hypotheses are tested by examining linear associations between variables. The purpose of this study was to apply a relationship-centered approach to data analysis, where adult states of mind, maternal sensitivity, and infant attachment were conceived as being three components of a single, intergenerational relationship. These variables were assessed in 90 adolescent and 99 adult mother-infant dyads when infants were 12 months old. Initial variable-centered analyses replicated the frequently observed associations between these three core attachment variables. Relationship-based, latent class analyses then revealed that the most common pattern among young mother dyads featured maternal unresolved trauma, insensitive interactive behavior, and disorganized infant attachment (61%), whereas the most prevalent adult mother dyad relationship pattern involved maternal autonomy, sensitive maternal behavior, and secure infant attachment (59%). Three less prevalent relationship patterns were also observed. Moderation analyses revealed that the adolescent-adult mother distinction differentiated between secure and disorganized intergenerational relationship patterns, whereas experience of traumatic events distinguished between disorganized and avoidant patterns. Finally, socioeconomic status distinguished between avoidant and secure patterns. Results emphasize the value of a relationship-based approach, adding an angle of understanding to the study of attachment transmission.

Alternative caregiving figures and their role on adult attachment representations.

PubMed

Zaccagnino, Maria; Cussino, Martina; Saunders, Rachel; Jacobvitz, Deborah; Veglia, Fabio

2014-01-01

The present work represents the first Italian study investigating whether and how mothers who describe unloving experiences with both parents during childhood could become more secure as adults (termed earned-secures). The sample consisted of 94 women from northern Italy. All the subjects were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and fill in a screening test evaluating depressive symptoms. No significative differences were found regarding depressive symptomatology across the different attachment classifications. The majority of the samples (84%) remember an important alternative support figure during childhood (before 12 years old). Earned-secures significantly differ from continuous-secure and insecure groups (F = 27.202; p ≤ 0.01) on the amount of the emotional support from the main alternative support figure and on the average amount of emotional support across alternative support figures (F = 10.44; p ≤ 0.01). The majority of alternative support figures (80%) were grandparents. A corrective emotional experience allows the subject to work through his negative childhood experiences and acquire modalities of interaction that enable him/her to function more effectively in the world. The clinical implications of this study will be discussed. Attachment theory. Clinical implications of attachment experiences. Corrective emotional experience. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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…

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.

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.

Interparental conflict, children’s security with parents, and long-term risk of internalizing problems: A longitudinal study from ages 2 to 10

PubMed Central

Brock, Rebecca L.; Kochanska, Grazyna

2015-01-01

Although the negative impact of marital conflict on children has been amply documented, few studies have examined the process of risk in a long-term, longitudinal design. We examined parent–child attachment security as a mechanism that may account for the impact of interparental conflict on children’s long-term risk of internalizing problems. Sixty-two community mothers, fathers, and children were followed from ages 2 to 10. Parents reported on their conflicts when their children were 2. Trained observers produced parent–child attachment security scores (Attachment Q-Set, Waters, 1987), based on lengthy naturalistic observations of the child with each parent. Parents rated children’s internalizing problems at age 10. A conditional process model and bootstrap approach were implemented to examine conditional indirect effects of conflict on child internalizing problems through attachment security for girls versus boys. Maladaptive marital conflict (destructive strategies, severity of arguments) increased internalizing problems 8 years later due to the undermined security for girls, whereas negative emotional aftermath of conflict (unresolved, lingering tension) increased internalizing problems for both boys and girls. The emotional aftermath of conflict is often overlooked, yet it appears to be a key dimension influencing emotional security in the family system, with significant consequences for children’s development. PMID:25797703

Interparental conflict, children's security with parents, and long-term risk of internalizing problems: A longitudinal study from ages 2 to 10.

PubMed

Brock, Rebecca L; Kochanska, Grazyna

2016-02-01

Although the negative impact of marital conflict on children has been amply documented, few studies have examined the process of risk in a long-term, longitudinal design. We examined parent-child attachment security as a mechanism that may account for the impact of interparental conflict on children's long-term risk of internalizing problems. Sixty-two community mothers, fathers, and children were followed from ages 2 to 10. Parents reported on their conflicts when their children were 2. Trained observers produced parent-child attachment security scores (Attachment Q-Set, Waters, 1987), based on lengthy naturalistic observations of the child with each parent. Parents rated children's internalizing problems at age 10. A conditional process model and bootstrap approach were implemented to examine conditional indirect effects of conflict on child internalizing problems through attachment security for girls versus boys. Maladaptive marital conflict (destructive strategies, severity of arguments) increased internalizing problems 8 years later due to the undermined security for girls, whereas negative emotional aftermath of conflict (unresolved, lingering tension) increased internalizing problems for both boys and girls. The emotional aftermath of conflict is often overlooked, yet it appears to be a key dimension influencing emotional security in the family system, with significant consequences for children's development.

Pre-Adolescents' Representations of Multiple Attachment Relationships: The Role of Perceived Teacher Interpersonal Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charalampous, Kyriakos; Kokkinos, Constantinos M.; Apota, Ekaterini; Iliadou, Anastasia; Iosifidou, Maria; Moysidou, Sofia; Vriza, Ekaterini

2016-01-01

Attachment theory proposes that early parent-child relationships provide the basis for all future close relationships of the individual, through childhood and adolescence into later life. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between parental attachment, peer attachment and students' perceptions of their teacher's…

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.

The Role of Attachment Behaviors in the Link between Relationship Satisfaction and Depression in Clinical Couples: Implications for Clinical Practice.

PubMed

Novak, Joshua R; Sandberg, Jonathan G; Davis, Stephanie Y

2017-04-01

Using dyadic, clinical data from 104 couples in committed relationships, the purpose of this study was to determine whether relationship satisfaction was associated with depression through perceived partner attachment behaviors-accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement-for both men and women. We found that one's satisfaction in the relationship was the lens through which they viewed their partner's attachment behaviors and-women's relationship satisfaction was the lens through which her male partner viewed her attachment behaviors. Finally, women's relationship satisfaction is associated with both individuals' depression through her perceived partner's accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement. The findings from this study are important because they provide clinically relevant and mutable constructs in which clinicians can intervene at an attachment level in distressed marriages with depressed partners. © 2016 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Romantic Attachment and Subtypes/Dimensions of Jealousy

PubMed Central

Marazziti, Donatella; Consoli, Giorgio; Albanese, Francesco; Laquidara, Emanuela; Baroni, Stefano; Catena Dell’Osso, Mario

2010-01-01

The present study explored the possible relationship between romantic attachment and jealousy in 100 healthy subjects. The romantic attachment and jealousy were evaluated by means of, respectively, the “Experiences in Close Relationships” questionnaire (ECR), and the “Questionario della Gelosia” (QUEGE). The ECR anxiety scale was related to all QUEGE dimensions, while the ECR avoidance scale to three. Individuals with the preoccupied attachment style showed higher scores than secure subjects on the obsessionality, interpersonal sensitivity and fear of loss dimensions. Fearful-avoidant individuals had higher score than secure subjects on the fear of loss dimension only, while dismissing individuals had lower scores on the self-esteem dimension. These findings suggest that romantic attachment and jealousy are intertwined. PMID:20835357

Hot melt adhesive attachment pad

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fox, R. L.; Frizzill, A. W.; Little, B. D.; Progar, D. J.; Coultrip, R. H.; Couch, R. H.; Gleason, J. R.; Stein, B. A.; Buckley, J. D.; St.clair, T. L. (Inventor)

1984-01-01

A hot melt adhesive attachment pad for releasably securing distinct elements together is described which is particularly useful in the construction industry or a spatial vacuum environment. The attachment pad consists primarily of a cloth selectively impregnated with a charge of hot melt adhesive, a thermo-foil heater, and a thermo-cooler. These components are securely mounted in a mounting assembly. In operation, the operator activates the heating cycle transforming the hot melt adhesive to a substantially liquid state, positions the pad against the attachment surface, and activates the cooling cycle solidifying the adhesive and forming a strong, releasable bond.

Resolving Alliance Ruptures from an Attachment-Informed Perspective.

PubMed

Miller-Bottome, Madeleine; Talia, Alessandro; Safran, Jeremy D; Muran, J Christopher

2018-04-01

In this article, we examine how the different attachment patterns enable or hinder the resolution of ruptures in the therapeutic alliance. We try to show that secure and insecure patients alike may experience ruptures in the therapeutic alliance, but that their ability to participate in resolving such ruptures differ markedly. Recent findings with the Patient Attachment Coding System (PACS) show that attachment classifications manifest in psychotherapy as distinct ways of communicating about present internal experience. Secure patients disclose their present experience openly and invite attunement from the therapist, while insecure patients either minimize their contributions to the dialogue (avoidant) or the contributions of the therapist (preoccupied). Using examples from session transcripts, we demonstrate how secure patients are particularly responsive to resolution strategies that focus on here-and-now experience, while insecure patients' characteristic ways of communicating pose significant challenges to the resolution process.

Secure Infant-Mother Attachment Buffers the Effect of Early-Life Stress on Age of Menarche.

PubMed

Sung, Sooyeon; Simpson, Jeffry A; Griskevicius, Vladas; Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Schlomer, Gabriel L; Belsky, Jay

2016-05-01

Prior research indicates that being reared in stressful environments is associated with earlier onset of menarche in girls. In this research, we examined (a) whether these effects are driven by exposure to certain dimensions of stress (harshness or unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life and (b) whether the negative effects of stress on the timing of menarche are buffered by secure infant-mother attachment. Results revealed that (a) exposure to greater harshness (but not unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life predicted earlier menarche and (b) secure infant-mother attachment buffered girls from this effect of harsh environments. By connecting attachment research to its evolutionary foundations, these results illuminate how environmental stressors and relationships early in life jointly affect pubertal timing. © The Author(s) 2016.

Attachment, attractiveness, and social interaction: a diary study.

PubMed

Tidwell, M C; Reis, H T; Shaver, P R

1996-10-01

To what extent are attachment styles manifested in natural social activity? A total of 125 participants categorized as possessing secure, avoidant, or anxious-ambivalent attachment styles kept structured social interaction diaries for 1 week. Several theoretically important findings emerged. First, compared with secure and anxious-ambivalent persons, avoidant persons reported lower levels of intimacy, enjoyment, promotive interaction, and positive emotions, and higher levels of negative emotions, primarily in opposite-sex interactions. Analyses indicated that avoidant persons may structure social activities in ways that minimize closeness. Second, secure people differentiated more clearly than either insecure group between romantic and other opposite-sex partners. Third, the subjective experiences of anxious-ambivalent persons were more variable than those of the other groups. Finally, the authors examined and rejected the possibility that attachment effects might be confounded with physical attractiveness. These findings suggest that feeling and behaviors that arise during spontaneous, everyday social activity may contribute to the maintenance of attachment styles in adulthood.

Continuity and discontinuity of attachment patterns: a short-term longitudinal pilot study using a sample of late-adopted children and their adoptive mothers.

PubMed

Pace, C S; Zavattini, G C; D'Alessio, M

2012-01-01

This study analysed the attachment patterns of 28 late-adopted children (placed when they were between four and seven years of age) and their adoptive mothers. The change in the children's internal working models (IWMs) within seven to eight months of their placement was evaluated. In addition, we wanted to observe the influence of a secure-autonomous maternal state of mind in facilitating the change in the children's IWMs and the possible associations between the maternal IWMs and the children's IWMs in the adoptive dyads. The separation-reunion procedure (SRP) was used for the late-adopted children in order to assess their attachment behavioural patterns, and the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) was used to evaluate their attachment narrative patterns. The adoptive mothers completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) in order to classify their state of mind with regard to attachment. The results showed a significant change in the attachment behavioural patterns of late-adopted children, from insecure to secure (p = .002). Furthermore, the children who presented this change were predominantly placed with secure-autonomous adoptive mothers (p = .047), although the link between the adoptive mothers' representations of their attachment history and their adopted children's completed narratives was not significant. In conclusion, it seems possible to revise the attachment behaviour of late-adopted children but, for about one-third of children, the adverse history will persist at a narrative/representational level.

Conflict and Attachment: The Experience of Disorganized/Controlling Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Judith; George, Carol

Findings of a study on the relation between 6-year-olds' attachment security and their mental representations of attachment relationships are reported. It was expected that infants whose attachment behavior seemed disorganized would be fearful of their attachment figures and experience themselves as helpless, and that these conditions would be…

Stability of Attachment Representations during Adolescence: The Influence of Ego-Identity Status.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmermann, Peter; Becker-Stoll, Fabienne

2002-01-01

Examines two core assumptions of attachment theory: internal working models of attachment should increase in stability during development, and attachment is related to the adaptive solution of stage-salient issues, in adolescence, specifically to identity formation. Results show secure attachment representation was positively associated with the…

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…

Preschool Teacher Attachment, School Readiness and Risk of Learning Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Commodari, Elena

2013-01-01

Attachment is the emotional bond between children and their caregivers (parents or otherwise). Infants and young children usually have more than one selective attachment, and all of these attachment relationships, including those between children and teachers, have important effects on cognitive and social development. Secure attachment to a…

Caregiver Sensitivity, Contingent Social Responsiveness, and Secure Infant Attachment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunst, Carl J.; Kassow, Danielle Z.

2008-01-01

Findings from two research syntheses of the relationship between caregiver sensitivity and secure infant attachment and one research synthesis of factors associated with increased caregiver use of a sensitive interactional style are presented. The main focus of analysis was the extent to which different measures of caregiver contingent social…

Preschoolers' distress and regulatory behaviors vary as a function of infant-mother attachment security.

PubMed

Qu, Jin; Leerkes, Esther M; King, Elizabeth K

2016-08-01

Children (N=98) with higher attachment security scores, and lower resistance and avoidance scores during the Strange Situation at 16 months demonstrated somewhat more adaptive observed and mother-reported emotion regulation as preschoolers independent of maternal behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

49 CFR 393.102 - What are the minimum performance criteria for cargo securement devices and systems?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... chains, wire rope, steel strapping, synthetic webbing, and cordage) and other attachment or fastening..., steel strapping, synthetic webbing, and cordage) and other attachment or fastening devices used to... contained within the structure of the vehicle. Securement systems must provide a downward force equivalent...

49 CFR 393.102 - What are the minimum performance criteria for cargo securement devices and systems?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... chains, wire rope, steel strapping, synthetic webbing, and cordage) and other attachment or fastening..., steel strapping, synthetic webbing, and cordage) and other attachment or fastening devices used to... contained within the structure of the vehicle. Securement systems must provide a downward force equivalent...

49 CFR 393.102 - What are the minimum performance criteria for cargo securement devices and systems?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... chains, wire rope, steel strapping, synthetic webbing, and cordage) and other attachment or fastening..., steel strapping, synthetic webbing, and cordage) and other attachment or fastening devices used to... contained within the structure of the vehicle. Securement systems must provide a downward force equivalent...

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.

Sharing information about cancer with one's family is associated with improved quality of life.

PubMed

Lai, Carlo; Borrelli, Beatrice; Ciurluini, Paola; Aceto, Paola

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between cancer patients' ability to share information about their illness with their social network and attachment style dimensions, alexithymia, and quality of life. We hypothesised that ability to share information about one's cancer with family, friends, and medical teams would be positively associated with quality of life and secure attachment and negatively associated with alexithymia. Forty-five cancer patients were recruited from the Psycho-oncology Unit of the San Camillo-Forlanini Hospital in Rome. We collected anamnestic data and self-report data on social sharing ability, quality of life, alexithymia, and attachment. Sharing with family (B = 4.66; SE = 1.82; β = .52; SE = 0.20; t(41) = 2.6; P = .0143) was the only predictor of global health status, and attachment security was the only predictor of mean social sharing (B = 0.25; SE = 0.06; β = .63; SE = 0.14; t(41) = 4.4; P < .0001). Encouraging patients to share information about their experience of cancer may help to improve their quality of life. Attachment security seems to promote social sharing. Psychological assessments of cancer patients should cover both ability to share information about one's cancer with family and attachment security. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recovering from Early Deprivation: Attachment Mediates Effects of Caregiving on Psychopathology

PubMed Central

McGoron, Lucy; Gleason, Mary Margaret; Smyke, Anna T.; Drury, Stacy S.; Nelson, Charles A.; Gregas, Mathew C.; Fox, Nathan A.; Zeanah, Charles H.

2014-01-01

Objective Children exposed to early institutional rearing are at risk for developing psychopathology. The present investigation examines caregiving quality and the role of attachment security as they relate to symptoms of psychopathology in young children exposed to early institutionalization. Methods Participants were enrolled in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), a longitudinal intervention study of children abandoned and placed in institutions at or shortly after birth. Measures included observed caregiving when children were 30 months of age, observed attachment security at 42 months and caregiver reports of children’s psychopathology at 54 months. At 54 months, some children remained in institutions, others were in foster care, others had been adopted domestically, and still others had been returned to their biological families. Thus, the children had experienced varying amounts of institutional rearing. Results After controlling for gender, quality of caregiving when children were 30 months old was associated with symptoms of multiple domains of psychopathology at 54 months of age. Ratings of security of attachment at 42 months mediated the associations between quality caregiving at 30 months and fewer symptoms of psychopathology at 54 months. Conclusions Among deprived young children, high quality caregiving at 30 months predicted reduced psychopathology and functional impairment at 54 months. Security of attachment mediated this relationship. Interventions for young children who have experienced deprivation may benefit from explicitly targeting caregiver-child attachment relationships. PMID:22721591

The Interplay Between Parental Beliefs about Children’s Emotions and Parental Stress Impacts Children’s Attachment Security

PubMed Central

Stelter, Rebecca L.; Halberstadt, Amy G.

2010-01-01

This study investigated how parental beliefs about children’s emotions and parental stress relate to children’s feelings of security in the parent-child relationship. Models predicting direct effects of parental beliefs and parental stress, and moderating effects of parental stress on the relationship between parental beliefs and children’s feelings of security were tested. Participants were 85 African American, European American, and Lumbee American Indian 4th and 5th grade children and one of their parents. Children reported their feelings of security in the parent-child relationship; parents independently reported on their beliefs and their stress. Parental stress moderated relationships between three of the four parental beliefs about the value of children’s emotions and children’s attachment security. When parent stress was low, parental beliefs accepting and valuing children’s emotions were not related to children’s feelings of security; when parent stress was high, however, parental beliefs accepting and valuing children’s emotions were related to children’s feelings of security. These findings highlight the importance of examining parental beliefs and stress together for children’s attachment security. PMID:21731472

Genetic and Environmental Influence on Attachment Disorganization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spangler, Gottfried; Johann, Monika; Ronai, Zsolt; Zimmermann, Peter

2009-01-01

Background: Empirical studies demonstrate that maternal sensitivity is associated with attachment security in infancy, while maternal frightening/frightened behavior is related to attachment disorganization. However, attachment disorganization is also predicted by individual dispositions in infancy. Indeed, recent studies indicate a link between…

Adoptive parenting and attachment: association of the internal working models between adoptive mothers and their late-adopted children during adolescence.

PubMed

Pace, Cecilia S; Di Folco, Simona; Guerriero, Viviana; Santona, Alessandra; Terrone, Grazia

2015-01-01

Recent literature has shown that the good outcome of adoption would mostly depend on the quality of adoptive parenting, which is strongly associated with the security of parental internal working models (IWMs) of attachment. Specifically, attachment states-of-mind of adoptive mothers classified as free and autonomous and without lack of resolution of loss or trauma could represent a good protective factor for adopted children, previously maltreated and neglected. While most research on adoptive families focused on pre-school and school-aged children, the aim of this study was to assess the concordance of IWMs of attachment in adoptive dyads during adolescence. Our pilot-study involved 76 participants: 30 adoptive mothers (mean age = 51.5 ± 4.3), and their 46 late-adopted adolescents (mean age = 13.9 ± 1.6), who were all aged 4-9 years old at time of adoption (mean age = 6.3 ± 1.5). Attachment representations of adopted adolescents were assessed by the Friend and Family Interview (FFI), while adoptive mothers' state-of-mind with respect to attachment was classified by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Adolescents' verbal intelligence was controlled for. Late-adopted adolescents were classified as follows: 67% secure, 26% dismissing, and 7% preoccupied in the FFI, while their adoptive mothers' AAI classifications were 70% free-autonomous, 7% dismissing, and 23% unresolved. We found a significant concordance of 70% (32 dyads) between the secure-insecure FFI and AAI classifications. Specifically adoptive mothers with high coherence of transcript and low unresolved loss tend to have late-adopted children with high secure attachment, even if the adolescents' verbal intelligence made a significant contribution to this prediction. Our results provides an empirical contribution to the literature concerning the concordance of attachment in adoptive dyads, highlighting the beneficial impact of highly coherent states-of-mind of adoptive mothers on the attachment representations of their late-adopted adolescent children.

Texting "boosts" felt security.

PubMed

Otway, Lorna J; Carnelley, Katherine B; Rowe, Angela C

2014-01-01

Attachment security can be induced in laboratory settings (e.g., Rowe & Carnelley, 2003) and the beneficial effects of repeated security priming can last for a number of days (e.g., Carnelley & Rowe, 2007). The priming process, however, can be costly in terms of time. We explored the effectiveness of security priming via text message. Participants completed a visualisation task (a secure attachment experience or neutral experience) in the laboratory. On three consecutive days following the laboratory task, participants received (secure or neutral) text message visualisation tasks. Participants in the secure condition reported significantly higher felt security than those in the neutral condition, immediately after the laboratory prime, after the last text message prime and one day after the last text prime. These findings suggest that security priming via text messages is an innovative methodological advancement that effectively induces felt security, representing a potential direction forward for security priming research.

[The role of environmental factors in managing labour stress].

PubMed

Rados, Melinda; Mészáros, Judit

2017-07-01

Emotional, cognitive and behavioural aspects of birth and labour stress are strongly associated with the underlying physiological processes. To study the factors of physical security and social support, the administration of synthetic oxytocin, and how they relate to perceived stress during childbirth. Women's experienced physical security, social support and oxytocin administration was measured with targeted questions, and their perceived stress with the short and modified version of the Perceived Stress Scale. A strong negative association was found between perceived stress and physical and social security. The group of women experiencing low physical and social security perceived significantly higher stress, while those given synthetic oxytocin perceived higher stress, and lower physical and social security. Since physiological, psychological processes and behaviours are strongly intertwined, the support of natural physiological birth without interventions is recommended, which considers not only short-term but long-term health consequences for mother and child. The contribution of calming physical surroundings, minimal interventions and empowering support of caregivers to safe and satisfying birth is demonstrated in a model. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(29): 1149-1156.

Examining Ecological Constraints on the Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment Via Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis.

PubMed

Verhage, Marije L; Fearon, R M Pasco; Schuengel, Carlo; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; Madigan, Sheri; Roisman, Glenn I; Oosterman, Mirjam; Behrens, Kazuko Y; Wong, Maria S; Mangelsdorf, Sarah; Priddis, Lynn E; Brisch, Karl-Heinz

2018-05-09

Parents' attachment representations and child-parent attachment have been shown to be associated, but these associations vary across populations (Verhage et al., 2016). The current study examined whether ecological factors may explain variability in the strength of intergenerational transmission of attachment, using individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis. Analyses on 4,396 parent-child dyads (58 studies, child age 11-96 months) revealed a combined effect size of r = .29. IPD meta-analyses revealed that effect sizes for the transmission of autonomous-secure representations to secure attachments were weaker under risk conditions and weaker in adolescent parent-child dyads, whereas transmission was stronger for older children. Findings support the ecological constraints hypothesis on attachment transmission. Implications for attachment theory and the use of IPD meta-analysis are discussed. © 2018 The Authors. Child Development published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Research in Child Development.

Evidence-Based Parenting Interventions to Promote Secure Attachment

PubMed Central

Wright, Barry; Edginton, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Various interventions are used in clinical practice to address insecure or disorganized attachment patterns and attachment disorders. The most common of these are parenting interventions, but not all have a robust empirical evidence base. We undertook a systematic review of randomized trials comparing a parenting intervention with a control, where these used a validated attachment instrument, in order to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of interventions aiming to improve attachment in children with severe attachment problems (mean age <13 years). This article aims to inform clinicians about the parenting interventions included in our systematic review that were clinically effective in promoting secure attachment. For completeness, we also briefly discuss other interventions without randomized controlled trial evidence, identified in Patient Public Involvement workshops and expert groups at the point our review was completed as being used or recommended. We outline the key implications of our findings for clinical practice and future research. PMID:27583298

Impact of Perceived Security on Organizational Adoption of Smartphones.

PubMed

Arpaci, Ibrahim; Yardimci Cetin, Yasemin; Turetken, Ozgur

2015-10-01

Organizational adoption of new technologies is a practically important research area. The present study aims to investigate the impact of perceived security on organizational adoption of mobile communication technologies, specifically smartphones. For this purpose, a research model is developed extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The research model is tested using a structural equation modeling based on data that were collected from senior managers of 201 private sector organizations in Turkey. The results show that, along with the traditional constructs of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, perceived security significantly affects organizations' adoption of smartphones. Both the theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Attachment Representations in 6-Year-Old Children from One and Two Parent Families in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gloger-Tippelt, Gabriele; Konig, Lilith

2007-01-01

Viewed from the perspective of attachment theory, coping with the separation and divorce of parents requires that children reorganize their mental model of attachment. Secure attachment models may be disrupted, while insecure attachment models may be strengthened. According to findings from research on divorce, this process of family…

Adult Attachment Styles: Relations with Emotional Well-Being, Marriage, and Parenting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volling, Brenda L.; Notaro, Paul C.; Larsen, Joelle J.

1998-01-01

Examines the pairings of adult attachment styles among married couples raising young children. There was no relation between adult attachment styles, parenting behavior, and the security of infant/parent attachments. Future work would benefit by focusing on the dyadic constellations of adult attachment styles and their implications for family…

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.

Getting acquainted: Actor and partner effects of attachment and temperament on young children's peer behavior.

PubMed

McElwain, Nancy L; Holland, Ashley S; Engle, Jennifer M; Ogolsky, Brian G

2014-06-01

Guided by a dyadic view of children's peer behavior, this study assessed actor and partner effects of attachment security and temperament on young children's behavior with an unfamiliar peer. At 33 months of age, child-mother attachment security was assessed via a modified Strange Situation procedure, and parents reported on child temperament (anger proneness and social fearfulness). At 39 months, same-sex children (N = 114, 58 girls) were randomly paired, and child dyads were observed during 3 laboratory visits occurring over 1 month. Actor-partner interdependence models, tested via multilevel modeling, revealed that actor security, partner anger proneness, and acquaintanceship (e.g., initial vs. later visits) combined to predict child behavior. Actor security predicted more responsiveness to the new peer partner at the initial visit, regardless of partner anger proneness. Actor security continued to predict responsiveness at the 2nd and 3rd visits when partner anger was low, but these associations were nonsignificant when partner anger was high. Actor security also predicted a less controlling assertiveness style at the initial visit when partner anger proneness was high, yet this association was nonsignificant by the final visit. The findings shed light on the dynamic nature of young children's peer behavior and indicate that attachment security is related to behavior in expected ways during initial interactions with a new peer, but may change as children become acquainted. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

The Significance of Attachment Security for Children’s Social Competence with Peers: A Meta-Analytic Study

PubMed Central

Groh, Ashley M.; Fearon, R. Pasco; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Steele, Ryan D.; Roisman, Glenn I.

2014-01-01

This meta-analytic review examines the association between attachment during the early life course and social competence with peers during childhood, and compares the strength of this association with those for externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. Based on eighty independent samples (N = 4,441), the association between security and peer competence was significant (d = 0.39, CI 0.32; 0.47) and not moderated by the age at which peer competence was assessed. Avoidance (d = 0.17, CI 0.05; 0.30), resistance (d = 0.29, CI 0.09; 0.48), and disorganization (d = 0.25, CI 0.10; 0.40) were significantly associated with lower peer competence. Attachment security was significantly more strongly associated with peer competence than internalizing (but not externalizing) symptomatology. Discussion focuses on the significance of early attachment for the development of peer competence versus externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. PMID:24547936

The Impact of Attachment Security and Emotion Dysregulation on Anxiety in Children and Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bender, Patrick K.; Sømhovd, Mikael; Pons, Francisco; Reinholdt-Dunne, Marie L.; Esbjørn, Barbara H.

2015-01-01

Theoretical views and empirical findings suggest interrelations among attachment security, emotion dysregulation and anxiety in childhood and adolescence. However, the associations among the three constructs have rarely been investigated in children, and no study has yet addressed these associations in adolescence. The aim of the present study was…

Male Pregnancy Intendedness and Children's Mental Proficiency and Attachment Security during Toddlerhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bronte-Tinkew, Jacinta; Scott, Mindy E.; Horowitz, Allison

2009-01-01

Using a sample of biological resident fathers and their children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) 9- and 24-month surveys (N = 5,300), this study examines associations and the direct and indirect pathways through which men's pregnancy intentions influence toddlers' mental proficiency and attachment security.…

Early Attachment Organization Moderates the Parent-Child Mutually Coercive Pathway to Children's Antisocial Conduct

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kochanska, Grazyna; Barry, Robin A.; Stellern, Sarah A.; O'Bleness, Jessica J.

2009-01-01

This multimethod study of 101 mothers, fathers, and children elucidates poorly understood role of children's attachment security as "moderating" a common maladaptive trajectory: from parental power assertion, to child resentful opposition, to child antisocial conduct. Children's security was assessed at 15 months, parents' power assertion observed…

Evaluations and Orientations in Mother-Child Narratives as a Function of Attachment Security: A Longitudinal Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newcombe, Rhiannon; Reese, Elaine

2004-01-01

The present study examined the socialisation of children's narrative ability across the preschool period, exploring the association between children's and mothers' narrative style and children's attachment security. Fifty-six children and their mothers engaged in past event memory conversations about everyday shared past experiences when the…

Subtypes of Attachment Security in School-Age Children with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Yagon, Michal

2012-01-01

This study explored children's secure attachment with both parents versus one parent, as well as the unique role of children's patterns of close relationships with father and mother, for a deeper understanding of maladjustment problems among children with learning disabilities (LD). Specifically, this study identified subgroups of children with…

Teacher-Child Relationships in Turkish and United States Schools: A Cross-Cultural Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beyazkurk, Derya; Kesner, John E.

2005-01-01

Recent educational research utilising Bowlby's attachment theory has focused on children's interpersonal relationships with their teachers. Research in this area has indicated that the security of the teacher-child relationship influences children's development in many of the same ways as secure parent-child attachments. The purpose of this study…

Maternal Religiosity, Family Resources and Stressors, and Parent-Child Attachment Security in Northern Ireland.

PubMed

Goeke-Morey, Marcie C; Cairns, Ed; Merrilees, Christine E; Schermerhorn, Alice C; Shirlow, Peter; Cummings, E Mark

2013-02-01

This study explores the associations between mothers' religiosity, and families' and children's functioning in a stratified random sample of 695 Catholic and Protestant mother-child dyads in socially deprived areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a region which has experienced centuries of sectarian conflict between Protestant Unionists and Catholics Nationalists. Findings based on mother and child surveys indicated that even in this context of historical political violence associated with religious affiliation, mothers' religiosity played a consistently positive role, including associations with multiple indicators of better family functioning (i.e., more cohesion and behavioral control and less conflict, psychological distress, and adjustment problems) and greater parent-child attachment security. Mothers' religiosity also moderated the association between parent-child attachment security and family resources and family stressors, enhancing positive effects of cohesion and mother behavioral control on mother-child attachment security, and providing protection against risks associated with mothers' psychological distress. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for understanding the role of religiosity in serving as a protective or risk factor for children and families.

Attachment, Social Value Orientation, Sensation Seeking, and Bullying in Early Adolescence

PubMed Central

Innamorati, Marco; Parolin, Laura; Tagini, Angela; Santona, Alessandra; Bosco, Andrea; De Carli, Pietro; Palmisano, Giovanni L.; Pergola, Filippo; Sarracino, Diego

2018-01-01

In this study, bullying is examined in light of the “prosocial security hypothesis”— i.e., the hypothesis that insecure attachment, with temperamental dispositions such as sensation seeking, may foster individualistic, competitive value orientations and problem behaviors. A group of 375 Italian students (53% female; Mean age = 12.58, SD = 1.08) completed anonymous questionnaires regarding attachment security, social values, sensation seeking, and bullying behaviors. Path analysis showed that attachment to mother was negatively associated with bullying of others, both directly and through the mediating role of conservative socially oriented values, while attachment to father was directly associated with victimization. Sensation seeking predicted bullying of others and victimization both directly and through the mediating role of conservative socially oriented values. Adolescents’ gender affected how attachment moderated the relationship between sensation seeking and problem behavior. PMID:29535668

Attachment, Social Value Orientation, Sensation Seeking, and Bullying in Early Adolescence.

PubMed

Innamorati, Marco; Parolin, Laura; Tagini, Angela; Santona, Alessandra; Bosco, Andrea; De Carli, Pietro; Palmisano, Giovanni L; Pergola, Filippo; Sarracino, Diego

2018-01-01

In this study, bullying is examined in light of the "prosocial security hypothesis"- i.e., the hypothesis that insecure attachment, with temperamental dispositions such as sensation seeking, may foster individualistic, competitive value orientations and problem behaviors. A group of 375 Italian students (53% female; Mean age = 12.58, SD = 1.08) completed anonymous questionnaires regarding attachment security, social values, sensation seeking, and bullying behaviors. Path analysis showed that attachment to mother was negatively associated with bullying of others, both directly and through the mediating role of conservative socially oriented values, while attachment to father was directly associated with victimization. Sensation seeking predicted bullying of others and victimization both directly and through the mediating role of conservative socially oriented values. Adolescents' gender affected how attachment moderated the relationship between sensation seeking and problem behavior.

Attachment-focused integrative reminiscence with older African Americans: a randomized controlled intervention study.

PubMed

Sabir, Myra; Henderson, Charles R; Kang, Suk-Young; Pillemer, Karl

2016-01-01

Prior integrative reminiscence interventions have had a limited focus on attachment themes. The attachment-focused integrative reminiscence (AFIR) intervention differs from these in its central emphasis on attachment themes. The wide range of health benefits resulting from integrative reminiscence may be due in part to reminiscing about, mourning, and integrating unresolved attachment experiences. Participants were randomized into treatment and wait-list control conditions, completed a pre-test, met for eight consecutive weekly two-hour sessions of largely attachment-focused reminiscence, then completed post-tests immediately following the intervention and again six months later. Results show treatment effects for depression (p = .01 and .05 at eight weeks and six months), perceived stress (p = .01 and .04), and emergency room (ER) visits at six months (p = .04), with the intervention group showing lower depression and stress and fewer ER visits. Integrative reminiscence interventions are cost effective, have rapid impact, and carry a certain appeal to older adults. Augmenting such interventions with a focus on attachment experiences may reduce perceived stress, an important health risk factor. Wider application of AFIRs may further reduce health disparities among US older adults.

Associations between early caregiving and rural, low-SES, African-American children's representations of attachment relationships.

PubMed

Brown, Geoffrey L; Gustafsson, Hanna C; Mills-Koonce, W Roger; Cox, Martha J

2017-08-01

Little research has examined the legacy of early maternal care for later attachment representations among low-income and ethnic minority school-aged children. Using data from a sample of 276 rural, low-income, African-American families, this study examined associations between maternal care in infancy and children's representations of attachment figures in middle childhood. Maternal care was coded from 10-min home-based observations at 6, 15, and 24 months of age. Representations of attachment figures were assessed using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task at 6 years of age. Sensitive maternal care in infancy was not significantly related to attachment security or episodic disorganized behaviors in children's representations. However, children exposed to more harsh-intrusive parenting during infancy displayed less secure representations of attachment figures in middle childhood and more episodic disorganized behaviors, even after controlling for numerous child and family contextual covariates. Findings inform conceptualizations of attachment formation among rural, low-income, African-American parent-child dyads.

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.

New York City social workers after 9/11: their attachment, resiliency, and compassion fatigue.

PubMed

Tosone, Carol; Bettmann, Joanna E; Minami, Takuya; Jasperson, Rachael A

2010-01-01

This study examines the relationship between attachment classification, resiliency, and compassion fatigue in New York social workers following 9/11. We used single occasion, quasi-random sampling, surveying 481 social workers living in Manhattan. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that secure attachment is predictive of the ability to cope with secondary traumatic stress as well as capacity for resilience, explaining approximately 7% of the variance in both compassion fatigue and resiliency. These findings suggest that secure attachment may serve as a source of resilience for social workers, immunizing them from significant compassion fatigue. Such findings have significant implications for clinicians working with traumatized populations.

Attachment, Acculturation, and Psychosomatic Complaints among Hispanic American University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Chiachih D. C.; Scalise, Dominick A.; Barajas-Munoz, I. Alejandro; Julio, Kathy; Gomez, Ayleen

2016-01-01

This study investigated adult attachment and acculturation frameworks of reported psychosomatic complaints related to perceived discrimination among a sample of Latino/Hispanic university students (N = 160). The model supported by the data suggests that attachment anxiety, acculturation toward the dominant cultural norms, and adherence to…

Secure Base Scripts are Associated with Maternal Parenting Behavior across Contexts and Reflective Functioning among Trauma-Exposed Mothers

PubMed Central

Huth-Bocks, Alissa C.; Muzik, Maria; Beeghly, Marjorie; Earls, Lauren; Stacks, Ann M.

2015-01-01

There is growing evidence that ‘secure-base scripts’ (Waters & Waters, 2006) are an important part of the cognitive underpinnings of internal working models of attachment. Recent research in middle class samples has shown that secure-base scripts are linked to maternal attachment-oriented behavior and child outcomes. However, little is known about the correlates of secure base scripts in higher-risk samples. Participants in the current study included 115 mothers who were oversampled for childhood maltreatment and their infants. Results revealed that a higher level of secure base scriptedness was significantly related to more positive and less negative maternal parenting in both unstructured free play and structured teaching contexts, and to higher reflective functioning scores on the Parent Development Interview-Revised Short Form (Slade, Aber, Berger, Bresgi, & Kaplan, 2003). Associations with parent-child secure base scripts, specifically, indicate some level of relationship-specificity in attachment scripts. Many, but not all, significant associations remained after controlling for family income and maternal age. Findings suggest that assessing secure base scripts among mothers known to be at risk for parenting difficulties may be important for interventions aimed at altering problematic parental representations and caregiving behavior. PMID:25319230

Early Attachment Relationships and the Early Childhood Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortazar, Alejandra; Herreros, Francisca

2010-01-01

This article explores the relationship between attachment theory and the early childhood curriculum. During the first years of life children develop early attachment relationships with their primary caregivers. These attachment relationships, either secure or insecure, will shape children's socio-emotional development. In the USA, the predominant…

Recovering from early deprivation: attachment mediates effects of caregiving on psychopathology.

PubMed

McGoron, Lucy; Gleason, Mary Margaret; Smyke, Anna T; Drury, Stacy S; Nelson, Charles A; Gregas, Matthew C; Fox, Nathan A; Zeanah, Charles H

2012-07-01

Children exposed to early institutional rearing are at risk for developing psychopathology. The present investigation examines caregiving quality and the role of attachment security as they relate to symptoms of psychopathology in young children exposed to early institutionalization. Participants were enrolled in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), a longitudinal intervention study of children abandoned and placed in institutions at or shortly after birth. Measures included observed caregiving when children were 30 months of age, observed attachment security at 42 months, and caregiver reports of children's psychopathology at 54 months. At 54 months, some children remained in institutions, others were in foster care, others had been adopted domestically, and still others had been returned to their biological families. Thus, the children had experienced varying amounts of institutional rearing. After controlling for gender, quality of caregiving when children were 30 months old was associated with symptoms of multiple domains of psychopathology at 54 months of age. Ratings of security of attachment at 42 months mediated the associations between quality caregiving at 30 months and fewer symptoms of psychopathology at 54 months. Among deprived young children, high-quality caregiving at 30 months predicted reduced psychopathology and functional impairment at 54 months. Security of attachment mediated this relationship. Interventions for young children who have experienced deprivation may benefit from explicitly targeting caregiver-child attachment relationships. Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Individual Differences in Visual Self-Recognition as a Function of Mother-Infant Attachment Relationship.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Michael; And Others

1985-01-01

Compares attachment relationships of infants at 12 months to their visual self-recognition at both 18 and 24 months. Individual differences in early attachment relations were related to later self-recognition. In particular, insecurely attached infants showed a trend toward earlier self-recognition than did securely attached infants. (Author/NH)

Learning to provide children with a secure base and a safe haven: The Circle of Security-Parenting (COS-P) group intervention.

PubMed

Kim, Monica; Woodhouse, Susan S; Dai, Chenchen

2018-05-21

Insecure attachment is linked to a host of negative child outcomes, including internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Circle of Security-Parenting (COS-P) is a manualized, video-based, eight unit, group parenting intervention to promote children's attachment security. COS-P was designed to be easily implemented, so as to make attachment interventions more widely available to families. We present the theoretical background of COS-P, research evidence supporting the COS approach, as well as a description of the COS-P intervention protocol. The case example of "Alexa," mother of three children (aged 7, 6, and 4 years), illustrates how parents can make use of the COS-P intervention to better understand children's needs, build skills in observing and interpreting children's signals, learn to recognize and regulate their own responses to their children, and learn new ways of responding to children's needs. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Attachment and child development in a residential institution in Kinshasa].

PubMed

Mbiya Muadi, F; Mampunza, S; Symann, S; Habimana, L; D'Hoore, W; Malengreau, M; Hermans, D; Aujoulat, I; Charlier-Mikolajczak, D

2014-11-01

Attachment proves the child's need for a presence as well as physical and psychological protection. It contributes to the development of social and emotional skills. However, the relation between attachment, cognitive development, and physical development remains to be established. To evaluate the effect of the quality of attachment on the cognitive and physical development of children placed in institutions for abandoned children in Kinshasa through a first study of this kind in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eighty-four participants, aged 4-7 years, 42 abandoned children placed in residential institutions and 42 children living in families. The evaluation focused on the quality of attachment, cognitive performance, and physical development of these children. attachment story completion task (ASCT), Raven's colored progressive matrices (CPM) and growth vision. The Student t-test was used to compare the children's quality of attachment, cognitive performance, and physical development. For the ASCT, secure attachment was more frequently found among children living in families (66.7%) than in institutions (33.3%). The CPM showed obtained a higher mean value (19.3) for children living in a family than for children living in institutions (13.3). Moreover, for children with secure attachment, the mean CPM value and height-for-age ratio were, respectively, 83.7% in family situations and 73.1% in institutions. The mean values for children with insecure attachment were lower than for those with secure attachment in families (80.7%) and institutions (70.9%). However, despite the quality of attachment, the mean values obtained in families were higher than those obtained in institutions. These results suggest that the child's development, both cognitive and physical, depends on the quality of attachment. Life in the family gives better potentialities than life in an institution regardless of the quality of attachment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Autobiographical Memory Phenomenology and Content Mediate Attachment Style and Psychological Distress

PubMed Central

Sutin, Angelina R.; Gillath, Omri

2009-01-01

In two studies, the present research tested the phenomenology and content of autobiographical memory as distinct mediators between attachment avoidance and anxiety and depressive symptoms. In Study 1, participants (N = 454) completed measures of attachment and depressive symptoms in one session, and retrieved and rated two self-defining memories of romantic relationships in a separate session. In Study 2, participants (N = 534) were primed with attachment security, attachment insecurity, or a control prime and then retrieved and rated a self-defining relationship memory. Memory phenomenology, specifically memory coherence and emotional intensity, mediated the association between attachment avoidance and depressive symptoms, whereas the negative affective content of the memory mediated the association between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms. Priming attachment security led to retrieval of a more coherent relationship memory, whereas insecurity led to the retrieval of a more incoherent relationship memory. Discussion focuses on the construction and recollection of memories as underlying mechanisms of adult attachment and psychological distress, the importance of memory coherence, and the implications for counseling research and practice. PMID:20706555

Parental Rearing, Attachment, and Social Anxiety in Chinese Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mothander, Pia Risholm; Wang, Mo

2014-01-01

This cross-sectional study investigated associations between perceived parental rearing, attachment, and social anxiety. 510 Chinese middle school students, aged 12 to 20 years, completed a set of questionnaires including "Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran" for Children (EMBU-C), Inventory for Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) and…

The identification of the relationship between the perceived social support, fatigue levels and maternal attachment during the postpartum period.

PubMed

Yesilcinar, Ilknur; Yavan, Tulay; Karasahin, Kazim Emre; Yenen, Mufit Cemal

2017-05-01

This study aims to determinate the relationship between social support perceived by women, fatigue levels and maternal attachment in postpartum period. The sample of this descriptive study consists of 181 women who gave birth in the study period. The data was collected by the socio-demographic characteristics forms; "Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support" (MSPSS); "Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue Scale" (MAFS) and "Maternal Attachment Scale" (MAS) on the postpartum first days and 30-40th days. MSPSS scores of women who had university or higher education, employed, had their first pregnancy, have 12 months or less between two pregnancies, were found to be significantly higher than others. MAS scores of women at the end of the postpartum first month were significantly increased. MAFS scores of women at the end of the postpartum first month were significantly decreased. The correlation between the fatigue levels and maternal attachment levels at the end of the postpartum first month was found to be negative and significant. In the postpartum period, the care of the mother should include social support, maternal attachment and fatigue assessment. Mothers should be encouraged to use social support resources. The continuity of social support systems should be provided.

Predicting Preschoolers' Attachment Security from Fathers' Involvement, Internal Working Models, and Use of Social Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newland, Lisa A.; Coyl, Diana D.; Freeman, Harry

2008-01-01

Associations between preschoolers' attachment security, fathers' involvement (i.e. parenting behaviors and consistency) and fathering context (i.e. fathers' internal working models (IWMs) and use of social support) were examined in a subsample of 102 fathers, taken from a larger sample of 235 culturally diverse US families. The authors predicted…

Infant-Mother Attachment Security and Children's Anxiety and Aggression at First Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dallaire, Danielle H.; Weinraub, Marsha

2007-01-01

With a large and diverse sample of children from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the role of infant-mother attachment security as a protective factor against the development of children's anxious and aggressive behaviors at first grade was examined. When child's sex,…

Social Information Processing, Security of Attachment, and Emotion Regulation in Children with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauminger, Nirit; Kimhi-Kind, Ilanit

2008-01-01

This study examined the contribution of attachment security and emotion regulation (ER) to the explanation of social information processing (SIP) in middle childhood boys with learning disabilities (LD) and without LD matched on age and grade level. Children analyzed four social vignettes using Dodge's SIP model and completed the Kerns security…

Maternal Mental State Language and Preschool Children's Attachment Security: Relation to Children's Mental State Language and Expressions of Emotional Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mcquaid, Nancy; Bigelow, Ann E.; McLaughlin, Jessica; MacLean, Kim

2008-01-01

Mothers' mental state language in conversation with their preschool children, and children's preschool attachment security were examined for their effects on children's mental state language and expressions of emotional understanding in their conversation. Children discussed an emotionally salient event with their mothers and then relayed the…

Enhancing Student Altruism Using Secure Attachment Messages (SAM) in Lecture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Kelly; Ramos, Stephany

2017-01-01

In this brief report, we examine whether students' (N = 230) willingness to help individuals in distress (altruism) would be augmented after viewing Secure Attachment Messages (SAM) during lecture in a college racism course. Students were presented with SAM in alternating weeks as part of the PowerPoint presentation slides. In each of the weeks,…

Formations of Attachment Relationships towards Teachers Lead to Conclusions for Public Child Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beckh, Kathrin; Becker-Stoll, Fabienne

2016-01-01

The aim of this article is to demonstrate how relational experiences with parents and preschool teachers provide children with a feeling of security that facilitates the development of competence in different domains. We first focus on the mechanisms regarding how secure attachments to parents serve as an important foundation for later…

Sex-Specific Relationships among Attachment Security, Social Values, and Sensation Seeking in Early Adolescence: Implications for Adolescents' Externalizing Problem Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarracino, Diego; Presaghi, Fabio; Degni, Silvia; Innamorati, Marco

2011-01-01

In early adolescence, attachment security reflects not only the quality of ongoing relationships with parents, but also how adolescents process social relationships with "others"--that is, their "social value orientation"--with possible implications for adolescents' risk-taking. In this study, a sample of Italian early…

Individual Differences in Infants' Joint Attention Behaviors with Mother and a New Social Partner

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meins, Elizabeth; Fernyhough, Charles; Arnott, Bronia; Vittorini, Lucia; Turner, Michelle; Leekam, Susan R.; Parkinson, Kathryn

2011-01-01

Relations between infant-mother attachment security at 15 months and infants' (N = 206) joint attention behaviors (a) with an experimenter at 8 and 15 months, and (b) with their mothers at 15 months were investigated. No concurrent or longitudinal relations were observed between attachment security and infants' tendency to respond to an…

The dynamics of attachment insecurity and paranoid thoughts: An experience sampling study.

PubMed

Sitko, Katarzyna; Varese, Filippo; Sellwood, William; Hammond, Amy; Bentall, Richard

2016-12-30

It has been proposed that insecure attachment can have adverse effects on the course of psychosis once symptoms have emerged. There is longitudinal evidence that increased insecure attachment is associated with increased severity of psychotic symptoms. The present study examined whether in the flow of daily life attachment insecurity fluctuates, whether elevated stress precedes the occurrence of attachment insecurity, and whether elevated attachment insecurity precedes the occurrence of paranoia. Twenty clinical participants with a psychosis-spectrum diagnosis and twenty controls were studied over six consecutive days using the experience sampling method (ESM). The findings revealed that fluctuations in attachment insecurity were significantly higher in the clinical group, that elevated stress predicted a subsequent increase in attachment insecurity, and that elevated attachment insecurity predicted a subsequent increase in paranoia; this effect was not observed in auditory hallucinations once co-occurring symptoms were controlled for. Finally, although previous ESM studies have shown that low self-esteem precedes the occurrence of paranoia, attachment insecurity continued to predict paranoia even when self-esteem was controlled for. The findings suggest that attachment security may be associated with a lower risk of paranoia, and that psychological interventions should address attachment beliefs and work towards establishing a sense of attachment security. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Profiles of Irish survivors of institutional abuse with different adult attachment styles.

PubMed

Carr, Alan; Flanagan, Edel; Dooley, Barbara; Fitzpatrick, Mark; Flanagan-Howard, Roisín; Shevlin, Mark; Tierney, Kevin; White, Megan; Daly, Margaret; Egan, Jonathan

2009-03-01

Two hundred and forty seven survivors of institutional abuse in Ireland were classified with the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory as having fearful (44%), preoccupied (13%), dismissive (27%), or secure (17%) adult attachment styles. The group with the secure adult attachment style had the most positive profile, while the most negative profile occurred for the fearful group in terms of DSM IV diagnoses and scores on the Trauma Symptom Inventory, the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, the World Health Organization Quality of Life 100 scale, and the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. The profile of the preoccupied group was more similar to that of the fearful group. The profile of the dismissive group was more similar to that of the secure group.

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…

The Role of Parenting Sensitivity, Infant Temperament, and Dyadic Interaction in Attachment Theory and Assessment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seifer, Ronald; Schiller, Masha

1995-01-01

Describes the core constructs of attachment theory, namely, the attachment system and secure-base behavior. Discusses contextual factors thought to be crucial in development of individual differences in attachment, especially maternal sensitivity, and considers child characteristics, especially temperament, that may contribute to the attachment…

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…

Formal Mentoring Relationships and Attachment Theory: Implications for Human Resource Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Germain, Marie-Line

2011-01-01

An attachment theory perspective of mentoring is presented to explain the degree of functionality of a mentor-protege formal match in an organizational setting. By focusing on Bowlby's (1969/1982) behavioral system of attachment and its triarchic taxonomy of secure, avoidant, and anxious-ambivalent attachment, previous conceptualizations are…

The role of maternal attachment in the experience of labor pain: a prospective study.

PubMed

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

2014-04-01

To examine the influence of attachment dimensions and sociodemographic and physical predictors in the experience of labor pain. Eighty-one pregnant women were assessed during their third trimester of pregnancy and during labor. The perceived intensity of pain in the early stages of labor (3 cm of cervical dilatation) and before the administration of patient-controlled epidural analgesia was measured using a visual analog scale. Pain was also assessed indirectly based on anesthetic doses. Attachment was assessed using the Adult Attachment Scale-Revised. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were positively and significantly correlated with labor pain and anesthetic consumption. In the multivariate models, attachment anxiety was a significant predictor of higher pain at 3 cm of cervical dilatation (β = 0.36, p = .042) and before the administration of patient-controlled epidural analgesia (β = 0.51, p = .002). Older age (β = 0.31, p = .005), a shorter duration of labor (β= -0.41, p = .001), and attachment avoidance (β = 0.41, p = .004) were significant predictors of higher anesthetic use. The study findings suggest that perceived labor pain and anesthetic use are strongly associated with attachment, rather than demographic and physical factors. These data support the importance of understanding the experience of labor pain within an attachment theoretical framework.

Intimate Partner Violence and Children’s Attachment Representations during Middle Childhood

PubMed Central

Gustafsson, Hanna C.; Brown, Geoffrey L.; Mills-Koonce, W. Roger; Cox, Martha. J.

2016-01-01

Despite long-standing hypotheses that intimate partner violence (IPV) may undermine children’s ability to form secure attachment representations, few studies have empirically investigated this association. Particularly lacking is research that examines IPV and attachment during middle childhood, a time when the way that children understand, represent, and process the behavior of others becomes particularly important. Using data from a sample of African American children living in rural, low-income communities (n = 98), the current study sought to address this gap by examining the association between physical IPV occurring early in children’s lives and their attachment security during the first grade. Results indicate that, even after controlling for child- and family-level covariates, physical IPV was associated with a greater likelihood of being rated insecurely attached. This effect was above and beyond the influence of maternal parenting behaviors, demonstrating a unique effect of physical IPV on children’s attachment representations during middle childhood. PMID:28781383

Intimate Partner Violence and Children's Attachment Representations during Middle Childhood.

PubMed

Gustafsson, Hanna C; Brown, Geoffrey L; Mills-Koonce, W Roger; Cox, Martha J

2017-06-01

Despite long-standing hypotheses that intimate partner violence (IPV) may undermine children's ability to form secure attachment representations, few studies have empirically investigated this association. Particularly lacking is research that examines IPV and attachment during middle childhood, a time when the way that children understand, represent, and process the behavior of others becomes particularly important. Using data from a sample of African American children living in rural, low-income communities ( n = 98), the current study sought to address this gap by examining the association between physical IPV occurring early in children's lives and their attachment security during the first grade. Results indicate that, even after controlling for child- and family-level covariates, physical IPV was associated with a greater likelihood of being rated insecurely attached. This effect was above and beyond the influence of maternal parenting behaviors, demonstrating a unique effect of physical IPV on children's attachment representations during middle childhood.

The importance of touch in the development of attachment.

PubMed

Duhn, Lenora

2010-12-01

Until recently the role of human touch in the social world of the developing infant has not been given special attention. Instead the focus, in part due to John Bowlby's Attachment Theory, has centered on the critical need for a child to develop a secure attachment to his caregiver. To be sure, this has provided a valuable contribution to understanding and promoting a child's well-being in his early years and beyond. Yet Bowlby's theory is limited in its discussion of the meaning of human touch and its role in development of attachment. As such, it now becomes more critical to delve into the factors that significantly foster development of attachment, specifically the concept of human touch. With recognition of the importance for a child to develop secure attachment to his caregiver, the essential function that human nurturing touch provides in facilitating that connection is explored.

SECURE BASE SCRIPT CONTENT EXPLAINS THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ATTACHMENT AVOIDANCE AND EMOTION-RELATED CONSTRUCTS IN PARENTS OF YOUNG CHILDREN.

PubMed

Borelli, Jessica L; Burkhart, Margaret L; Rasmussen, Hannah F; Brody, Robin; Sbarra, David A

2017-03-01

The secure base script (SBS) framework is one method of assessing implicit internal working models of attachment; recently, researchers have applied this method to analyze narratives regarding relationship experiences. This study examines the associations between attachment avoidance and SBS content when parents recall a positive moment of connection between themselves and their children (relational savoring) as well as their association with parental emotion and reflective functioning (RF). Using a sample of parents (N = 155, 92% female) of young children (53% boys, M age = 12.76 months), we found that parental attachment avoidance is inversely associated with SBS content during relational savoring, and that SBS content is an indirect effect explaining the association between attachment avoidance and postsavoring (positive and negative) emotion as well as avoidance and poststressor RF. Findings have implications for understanding attachment and parenting. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

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.

[Infants' attachment security in a vulnerable French sample].

PubMed

Tereno, S; Guedeney, N; Dugravier, R; Greacen, T; Saïas, T; Tubach, F; Ulgen, S; Matos, I; Guédeney, A

2017-04-01

Attachment is a long lasting emotional link established between infants and their caregivers. The quality of early relationships allows infants to safely explore their environment and contribute to the establishment of a broad range of social skills. Several intervention programs targeting infant attachment have been implemented in different contexts, showing diverse degrees of efficacy. The present paper describes, for the first time, children's attachment quality distributions in a French multi-risk population, with a preventive intervention, usual or reinforced. In the CAPEDP study (Parenting and Attachment in Early Childhood: reducing mental health disorder risks and promoting resilience), a sub-sample of 117 women was recruited to assess the effects of this home-visiting program on children's attachment security. With that intent, the Strange Situation Paradigm was used when infants were between 12 and 16 months of age. In the intervention group, 63% (n=41) of the infants were coded as secure, while 15% (n=10) of them were coded as insecure-avoidant and 22% (n=14) as insecure-ambivalent/resistant. 56% (n=29) of control group infants (usual care) were coded as secure, while 27% (n=14) were coded as insecure-avoidant and 17% (n=9) as insecure-ambivalent/resistant. Even if the percentage of children with a secure attachment in the reinforced intervention group was higher than that of the control group, this difference did not reach the threshold of significance [Chi 2 (2)=2.40, P=0.30]. Intervention group distributions were closer to normative samples, and these distributions show the clinical impact of our program. In general, preventive interventions focused on attachment quality have moderate effects but, in our case, several factors might have contributed to lower the statistical impact of the program. Firstly, the control group cannot be considered has having received zero intervention for two reasons: (a) the French usual perinatal health system (Maternal and Infant Protection System) is particularly generous and (b) the effect of this usual system might have been increased by the project intensive assessment protocol (6 visits during 28 months). Secondly, it is possible that the full effect of the intervention had not yet been detected because, when a child's attachment was assessed, only two thirds of the intervention visits had been performed (29 of 44 visits). A "sleeper effect" is still possible: we hope that a more clear result will be seen when children are assessed again, at 48 months, in our follow-up study (CAPEDP-A II). By clarifying the mechanisms involved in the development of a secure attachment, our study aims to contribute and refine the development of early preventive intervention strategies in high perinatal and psychosocial vulnerability contexts. Copyright © 2016 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Maybe you should blame your parents: Parental attachment, gender, and problematic Internet use.

PubMed

Jia, Ronnie; Jia, Heather H

2016-09-01

Background and aims Prior research has generally established parental attachment as a predictor of problematic Internet use (PIU). However, findings across studies are inconsistent as to which factor(s) of attachment style (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) contributes to PIU. Another gap in the literature is that as most studies highlight the importance of maternal (over paternal) attachment security in inhibiting PIU, little research has examined the possibility of a gender difference, where maternal and paternal attachment securities may exert different influences on males and females. Methods An anonymous survey was completed by 243 undergraduate students in a public university in the U.S. Midwest. In addition to demographic information, the survey contained measurement scales to assess PIU and parental attachment (both maternal and paternal). Results Survey data show that (a) attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance, is significantly related to PIU and (b) gender significantly moderates this relationship, where paternal attachment anxiety leads to PIU in female students while maternal attachment anxiety contributes to PIU in male students. Conclusions This study deepens our understanding in the relationship between family upbringing, particularly parental attachment, and PIU. More specifically, attachment anxiety is found to be a significant predictor of PIU, but attachment avoidance is not. Also, contributing to the research literature is the finding of a significant gender effect in this relationship.

Attachment and Temperament Revisited: Infant Distress, Attachment Disorganization, and the Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism.

PubMed

Brumariu, Laura E; Bureau, Jean-François; Nemoda, Zsofia; Sasvari-Szekely, Maria; Lyons-Ruth, Karlen

This study's aim was to evaluate whether infant disorganized attachment and infant proneness to distress exhibited differential relations to infant genetic factors as indexed by the serotonin transporter polymorphism. The role of the short allele of the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in enhancing sensitivity to fearful and negative affect has been well-established (Canli & Lesch, 2007). In the current study, we used this known property of the short allele to provide a test of an important postulate of attachment theory, namely that infant attachment security or disorganization is not a function of the infant's proneness to distress. Participants were 39 parents and infants assessed between 12 and 18 months in the Strange Situation procedure. Genotype categories for the 5-HTTLPR (and rs25531) were created by both the original and the reclassified grouping system; infant proneness to distress was assessed directly in the Strange Situation Procedure. We also assessed maternal behavior at 18 months to evaluate whether any observed genetic effect indicated a passive effect through the mother. Consistent with previous findings, the 5-HTTLPR short allele was significantly related to the infant's wariness and distress, but was not related to attachment security or attachment disorganization. In addition, maternal disrupted interaction with the infant was not related to infant genotype or infant distress. Results support the concept that infant proneness to distress is associated with serotonergic factors while infant attachment security or disorganization is not a function of either 5-HTTLPR or behaviorally rated proneness to distress.

Promoting mother-infant interaction and infant mental health in low-income Korean families: attachment-based cognitive behavioral approach.

PubMed

Lee, Gyungjoo; McCreary, Linda; Breitmayer, Bonnie; Kim, Mi Ja; Yang, Soo

2013-10-01

This study evaluated the attachment-based cognitive behavioral approach (ACBA) to enhance mother-infant interaction and infant mental health. This quasi-experimental study used a pre-posttest control group design. Participants were 40 low-income, mother-infant (infant ages 12-36 months) dyads, 20 dyads per group. The ACBA group received 10 weekly 90-min sessions. Dependent variables were changes in mother-infant interaction and infant mental health. Additionally, we explored changes in mothers' attachment security. The groups differed significantly in changes in mother-infant interaction, infant mental health problems, and mothers' attachment security. ACBA may enhance mother-infant interaction and infants' mental health. © 2013, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

24 CFR 81.99 - Additional provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... attachment for GSE Securities in Book-entry system. The interest of a debtor in a Security Entitlement may be reached by a creditor only by legal process upon the Securities Intermediary with whom the debtor's securities account is maintained, except where a Security Entitlement is maintained in the name of a secured...

Masculinities, Attachment Theory and Transformative Learning: A Discussion of Some Theoretical Considerations for Developing an Emotionally Secure Teaching Praxis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carberry, Damien

2017-01-01

This paper situates education as an integral component of the overall prison rehabilitation process. The article discusses how an educational practitioner's knowledge of attachment theory and masculinities can be utilized to develop a secure methodological teaching environment in the classroom of a prison education unit and create a space where…

The Structural Relationships of Social Support, Mother's Psychological Status, and Maternal Sensitivity to Attachment Security in Children with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Eun Sil; Kim, Byeong Seok

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how social support, mother's psychological status, and maternal sensitivity affected attachment security in children with disabilities by using the structural equation model (SEM). Subjects were 141 pairs of children with disabilities and theirs mothers. Empirical data was obtained through a series of…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2014-01-01

Based on a subsample (N = 673) of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) cohort, this article 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…

A Behavior-Genetic Study of Parenting Quality, Infant Attachment Security, and Their Covariation in a Nationally Representative Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roisman, Glenn I.; Fraley, R. Chris

2008-01-01

A number of relatively small-sample, genetically sensitive studies of infant attachment security have been published in the past several years that challenge the view that all psychological phenotypes are heritable and that environmental influences on child development--to the extent that they can be detected--serve to make siblings dissimilar.…

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…

Attachment States of Mind and the Quality of Young Adults' Sibling Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fortuna, Keren; Roisman, Glenn I.; Haydon, Katherine C.; Groh, Ashley M.; Holland, Ashley S.

2011-01-01

This report examines young adults' states of mind regarding their early attachment experiences in relation to the observed and perceived quality of their sibling relationships. Sixty sibling pairs (18-25 years of age) were (a) administered the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985), (b) videotaped during a conflict…

Grounding the figure: surface attachment influences figure-ground organization.

PubMed

Vecera, Shaun P; Palmer, Stephen E

2006-08-01

We investigated whether the lower region effect on figure-ground organization (Vecera, Vogel, and Woodman, 2002) would generalize to contextual depth planes in vertical orientations, as is predicted by a theoretical analysis based on the ecological statistics of edges arising from objects that are attached to surfaces of support. Observers viewed left/right ambiguous figure-ground displays that occluded middle sections of four types of contextual inducers: two types of attached, receding, vertical planes (walls) that used linear perspective and/or texture gradients to induce perceived depth and two types of similar trapezoidal control figures that used either uniform color or random texture to reduce or eliminate perceived depth. The results showed a reliable bias toward seeing as "figure" the side of the figure-ground display that was attached to the receding depth plane, but no such bias for the corresponding side in either of the control conditions. The results are interpreted as being consistent with the attachment hypothesis that the lower region cue to figure-ground organization results from ecological biases in edge interpretation that arise when objects are attached to supporting surfaces in the terrestrial gravitational field.

Patterns of Very Insecure Attachment Found in Samples of High-Risk Infants and Toddlers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spieker, Susan J.

1986-01-01

The study examined the classification scheme of the Ainsworth Strange Situation measure of attachment security with 44 insecurely attached 13-month olds from a high-social-risk sample. Results supported the existence of an additional category of infants whose attachment behavior was "avoidant/ambivalent" and whose families were…

The Relationship between Quality of Attachment and Behavior Problems in Preschool in a High-Risk Sample.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erickson, Martha Farrell; And Others

1985-01-01

Tests hypothesis that young children who were anxiously attached would be more likely than securely attached children to have behavior problems in preschool. Examines particular patterns of anxious attachment in relation to specific problem behaviors. Studies child, parental, interactional, and environmental factors that account for behavior…

Quality of Relationships and Romantic Jealousy: Effects of Adult Attachment and Depression.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radecki-Bush, Catherine; Bush, Joseph P.

Individual differences in adult attachment have been the focus of recent research on personal relationships. Research has indicated that those with insecure attachment histories were more threatened by a partner's attraction to a rival than were persons reporting secure parental attachment. Higher levels of dispositional jealousy have also been…

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…

Associations between Attachment and Emotion-Specific Emotion Regulation with and without Relationship Insecurity Priming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clear, Sarah J.; Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J.

2017-01-01

Attachment theory and previous research on emotion regulation (ER) suggest that ER will be associated with adult attachment orientation, with the expectation of different associations of attachment avoidance, anxiety, and security with specific ER patterns. In addition, research has shown that the emotion under consideration and the context may…

Attachment, Working Models of Parenting, and Expectations for Using Television in Childrearing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nathanson, Amy I.; Manohar, Uttara

2012-01-01

This study used attachment theory to understand college students' working models of parenting and expectations for how they would use television in parenting. We found that secure parent-child attachment histories were related to more positive expectations of parenting and that avoidant and anxious-ambivalent parent-child attachment histories were…

Roots and Wings: How Attachment and Temperament Shape Development. Revolutionary Studies in Child Psychology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thurber, Christopher A.

2003-01-01

Summaries of four studies in child psychology reveal that children's attachment to caregivers depends on physical contact more than food; secure attachment to loving caregivers provides a base from which children explore and learn; children's separation behaviors reveal much about their attachment relationship; and children are born with traits…

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.

Maternal Attachment Representation and Neurophysiological Processing during the Perception of Infants’ Emotional Expressions

PubMed Central

Leyh, Rainer; Heinisch, Christine; Behringer, Johanna; Reiner, Iris; Spangler, Gottfried

2016-01-01

The perception of infant emotions is an integral part of sensitive caregiving within the mother-child relationship, a maternal ability which develops in mothers during their own attachment history. In this study we address the association between maternal attachment representation and brain activity underlying the perception of infant emotions. Event related potentials (ERPs) of 32 primiparous mothers were assessed during a three stimulus oddball task presenting negative, positive and neutral emotion expressions of infants as target, deviant or standard stimuli. Attachment representation was assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview during pregnancy. Securely attached mothers recognized emotions of infants more accurately than insecurely attached mothers. ERPs yielded amplified N170 amplitudes for insecure mothers when focusing on negative infant emotions. Secure mothers showed enlarged P3 amplitudes to target emotion expressions of infants compared to insecure mothers, especially within conditions with frequent negative infant emotions. In these conditions, P3 latencies were prolonged in insecure mothers. In summary, maternal attachment representation was found associated with brain activity during the perception of infant emotions. This further clarifies psychological mechanisms contributing to maternal sensitivity. PMID:26862743

Maternal Attachment Representation and Neurophysiological Processing during the Perception of Infants' Emotional Expressions.

PubMed

Leyh, Rainer; Heinisch, Christine; Behringer, Johanna; Reiner, Iris; Spangler, Gottfried

2016-01-01

The perception of infant emotions is an integral part of sensitive caregiving within the mother-child relationship, a maternal ability which develops in mothers during their own attachment history. In this study we address the association between maternal attachment representation and brain activity underlying the perception of infant emotions. Event related potentials (ERPs) of 32 primiparous mothers were assessed during a three stimulus oddball task presenting negative, positive and neutral emotion expressions of infants as target, deviant or standard stimuli. Attachment representation was assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview during pregnancy. Securely attached mothers recognized emotions of infants more accurately than insecurely attached mothers. ERPs yielded amplified N170 amplitudes for insecure mothers when focusing on negative infant emotions. Secure mothers showed enlarged P3 amplitudes to target emotion expressions of infants compared to insecure mothers, especially within conditions with frequent negative infant emotions. In these conditions, P3 latencies were prolonged in insecure mothers. In summary, maternal attachment representation was found associated with brain activity during the perception of infant emotions. This further clarifies psychological mechanisms contributing to maternal sensitivity.

Attachment at work and performance.

PubMed

Neustadt, Elizabeth A; Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas; Furnham, Adrian

2011-09-01

This paper examines the relations between self-reported attachment orientation at work and personality, self-esteem, trait emotional intelligence (aka emotional self-efficacy), and independently assessed career potential and job performance. Self-report data were collected from 211 managers in an international business in the hospitality industry; independent assessments of these managers' job performance and career potential were separately obtained from the organization. A self-report measure of romantic attachment was adapted for application in the work context; a two-factor solution was found for this measure. Secure/autonomous attachment orientation at work was positively related to self-esteem, trait emotional intelligence, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and also to job performance. Not only was secure/autonomous attachment orientation at work statistically predictive of job performance, but the new measure also made a distinct contribution, beyond conscientiousness, to this prediction.

Perceived parental child rearing and attachment as predictors of anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms in children: The mediational role of attachment.

PubMed

Chorot, Paloma; Valiente, Rosa M; Magaz, Ana M; Santed, Miguel A; Sandin, Bonifacio

2017-07-01

The present study aimed to examine (a) the relative contribution of perceived parental child-rearing behaviors and attachment on anxiety and depressive symptoms, and (b) the role of attachment as a possible mediator of the association between parental rearing and anxiety and depression. A sample of 1002 children (aged 9-12 years) completed a booklet of self-report questionnaires measuring parental rearing behaviors, attachment towards peers, and DSM anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms. We found that parental aversiveness, parental neglect, and fearful/preoccupied attachment, each accounted for a significant amount of the variance in both anxiety and depressive symptoms. In addition, parental overcontrol was found to account for unique variance in anxiety whereas communication/warmth accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in depression. A relevant finding was that fearful/preoccupied attachment was found to mediate the association between parental rearing behaviors and both anxiety and depression. Parental rearing behaviors and attachment to peers may act as risk factors to the development and/or maintenance of anxiety and depressive symptomatology in children. Findings may contribute to outline preventive and/or treatment programs to prevent or reduce both clinical anxiety and depression during childhood. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EARLY MATERNAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOM TRAJECTORIES AND TODDLERS' FELT SECURITY AT 18 MONTHS: ARE BOYS AND GIRLS AT DIFFERENTIAL RISK?

PubMed

Beeghly, Marjorie; Partridge, Ty; Tronick, Ed; Muzik, Maria; Rahimian Mashhadi, Mahya; Boeve, Jordan L; Irwin, Jessica L

2017-01-01

The goal of this study was to evaluate whether there are sex differences in children's vulnerability to caregiving risk, as indexed by trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms assessed from 2 to 18 months' postpartum, and children's rated attachment security in toddlerhood, adjusting for maternal social support and demographic risk. Analyses utilized longitudinal data collected for 182 African American mother-child dyads from economically diverse backgrounds. Participants were recruited at the time of the child's birth and followed to 18 months' postpartum. Results of conditional latent growth models indicated that an increasing rate of change in level of maternal depressive symptoms over time negatively predicted toddlers' felt attachment security. Higher social support was associated with decreasing levels of maternal depressive symptoms over time whereas higher demographic risk was associated with increasing levels of maternal depressive symptoms. A subsequent multigroup conditional latent growth model revealed that child sex moderated these associations. For male (but not female) children, a rapid increase in maternal depressive symptoms was associated with lower felt attachment security at 18 months. These findings suggest that boys, as compared to girls, may be more vulnerable to early caregiving risks such as maternal depression, with negative consequences for mother-child attachment security in toddlerhood. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Disturbances of Attachment and Parental Psychopathology in Early Childhood

PubMed Central

Schechter, Daniel S.; Willheim, Erica

2009-01-01

Synopsis As the field of attachment has expanded over the past four decades, the perturbations in the relational context which give rise to disturbances of attachment are increasingly, though by no means conclusively, understood. In Part I, this article reviews the historical and current state of research regarding normative attachment classification, the diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder, and the proposed categories of Secure Base Distortions and Disrupted Attachment Disorder. In Part II, the article explores the role of parental psychopathology and the manner in which disturbed caregiver self-regulation leads to disturbances in the mutual regulation between caregiver and infant. The question of the relationship between particular types of maternal pathology and particular forms of attachment disturbance is examined through recent research on the association between maternal PTSD, Atypical Maternal Behavior, and child scores on the Disturbances of Attachment Interview (DAI). The authors present original research findings to support that the presence and severity of maternal violence-related PTSD were significantly associated with secure base distortion in a community pediatrics sample of 76 mothers and preschool-age children. Clinical implications and recommendations for treatment of attachment disturbances conclude the article. PMID:19486844

Attachment in families with Huntington's disease. A paradigm in clinical genetics.

PubMed

Van der Meer, Lucienne; Timman, Reinier; Trijsburg, Wim; Duisterhof, Marleen; Erdman, Ruud; Van Elderen, Thérèse; Tibben, Aad

2006-10-01

Based on the premise that attachment experiences lead to a working model for social relationships throughout life, this study investigates if there is a difference between adult attachment representations in individuals who were brought up by a parent with Huntington's disease (HD), compared to a non-clinical population. Specific events in the parents' disease process, especially those leading to trauma and loss will receive attention. Using the Adult Attachment Interview, adult attachment representations were investigated in 32 unaffected adults at 50% risk for HD who were raised by an affected parent. We found a lower percentage of secure attachment representations, a higher percentage of preoccupied representations, and a higher percentage of unresolved/disorganized representations in our sample, compared to a non-clinical population. A relatively late start of the parent's HD career was associated with a secure adult attachment representation. Death of the HD parent before the child's 18th birthday was associated with an unresolved/disorganized adult attachment representation. Growing up in a family where one of the parents has Huntington's disease appears to affect the offspring's adult attachment representation. This study can be of relevance for genetic counselling, as well as for counselling and intervention in childrearing matters.

Childhood attachment, childhood sexual abuse, and onset of masturbation among adult sexual offenders.

PubMed

Smallbone, Stephen W; McCabe, Billee-Anne

2003-01-01

Written autobiographies of 48 incarcerated adult male sexual offenders (22 rapists, 13 intrafamilial child molesters, and 13 extrafamilial child molesters) were used to generate retrospective self-report measures of their childhood maternal and paternal attachment, childhood sexual abuse experiences, and onset of masturbation. Contrary to expectation, the offenders as a combined group more often reported secure than they did insecure childhood maternal and paternal attachment. There were no differences between the three offender subgroups with respect to maternal attachment; however the rapists and the intrafamilial child molesters were more likely to report insecure paternal attachment than were the extrafamilial child molesters. There were no differences between these offender subgroups in the frequency with which childhood sexual abuse was reported. However, offenders with insecure paternal attachment were more likely to report having been sexually abused than were those with secure paternal attachment. Sexually abused offenders in turn reported earlier onset of masturbation than did those who were not sexually abused. These results are consistent with contemporary attachment models linking insecure childhood attachment to childhood sexual abuse, and with traditional conditioning models linking childhood sexual abuse, early masturbation, and sexual offending.

Contributions of early adversity to pro-inflammatory phenotype in infancy: the buffer provided by attachment security.

PubMed

Measelle, Jeffrey R; Ablow, Jennifer C

2018-02-01

Adversity early in life is associated with systemic inflammation by adolescence and beyond. At present, few studies have investigated the associations between different forms of adversity and inflammation during infancy, making it difficult to specify the origins of disease vulnerability. This study examined the association between multiple forms of early adversity - socioeconomic status disadvantage, familial stress, maternal depression, and security of attachment - and individual differences in a composite measure of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) and the inflammatory protein C-reactive protein that were collected via saliva when (n = 49) children were 17 months old. In addition to gauging the direct effects of adversity, we also tested the hypothesis that infants' attachment relationship with their mother might buffer infants against the immunologic effects of early adversity. Results show that familial stress, maternal depression, and security of attachment were directly associated with infant salivary inflammation and that attachment status moderated the effect of maternal depression. The findings suggest that exposure to certain forms of adversity very early in life may engender a pro-inflammatory phenotype with possible life-long implications for health.

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Perceived Importance of Conversational Constraints.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Min-Sun

1994-01-01

Investigates how cultural groups differ in the relative importance they attach to conversational constraints. Suggests that the perceived importance of clarity is higher in the more individualistic cultures but that the perceived importance of avoiding hurting the hearer's feelings and of minimizing imposition is higher in the more collectivistic…

Maternal Insightfulness and Resolution of the Diagnosis Are Associated with Secure Attachment in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oppenheim, David; Koren-Karie, Nina; Dolev, Smadar; Yirmiya, Nurit

2009-01-01

In the current study (a) maternal insightfulness into the experience of the child and (b) resolution with respect to the child's diagnosis and their associations with children's security of attachment were examined in a sample of 45 preschoolers (mean age = 49 months) with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It was hypothesized that mothers who were…

Forecasting Friendship: How Marital Quality, Maternal Mood, and Attachment Security Are Linked to Children's Peer Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucas-Thompson, Rachel; Clarke-Stewart, K. Alison

2007-01-01

Mothers' perceptions of marital quality and depressed mood and children's attachment security and friendship quality were assessed in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. One month after their birth and again when the children were 3 and 4 years old and in first and third…

Attachment in Adolescence: Overlap with Parenting and Unique Prediction of Behavioural Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Stephen; Briskman, Jacqueline; Woolgar, Matthew; Humayun, Sajid; O'Connor, Thomas G.

2011-01-01

Background: Attachment theory was conceptualized by Bowlby as relevant across the life span, from "cradle to grave". The research literature on attachment in infants and preschool-aged children is extensive, but it is limited in adolescence. In particular, it is unclear whether or not attachment security is distinguishable from other qualities of…

Childhood Sexual Abuse, Attachment, and Trauma Symptoms in College Females: The Moderating Role of Attachment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aspelmeier, Jeffery E.; Elliott, Ann N.; Smith, Christopher H.

2007-01-01

Objective: The present study tests a model linking attachment, childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and adult psychological functioning. It expands on previous work by assessing the degree to which attachment security moderates the relationship between a history of child sexual abuse and trauma-related symptoms in college females. Method: Self-reports of…

Attachment, Trauma, and Healing: Understanding and Treating Attachment Disorder in Children and Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levy, Terry M.; Orlans, Michael

Attachment is the deep and enduring connection established between a child and caregiver in the first few years of life. It profoundly influences every component of the human condition: mind, body, emotions, relationships, and values. Children lacking secure attachments with caregivers experience many difficulties in life and may grow up to be…

Attachment and Self-Esteem Issues in the Lives of Female College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Karlin S.

Female identity is centered on interconnectedness, and it is often based on a secure attachment with the family. This study addressed the relationship between attachment and self-esteem in African American and White female college students. The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) was used to assess the cognitive or…

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.

Predicting Adult Physical Illness from Infant Attachment: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

PubMed Central

Puig, Jennifer; Englund, Michelle M.; Simpson, Jeffry A.; Collins, W. Andrew

2012-01-01

Objective Recent epidemiological and longitudinal studies indicate that attachment relationships may be a significant predictor of physical health in adulthood. This study is among the few to prospectively link attachment classifications assessed in infancy to physical health outcomes thirty years later in adulthood, controlling for various health-related confounds. Methods Participants were 163 individuals involved in a 32-year longitudinal study of risk and adaptation who have been followed since birth. Attachment classifications were assessed at ages 12 and 18 months using the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure. Stability of attachment security was derived from these assessments. At age 32, participants completed a questionnaire asking about the presence of or treatment for current physical illnesses. Results Binary logistic regression analyses controlling for health-related confounds at age 32 indicated that individuals who were insecurely attached (i.e., anxious-resistant or anxious-avoidant) during infancy were more likely to report an inflammation-based illness in adulthood than those classified as securely attached during infancy. There also was a trend whereby individuals classified as anxious-resistant reported more non-specific symptoms in adulthood than those classified as either anxious-avoidant or secure. Individuals who were continuously insecure during infancy were more likely to report all types of physical illness in adulthood. Conclusion These findings reveal the lasting effect of early interpersonal relationships on physical health and suggests that infancy may be a fruitful point for prevention efforts. The widespread influence that attachment has on endogenous and exogenous health-related processes may make it particularly potent in the prevention of later physical health problems. PMID:22823067

Attachment and Temperament Revisited: Infant Distress, Attachment Disorganization, and the Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism

PubMed Central

Brumariu, Laura E.; Bureau, Jean-François; Nemoda, Zsofia; Sasvari-Szekely, Maria; Lyons-Ruth, Karlen

2015-01-01

Objective This study's aim was to evaluate whether infant disorganized attachment and infant proneness to distress exhibited differential relations to infant genetic factors as indexed by the serotonin transporter polymorphism. Background The role of the short allele of the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in enhancing sensitivity to fearful and negative affect has been well-established (Canli & Lesch, 2007). In the current study, we used this known property of the short allele to provide a test of an important postulate of attachment theory, namely that infant attachment security or disorganization is not a function of the infant's proneness to distress. Methods Participants were 39 parents and infants assessed between 12 and 18 months in the Strange Situation procedure. Genotype categories for the 5-HTTLPR (and rs25531) were created by both the original and the reclassified grouping system; infant proneness to distress was assessed directly in the Strange Situation Procedure. We also assessed maternal behavior at 18 months to evaluate whether any observed genetic effect indicated a passive effect through the mother. Results Consistent with previous findings, the 5-HTTLPR short allele was significantly related to the infant's wariness and distress, but was not related to attachment security or attachment disorganization. In addition, maternal disrupted interaction with the infant was not related to infant genotype or infant distress. Conclusion Results support the concept that infant proneness to distress is associated with serotonergic factors while infant attachment security or disorganization is not a function of either 5-HTTLPR or behaviorally rated proneness to distress. PMID:26912941

The Persistence of Neighboring as a Determinant of Community Attachment: A Community Field Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sundblad, Daniel R.; Sapp, Stephen G.

2011-01-01

We examined the community field perspective as a complement to the linear-development and systemic models of community attachment, wherein community attachment is defined as a social bond to the community of place. We empirically evaluated indicators of the actor's interaction within the social field, such as the perceived quality of neighboring…

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…

Congruence between Spouses’ Perceptions and Observers’ Ratings of Responsiveness: The Role of Attachment Avoidance

PubMed Central

Beck, Lindsey A.; Pietromonaco, Paula R.; DeVito, Cassandra C.; Powers, Sally I.; Boyle, Alysia M.

2016-01-01

Although close relationships require partners to depend on one another for mutual responsiveness, avoidantly-attached individuals are especially averse to risking such dependency. The authors propose that both avoidant and non-avoidant individuals perceive signs of their own and their partners’ responsiveness in ways that reflect motivated perceptions of dependency. The present research examined how the interplay between spouses’ attachment avoidance and observed responsive behaviors during marital conflict shaped perceptions of their own and their partners’ responsiveness. Newlywed couples attempted to resolve a relationship conflict, then reported perceptions of their own and their partners’ responsiveness during the conflict. Observers also coded both partners’ responsive behaviors during the conflict. Avoidant husbands perceived themselves as less responsive than did observers; avoidant wives’ perceptions that their husbands were less responsive matched observers’ ratings. The discussion highlights the role of gender role norms in understanding links between attachment and responsiveness. PMID:24132245

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.

Early Adverse Caregiving Experiences and Preschoolers' Current Attachment Affect Brain Responses during Facial Familiarity Processing: An ERP Study.

PubMed

Kungl, Melanie T; Bovenschen, Ina; Spangler, Gottfried

2017-01-01

When being placed into more benign environments like foster care, children from adverse rearing backgrounds are capable of forming attachment relationships to new caregivers within the first year of placement, while certain problematic social behaviors appear to be more persistent. Assuming that early averse experiences shape neural circuits underlying social behavior, neurophysiological studies on individual differences in early social-information processing have great informative value. More precisely, ERP studies have repeatedly shown face processing to be sensitive to experience especially regarding the caregiving background. However, studies on effects of early adverse caregiving experiences are restricted to children with a history of institutionalization. Also, no study has investigated effects of attachment security as a marker of the quality of the caregiver-child relationship. Thus, the current study asks how adverse caregiving experiences and attachment security to (new) caregivers affect early- and mid-latency ERPs sensitive to facial familiarity processing. Therefore, pre-school aged foster children during their second year within the foster home were compared to an age matched control group. Attachment was assessed using the AQS and neurophysiological data was collected during a passive viewing task presenting (foster) mother and stranger faces. Foster children were comparable to the control group with regard to attachment security. On a neurophysiological level, however, the foster group showed dampened N170 amplitudes for both face types. In both foster and control children, dampened N170 amplitudes were also found for stranger as compared to (foster) mother faces, and, for insecurely attached children as compared to securely attached children. This neural pattern may be viewed as a result of poorer social interactions earlier in life. Still, there was no effect on P1 amplitudes. Indicating heightened attentional processing, Nc amplitude responses to stranger faces were found to be enhanced in foster as compared to control children. Also, insecurely attached children allocated more attentional resources for the neural processing of mother faces. The study further confirms that early brain development is highly sensitive to the quality of caregiving. The findings are also relevant from a developmental perspective as miswiring of neural circuits may possibly play a critical role in children's psycho-social adjustment.

Farmland Tenure Security in China: Influencing Factors of Actual and Perceived Farmland Tenure Security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Guangcheng; Zhu, Xueqin; Heerink, Nico; van Ierland, Ekko; Feng, Shuyi

2017-04-01

Tenure security plays an important role in farm households' investment, land renting and other decisions. Recent literature distinguishes between actual farmland tenure security (i.e. farm households' actual control of farmland) and perceived farmland tenure security (i.e. farm households' subjective understanding of their farmland tenure situation and expectation regarding government enforcement and equality of the law). However little is known on what factors influence the actual and perceived farmland tenure security in rural China. Theoretically, actual farmland tenure security is related to village self-governance as a major informal governance rule in rural China. Both economic efficiency and equity considerations are likely to play a role in the distribution of land and its tenure security. Household perceptions of farmland tenure security depend not only on the actual farmland tenure security in a village, but may also be affected by households' investment in and ability of changing social rules. Our study examines what factors contribute to differences in actual and perceived farmland tenure security between different villages and farm households in different regions of China. Applying probit models to the data collected from 1,485 households in 124 villages in Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning and Chongqing, we find that development of farmland rental market and degree of self-governance of a village have positive impacts, and development of labour market has a negative effect on actual farmland tenure security. Household perceptions of tenure security depend not only on actual farmland tenure security and on households' investment in and ability of changing social rules, but also on risk preferences of households. This finding has interesting policy implications for future land reforms in rural China.

Perceived Safety at Work in the Wake of Terror: The Importance of Security Measures and Emergency Preparedness.

PubMed

Nissen, Alexander; Heir, Trond

2016-12-01

We aimed to explore how perceived safety after terrorism is connected to views on security measures and emergency preparedness in a workplace setting. Using a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study of ministerial employees in Norway who were targeted in a terrorist attack in 2011 (n=3344), we investigated how employees' perceived safety at work 9 to 10 months after the attack was associated with their perceptions of whether security measures were sufficiently prioritized at work, whether there had been sufficient escape and evacuation training, and whether they were confident with evacuation procedures. We found strong evidence of increasing perceived safety at work the more employees believed security measures were sufficiently prioritized at work (partially confounded by post-traumatic stress disorder), and the better their knowledge of evacuation procedures (modified by gender and education). The present study suggests that employers may enhance perceived safety at work for terror-exposed employees by showing a commitment to security measures and by ensuring employees know evacuation procedures well. More research is needed to investigate causality patterns behind the associations found in this cross-sectional study. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:805-811).

Mainlandization, the ICAC, and the Seriousness Attached by Local Politicians to Corruption in Post-1997 Hong Kong.

PubMed

Li, Li; Lo, T Wing

2018-05-01

To date, few studies have focused on how the public has perceived the effectiveness of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Furthermore, little is known about how the public has assessed the functions of the ICAC during the political-economic convergence between Hong Kong and mainland China since 1997. This study attempts to explore local politicians' perceptions towards the ICAC in post-1997 Hong Kong. The quantitative data show that the important historical juncture of mainlandization has been politicized in Hong Kong and has deeply influenced the seriousness attached by local politicians to corruption. Moreover, a mediating path of the effect of "Conflict of Interest" on the "Perceived Seriousness of Corruption" has been found, that is, mainlandization is found to have brought about increased levels of conflict of interest among government officials, which has weakened the symbolic anti-corruption function of the ICAC and, in turn, has affected the perceived seriousness attached to corruption.

Attachment, Autonomy, and Emotional Reliance: A Multilevel Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynch, Martin F.

2013-01-01

This article reports a test of a multilevel model investigating how attachment security and autonomy contribute to emotional reliance, or the willingness to seek interpersonal support. Participants ("N" = 247) completed online measures of attachment, autonomy, emotional reliance, and vitality with respect to several everyday…

All bonds are not alike: A psychoendocrine evaluation of infant attachment.

PubMed

Gaudin, Sabrina; Chaillou, Elodie; Wycke, Marie-Anne; Cornilleau, Fabien; Moussu, Chantal; Calandreau, Ludovic; Lainé, Anne-Lyse; Nowak, Raymond

2018-01-01

Characteristics of attachment were assessed in peer- and object-reared lambs, and compared to mothered subjects by taking into consideration distress, proximity seeking, and exploration during two separation-reunion tests in both the familiar and a novel environment. Plasma cortisol and oxytocin were assayed as physiological indicators of stress and being comforted during the separation-reunion test. Rewarding properties of the familiar figures were also determined in a conditioned place preference-like paradigm. Between-group analysis revealed the existence of secure attachment with the mother, alteration of secure attachment with the peer and weaker attachment with the object. Weaker attachment was expressed by a lack of distress during separation in the home pen and no preference for the place conditioned with the familiar object. Elevated basal plasma oxytocin levels, but not cortisol, observed in maternally deprived lambs were more likely linked to the absence of a maternal figure rather than social comfort during reunion. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Experimental findings on God as an attachment figure: normative processes and moderating effects of internal working models.

PubMed

Granqvist, Pehr; Mikulincer, Mario; Gewirtz, Vered; Shaver, Phillip R

2012-11-01

Four studies examined implications of attachment theory for psychological aspects of religion among Israeli Jews. Study 1 replicated previous correlational findings indicating correspondence among interpersonal attachment orientations, attachment to God, and image of God. Studies 2-4 were subliminal priming experiments, which documented both normative and individual-difference effects. Regarding normative effects, findings indicated that threat priming heightened cognitive access to God-related concepts in a lexical decision task (Study 2); priming with "God" heightened cognitive access to positive, secure base-related concepts in the same task (Study 3); and priming with a religious symbol caused neutral material to be better liked (Study 4). Regarding individual differences, interpersonal attachment-related avoidance reduced the normative effects (i.e., avoidant participants had lower implicit access to God as a safe haven and secure base). Findings were mostly independent of level of religiousness. The present experiments considerably extend the psychological literature on connections between attachment constructs and aspects of religion. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

The Security Scale as a measure of attachment: meta-analytic evidence of validity.

PubMed

Brumariu, Laura E; Madigan, Sheri; Giuseppone, Kathryn R; Movahed Abtahi, Mahsa; Kerns, Kathryn A

2018-02-05

This meta-analysis evaluated the psychometric properties of the Security Scale (SS; k = 57 studies), a measure specifically designed to assess attachment in middle childhood, using several criteria: stability over time, associations with other attachment measures, relations with caregiver sensitivity, and associations with theoretically driven outcomes. The SS demonstrated moderate stability and meaningful associations with other attachment measures and caregiver sensitivity. Furthermore, the SS showed significant associations with developmental correlates of attachment: school adaptation, emotional and peer social competence, self-esteem, and behavioral problem. Some effect sizes varied as a function of socioeconomic status (SES; peer social competence and maladjustment) and publication status (emotional competence, peer social competence, and self-esteem). The association between the SS and our constructs of interest were, for the most part, independent of geographical location and child gender or age. Overall, findings suggest that the SS is a robust measure of attachment in middle childhood and early adolescence.

Multi-risk infants: predicting attachment security from sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health risk among African-American preterm infants.

PubMed

Candelaria, Margo; Teti, Douglas M; Black, Maureen M

2011-08-01

Ecological and transactional theories link child outcomes to accumulated risk. This study hypothesized that cumulative risk was negatively related to attachment, and that maternal sensitivity mediated linkages between risk and attachment. One hundred and twelve high-risk African-American premature infant-mother dyads participated. Psychosocial (maternal depression, stress and self-efficacy) and sociodemographic risk (poverty, maternal education, marital status) were maternal self-report (0-4 months). Infant health risk was obtained from hospital charts. Infant-mother attachment (12 months) and maternal sensitivity (4 months) were assessed with Q-sort measures. Psychosocial and sociodemographic risk, but not infant health risk, negatively related to attachment. Both were mediated by maternal sensitivity. The impact of risk domains on attachment security was mediated by maternal sensitivity. Results emphasize the need for early intervention programs targeting premature infants to identify and address environmental and personal factors that place parenting at risk. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2011 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Client attachment in a randomized clinical trial of psychoanalytic and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa: Outcome moderation and change.

PubMed

Daniel, Sarah Ingrid Franksdatter; Poulsen, Stig; Lunn, Susanne

2016-06-01

In the context of a randomized clinical trial of psychoanalytic psychotherapy (PPT) versus cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa (BN), this study performed secondary analyses of (a) the relation between attachment and pretreatment symptom levels, (b) whether client pretreatment attachment moderated treatment outcome, (c) whether change in client attachment was associated with symptomatic change, and (d) whether client attachment changed differently in the 2 treatments. Sixty-nine women and 1 man of a mean age of 25.8 years diagnosed with BN were randomly assigned to either 2 years of weekly PPT or 5 months of CBT. Assessments at intake, after 5 months, and after 2 years included the Eating Disorder Examination to assess eating disorder symptoms, the Adult Attachment Interview to assess client attachment, and the Symptom Checklist 90-R to assess general psychiatric distress. Repeated measures were analyzed using multilevel analysis. Higher scores on attachment insecurity and attachment preoccupation were associated with more frequent binging pretreatment. Pretreatment attachment did not predict treatment outcome. In PPT, but not in CBT, reduction of binging was associated with an increase in attachment security. The 2 treatment types were not associated with significantly different patterns of attachment-related change. Degree and type of attachment insecurity is related to the frequency of binging in BN. Increase in attachment security may be a treatment-specific mechanism of change in PPT for BN. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Infant Attachment and Maternal Sensitivity in the Arab Minority in Israel.

PubMed

Zreik, Ghadir; Oppenheim, David; Sagi-Schwartz, Abraham

2017-07-01

This study is the first to examine infant-mother attachment in the Arab culture. Eighty-five Arab 1-year-old infants from Israel were observed in the strange situation, and maternal sensitivity was assessed from home observations. Supporting attachment theory's normativity hypothesis, no differences were found between the Arab-Israeli attachment distribution and Jewish-Israeli, Western, and non-Western distributions when examined at the two-way secure versus insecure level, although a few differences emerged when examined at the four-way ABCD level. Supporting the sensitivity hypothesis, mothers of secure infants were more sensitive than those of insecure infants but only in the case of Christian (and not Muslim) mothers. The findings provide support to attachment theory's generalizability but raise questions regarding the assessment of maternal sensitivity cross-culturally. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Forgiveness, Attachment to God, and Mental Health Outcomes in Older U.S. Adults: A Longitudinal Study.

PubMed

Kent, Blake Victor; Bradshaw, Matt; Uecker, Jeremy E

2018-06-01

We analyze a sample of older U.S. adults with religious backgrounds in order to examine the relationships among two types of divine forgiveness and three indicators of psychological well-being (PWB) as well as the moderating role of attachment to God. Results suggest that (a) feeling forgiven by God and transactional forgiveness from God are not associated with changes in PWB over time, (b) secure attachment to God at baseline is associated with increased optimism and self-esteem, (c) feeling forgiven by God and transactional forgiveness from God are more strongly associated with increased PWB among the securely attached, and (d) among the avoidantly attached, PWB is associated with consistency in one's beliefs, that is, a decreased emphasis on forgiveness from God. Findings underscore the importance of subjective beliefs about God in the lives of many older adults in the United States.

Maternal reflective functioning among mothers with childhood maltreatment histories: links to sensitive parenting and infant attachment security.

PubMed

Stacks, Ann M; Muzik, Maria; Wong, Kristyn; Beeghly, Marjorie; Huth-Bocks, Alissa; Irwin, Jessica L; Rosenblum, Katherine L

2014-01-01

This study examined relationships among maternal reflective functioning, parenting, infant attachment, and demographic risk in a relatively large (N = 83) socioeconomically diverse sample of women with and without a history of childhood maltreatment and their infants. Most prior research on parental reflective functioning has utilized small homogenous samples. Reflective functioning was assessed with the Parent Development Interview, parenting was coded from videotaped mother-child interactions, and infant attachment was evaluated in Ainsworth's Strange Situation by independent teams of reliable coders masked to maternal history. Reflective functioning was associated with parenting sensitivity and secure attachment, and inversely associated with demographic risk and parenting negativity; however, it was not associated with maternal maltreatment history or PTSD. Parenting sensitivity mediated the relationship between reflective functioning and infant attachment, controlling for demographic risk. Findings are discussed in the context of prior research on reflective functioning and the importance of targeting reflective functioning in interventions.

Intranasal administration of oxytocin modulates behavioral and amygdala responses to infant crying in females with insecure attachment representations.

PubMed

Riem, Madelon M E; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H

2016-01-01

The current study examined the effects of oxytocin administration on the response to infant crying in individuals with secure or insecure attachment representations as assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview. We measured feelings of irritation and the use of excessive force as indicated by grip strength using a handgrip dynamometer during exposure to infant crying in 42 women without children who were administered intranasal oxytocin or a placebo. In addition, amygdala responses to infant crying and control sounds were measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The effects of oxytocin on reactivity to crying were moderated by attachment security. Oxytocin decreased the use of excessive handgrip force and amygdala reactivity in response to crying in individuals with insecure attachment representations. Our findings indicate that insecure individuals, who show emotional, behavioral, and neural hyperreactivity to crying, benefit the most from intranasal oxytocin.

Attachment insecurity, biased perceptions of romantic partners' negative emotions, and hostile relationship behavior.

PubMed

Overall, Nickola C; Fletcher, Garth J O; Simpson, Jeffry A; Fillo, Jennifer

2015-05-01

In the current research, we tested the extent to which attachment insecurity produces inaccurate and biased perceptions of intimate partners' emotions and whether more negative perceptions of partners' emotions elicit the damaging behavior often associated with attachment insecurity. Perceptions of partners' emotions as well as partners' actual emotions were assessed multiple times in couples' conflict discussions (Study 1) and daily during a 3-week period in 2 independent samples (Study 2). Using partners' reports of their own emotional experiences as the accuracy benchmark, we simultaneously tested whether attachment insecurity was associated with the degree to which individuals (a) accurately detected shifts in their partners' negative emotions (tracking accuracy), and (b) perceived their partners were feeling more negative relationship-related emotions than they actually experienced (directional bias). Highly avoidant perceivers were equally accurate at tracking their partners' changing emotions compared to less avoidant individuals (tracking accuracy), but they overestimated the intensity of their partners' negative emotions to a greater extent than less avoidant individuals (directional bias). In addition, more negative perceptions of partners' emotions triggered more hostile and defensive behavior in highly avoidant perceivers both during conflict discussions (Study 1) and in daily life (Study 2). In contrast, attachment anxiety was not associated with tracking accuracy, directional bias, or hostile reactions to perceptions of their partners' negative emotions. These findings demonstrate the importance of assessing biased perceptions in actual relationship interactions and reveal that biased perceptions play an important role in activating the defenses of avoidantly attached people. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessing parental empathy: a role for empathy in child attachment.

PubMed

Stern, Jessica A; Borelli, Jessica L; Smiley, Patricia A

2015-01-01

Although empathy has been associated with helping behavior and relationship quality, little research has evaluated the role of parental empathy in the development of parent-child relationships. The current study (1) establishes preliminary validity of the Parental Affective and Cognitive Empathy Scale (PACES), a method for coding empathy from parents' narrative responses to the Parent Development Interview - Revised for School-Aged Children (PDI-R-SC), and (2) tests a theoretical model of empathy and attachment. Sixty caregivers and their children completed a battery of questionnaire and interview measures, including the PDI-R-SC and the Child Attachment Interview (CAI). Caregivers' interview narratives were scored for empathy using PACES. PACES showed good interrater reliability and good convergent validity with a self-report empathy measure. Parent empathy was positively related to child attachment security (using a continuous score for narrative coherence) and emotional openness on the CAI, as well as to child perceptions of parental warmth. Moreover, parent empathy mediated the relation between parents' self-reported attachment style and their children's attachment security. Implications for attachment theory and future directions for establishing scale validity are discussed.

How children remember the Strange Situation: The role of attachment.

PubMed

Chae, Yoojin; Goodman, Miranda; Goodman, Gail S; Troxel, Natalie; McWilliams, Kelly; Thompson, Ross A; Shaver, Phillip R; Widaman, Keith F

2018-02-01

This study tested predictions from Bowlby's attachment theory about children's memory and suggestibility. Young children (3-5years old, N=88; 76% Caucasians) and their parents took part in the Strange Situation Procedure, a moderately distressing event and "gold standard" for assessing children's attachment quality. The children were then interviewed about what occurred during the event. Children's age and attachment security scores positively predicted correct information in free recall and accuracy in answering specific questions. For children with higher (vs. lower) attachment security scores, greater distress observed during the Strange Situation Procedure predicted increased resistance to misleading suggestions. In addition, for children who displayed relatively low distress during the Strange Situation Procedure, significant age differences in memory and suggestibility emerged as expected. However, for children who displayed greater distress during the Strange Situation Procedure, younger and older children's memory performances were equivalent. Findings suggest that attachment theory provides an important framework for understanding facets of memory development with respect to attachment-related information and that distress may alter assumed age patterns in memory development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[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.

Infant Humor Perception from 3- to 6-months and Attachment at One Year

PubMed Central

Mireault, Gina; Sparrow, John; Poutre, Merlin; Perdue, Brittany; Macke, Laura

2012-01-01

Infancy is a critical time for the development of secure attachment, which is facilitated by emotionally synchronous interactions with parents. Humor development, which includes shared laughter and joint attention to an event, emerges concurrently with attachment, but little is known regarding the relationship, if any, between humor development and attachment in the first year. Thirty 3-month-old infants were videoed at home each month until they were 6-months old while their parents attempted to amuse them. Frequency of infants’ smiles and laughs served as a measure of “state humor”, and the smiling/laughing subscale of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised served as a measure of “trait humor”. State and trait humor were not correlated. Lower trait humor as 6 months predicted higher attachment security on the Attachment Q-sort at 12-months (r=. 46), suggesting that less good-humored infants elicit greater parental engagement, which works to the benefit of attachment, or vice versa. Future studies should examine the importance of smiling and laughter as they relate to other developmental phenomena in the first year. PMID:22982281

Infant humor perception from 3- to 6-months and attachment at one year.

PubMed

Mireault, Gina; Sparrow, John; Poutre, Merlin; Perdue, Brittany; Macke, Laura

2012-12-01

Infancy is a critical time for the development of secure attachment, which is facilitated by emotionally synchronous interactions with parents. Humor development, which includes shared laughter and joint attention to an event, emerges concurrently with attachment, but little is known regarding the relationship, if any, between humor development and attachment in the first year. Thirty 3-month-old infants were videoed at home each month until they were 6-months old while their parents attempted to amuse them. Frequency of infants' smiles and laughs served as a measure of "state humor", and the smiling/laughing subscale of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised served as a measure of "trait humor". State and trait humor were not correlated. Lower trait humor as 6 months predicted higher attachment security on the Attachment Q-sort at 12-months (r=.46), suggesting that less good-humored infants elicit greater parental engagement, which works to the benefit of attachment, or vice versa. Future studies should examine the importance of smiling and laughter as they relate to other developmental phenomena in the first year. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The missing link: Mothers’ neural response to infant cry related to infant attachment behaviors

PubMed Central

Laurent, Heidemarie K.; Ablow, Jennifer C.

2012-01-01

This study addresses a gap in the attachment literature by investigating maternal neural response to cry related to infant attachment classifications and behaviors. Twenty-two primiparous mothers and their 18-month old infants completed the Strange Situation Procedure (SS) to elicit attachment behaviors. During a separate functional MRI session, mothers were exposed to their own infant’s cry sound, as well as an unfamiliar infant’s cry and control sound. Maternal neural response to own infant cry related to both overall attachment security and specific infant behaviors. Mothers of less secure infants maintained greater activation to their cry in left parahippocampal and amygdala regions and the right posterior insula. consistent with a negative schematic response bias. Mothers of infants exhibiting more avoidant or contact maintaining behaviors during the SS showed diminished response across left prefrontal, parietal, and cerebellar areas involved in attentional processing and cognitive control. Mothers of infants exhibiting more disorganized behavior showed reduced response in bilateral temporal and subcallosal areas relevant to social cognition and emotion regulation. No differences by attachment classification were found. Implications for attachment transmission models are discussed. PMID:22982277

Interplay of genes and early mother-child relationship in the development of self-regulation from toddler to preschool age.

PubMed

Kochanska, Grazyna; Philibert, Robert A; Barry, Robin A

2009-11-01

A broad capacity for deliberate self-regulation plays a key role in emotion regulation. This longitudinal investigation from infancy to preschool age examines genotype by environment (G x E) interaction in the development of self-regulation, using molecular measures of children's genotypes and observed measures of the quality of early mother-child relationship, as reflected in attachment organization in infancy. In 89 children, we assessed the polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR, ss/sl vs. ll allele status), security of attachment to mothers at 15 months in the Strange Situation, and children's ability for self-regulation at 25, 38, and 52 months, using behavioral batteries of tasks that called for deliberately suppressing a dominant response and performing instead a sub-dominant response. There was a robust G x E interaction between genetic risk and the quality of early relationship. Among children who carried a short 5-HTTLPR allele (ss/sl ), those who were insecurely attached developed poor regulatory capacities, but those who were securely attached developed as good regulatory capacities as children who were homozygotic for the long allele (ll ). There was no effect of security for ll homozygotes. Those findings, consistent with diathesis-stress model, bridge research on self-regulation in typically developing children with research on non-human primates and research on psychopathology. They also indicate that a secure attachment relationship can serve as a protective factor in the presence of risk conferred by a genotype.

Intergenerational Transmission of Aggression in Romantic Relationships: The Moderating Role of Attachment Security

PubMed Central

Hare, Amanda L.; Miga, Erin M.; Allen, Joseph P.

2010-01-01

This prospective study used longitudinal, multi-reporter data to examine the influence of parents’ marital relationship functioning on subsequent adolescent romantic relationships. Consistent with Bryant and Conger’s model for the development of early adult romantic relationships (DEARR; 2002), we found that interactional styles, more specifically paternal aggression and satisfaction, exhibited in parents’ marital relationship when their adolescents were age 13, were predictive of qualities of the adolescent’s romantic relationships five years later. Continuities were domain specific: paternal satisfaction predicted adolescent satisfaction and paternal aggression predicted adolescent aggression. Attachment security moderated the link between paternal aggression and subsequent adolescent aggression, with continuities between negative conflictual styles across relationships reduced for secure adolescents. Results are interpreted as suggesting that attachment may help attenuated the transmission of destructive conflict strategies across generations. PMID:20001139

Changes in marital satisfaction across the transition to parenthood: the role of adult attachment orientations.

PubMed

Kohn, Jamie L; Rholes, Steven W; Simpson, Jeffry A; Martin, A McLeish; Tran, SiSi; Wilson, Carol L

2012-11-01

This longitudinal study investigated marital satisfaction trajectories across the first 2 years of parenthood. Data were collected from new parents (couples) 6 weeks before the birth of their first child, and then at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months postpartum. Growth curve models revealed two key findings. First, for highly anxious individuals, satisfaction was lower or declined when they perceived their partners as less supportive and as behaving more negatively toward them. Second, for highly avoidant individuals, satisfaction was lower or declined when they perceived more work-family conflict and greater demands from their families. The findings suggest that attachment insecurities predict dissatisfaction in new parents primarily when stressors block the pursuit of important attachment goals.

Attachment and Family Processes in Children's Psychological Adjustment in Middle Childhood.

PubMed

Demby, Kimberly P; Riggs, Shelley A; Kaminski, Patricia L

2017-03-01

This study examined the links between parent-child attachment, whole family interaction patterns, and child emotional adjustment and adaptability in a sample of 86 community families with children between the ages of 8 and 11 years. Family interactions were observed and coded with the System for Coding Interactions and Family Functioning (SCIFF; Lindahl, 2001). Both parents and each target child completed the appropriate form of the Behavior Assessment System for Children-2nd Edition (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004). Target children also completed the Children's Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CCSQ; Yunger, Corby, & Perry, 2005). Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that Secure mother-child attachment was a robust predictor of children's emotional symptoms, but father-child attachment strategies were not significant independent predictors. Positive Affect in family interactions significantly increased the amount of variance accounted for in children's emotional symptoms. In addition, Family Cohesion and Positive Affect moderated the relationship between father-child attachment and children's emotional symptoms. When data from all BASC-2 informants (mother, father, child) were considered simultaneously and multidimensional constructs were modeled, mother-child security directly predicted children's adjustment and adaptive skills, but the influence of father-child security was fully mediated through positive family functioning. Results of the current study support the utility of considering dyadic attachment and family interaction patterns conjointly when conceptualizing and fostering positive emotional and behavioral outcomes in children. © 2015 Family Process Institute.

Stress and depression among older residents in religious monasteries: do friends and God matter?

PubMed

Bishop, Alex J

2008-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was to explore how friendship and attach-0 ment to God provide protective benefits against stress and depression. Participants included 235 men and women, age 64 and older, residing in religious monasteries affiliated with the Order of St. Benedict. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were completed to assess main and moderating effects of friendship and attachment to God relative to the influence of stress on depressive symptomology. Lower degree of friendship closeness (beta = -.12, p < .10) and greater insecurity with God (beta = -.15, p < .01) were directly associated with greater depressive symptoms. A significant three-way interaction (Stress x Friendship x Attachment to God) also existed relative to depressive symptoms (beta = .14, p < .05). Three "stress-buffering" mechanisms emerged relative to the influence of stress on depressive symptomology. First, a greater degree of friendship closeness in combination with less secure attachment to God represented a greater risk for depressive symptoms. Second, greater friendship closeness in combination with greater secure attachment to God reduced the risk for depressive symptoms. Third, lower degree of friendship closeness combined with less secure attachment to God diminished the noxious effects of stress on depressive symptoms. This has implications relative to how social and spiritual resources can be used to reduce stress and improve quality of life for older adults residing in religious communities.

Mastery Motivation and Secure Attachment among Preschool Children in the Light of Depending on Domestic Workers in the Saudi Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdulfattah, Azza Khalil; Badawood, Asma Saeid

2017-01-01

The current study aims to verify the impact of children's secure attachment to their mothers on their mastery motivation in the light of the dependence on domestic workers' phenomenon in the Saudi society. To achieve the goals of the study, a random sample of Saudi children was selected from Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia, whose favorable economic…

Characterization of Biofouling Marine Caulobacters and Their Adhesive Holdfast

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-06-30

SAD-A 197 211 _, 111 3 CEILL GJU JREPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE la. REPORT SECURITY CLASSIFiCATION ’b RESTRICTIVE MARKIN6, S U 1 2a. SECURITY...what types of surfaces to which the Caulobacters will attach. This was approached by the preparation of glass surfaces covalently modified with a...finding that dimethyldichlorosilane treated glass (ie classical "silanizing") was reasonably effective in discouraging attachment, a convenience for many

Early Manifestations of Children's Theory of Mind: The Roles of Maternal Mind-Mindedness and Infant Security of Attachment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laranjo, Jessica; Bernier, Annie; Meins, Elizabeth; Carlson, Stephanie M.

2010-01-01

This study investigated two aspects of mother-child relationships--mothers' mind-mindedness and infant attachment security--in relation to two early aspects of children's theory of mind development (ToM). Sixty-one mother-child dyads (36 girls) participated in testing phases at 12 (T1), 15 (T2), and 26 months of age (T3), allowing for assessment…

Acculturative Stress, Parental and Professor Attachment, and College Adjustment in Asian International Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Suejung; Pistole, M. Carole; Caldwell, Jarred M.

2017-01-01

This study examined parental and professor attachment as buffers against acculturative stress and as predictors of college adjustment of 210 Asian international students (AISs). Moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed that acculturative stress negatively and secure parental and professor attachment positively predicted academic…

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…

A School's Journey in Creating a Relational Environment Which Supports Attachment and Emotional Security

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webber, Louise

2017-01-01

This article focuses on teachers' experiences of supporting looked after and adopted children in one case study primary school in England. Children who are looked after and adopted may have a disrupted attachment with their primary carer which has resulted in an insecure attachment. Children with insecure attachments can feel anxious, uncertain…

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.

Observational attachment theory-based parenting measures predict children's attachment narratives independently from social learning theory-based measures.

PubMed

Matias, Carla; O'Connor, Thomas G; Futh, Annabel; Scott, Stephen

2014-01-01

Conceptually and methodologically distinct models exist for assessing quality of parent-child relationships, but few studies contrast competing models or assess their overlap in predicting developmental outcomes. Using observational methodology, the current study examined the distinctiveness of attachment theory-based and social learning theory-based measures of parenting in predicting two key measures of child adjustment: security of attachment narratives and social acceptance in peer nominations. A total of 113 5-6-year-old children from ethnically diverse families participated. Parent-child relationships were rated using standard paradigms. Measures derived from attachment theory included sensitive responding and mutuality; measures derived from social learning theory included positive attending, directives, and criticism. Child outcomes were independently-rated attachment narrative representations and peer nominations. Results indicated that Attachment theory-based and Social Learning theory-based measures were modestly correlated; nonetheless, parent-child mutuality predicted secure child attachment narratives independently of social learning theory-based measures; in contrast, criticism predicted peer-nominated fighting independently of attachment theory-based measures. In young children, there is some evidence that attachment theory-based measures may be particularly predictive of attachment narratives; however, no single model of measuring parent-child relationships is likely to best predict multiple developmental outcomes. Assessment in research and applied settings may benefit from integration of different theoretical and methodological paradigms.

Psychosocial correlates of the perceived stigma of problem drinking in the workplace.

PubMed

Reynolds, G Shawn; Lehman, Wayne E K; Bennett, Joel B

2008-07-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a questionnaire assessment of the perceived stigma of problem drinking that was designed for use in workplace substance abuse prevention research. Municipal employees from a mid-sized city (n = 315) and a large-sized city (n = 535) completed questionnaire measures of perceived coworker stigmatization of problem drinking, drinking levels, substance-use policy attitudes, workgroup stress and interdependence, alcohol-tolerance norms, and demographic variables. Inter-item correlation coefficients showed that the measure of the stigma of problem drinking had good internal consistency reliability (.76) in both samples. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that higher education, abstinence from alcohol, stress, and perceived temperance norms were all uniquely correlated with perceived stigma. Women and men perceived the same level of stigma from coworkers. Editors' Strategic Implications: This brief, validated measure provides organizations with a way to assess the level of stigma attached to alcohol abuse in their workplace culture, thereby enabling the organization to target and promote effective strategies to decrease the stigma attached to seeking help with the goal of reducing alcohol abuse.

Attachment as a Predictor of University Adjustment among Freshmen: Evidence from a Malaysian Public University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wider, Walton; Mustapha, Mazni; Halik, Murnizam; Bahari, Ferlis

2017-01-01

Purpose: Building upon attachment theory and emerging theory, the current study was aimed at examining the effect of peer attachment in predicting adjustment to life in university among freshmen in a public unirvsity in East Malaysia. Furthermore, it sought to examine the influence of gender and perceived-adult status as moderators of the…

Attachment Predicts College Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills for Working with Infants, Toddlers, and Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vallotton, Claire D.; Torquati, Julia; Ispa, Jean; Chazan-Cohen, Rachel; Henk, Jennifer; Fusaro, Maria; Peterson, Carla A.; Roggman, Lori A.; Stacks, Ann M.; Cook, Gina; Brophy-Herb, Holly

2016-01-01

Research Findings: Adults' attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers' attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S.…

Decoupling Farm, Farming and Place: Recombinant Attachments of Globally Engaged Family Farmers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheshire, Lynda; Meurk, Carla; Woods, Michael

2013-01-01

Farmers have traditionally been perceived as having a deep attachment to land and place that contrasts with the mobility of modern society. In this paper, we use this work as a starting point for analysing new forms of attachments among a cohort of Australian farmers who are highly mobile in their business activities. In response, we devise a new…

Is the secure base phenomenon evident here, there, and anywhere? A cross-cultural study of child behavior and experts' definitions.

PubMed

Posada, German; Lu, Ting; Trumbell, Jill; Kaloustian, Garene; Trudel, Marcel; Plata, Sandra J; Peña, Paola P; Perez, Jennifer; Tereno, Susana; Dugravier, Romain; Coppola, Gabrielle; Constantini, Alessandro; Cassibba, Rosalinda; Kondo-Ikemura, Kiyomi; Nóblega, Magaly; Haya, Ines M; Pedraglio, Claudia; Verissimo, Manuela; Santos, Antonio J; Monteiro, Ligia; Lay, Keng-Ling

2013-01-01

The evolutionary rationale offered by Bowlby implies that secure base relationships are common in child-caregiver dyads and thus, child secure behavior observable across diverse social contexts and cultures. This study offers a test of the universality hypothesis. Trained observers in nine countries used the Attachment Q-set to describe the organization of children's behavior in naturalistic settings. Children (N = 547) were 10-72 months old. Child development experts (N = 81) from all countries provided definitions of optimal child secure base use. Findings indicate that children from all countries use their mother as a secure base. Children's organization of secure base behavior was modestly related to each other both within and across countries. Experts' descriptions of the optimally attached child were highly similar across cultures. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.