A Differential Analysis of the Subtypes of Unresolved States of Mind in the Adult Attachment Interview

Abstract

Abstract Disorganized attachment is most prevalent among high-risk populations, such as maltreated children. Recent attachment literature has demonstrated that one of the best predictors of attachment disorganization is an “Unresolved” parental state of mind regarding a loss or an abuse in the parent's own attachment history. However, although classification in the Unresolved (U) category is always accompanied by specification of the type of trauma that is unresolved (loss, physical abuse, or sexual abuse), much of attachment research has focused on unresolved attachment as one category. The current paper reviews the empirical literature on the parenting outcomes associated with different subtypes of U. The literature demonstrates that parents who have experienced loss or abuse in childhood, which remains unresolved, exhibit atypical care-giving behaviors. Specifically, a history of loss or childhood sexual abuse is found to be associated with more passively withdrawn parental interactions, whereas a hist...