Antecedents Of Attachment Research Articles

The combined contribution of maternal sensitivity and disrupted affective communication to infant attachment in an Israeli sample

ABSTRACT Maternal sensitivity and disrupted communication are usually considered independently as antecedents of attachment security and attachment disorganization, respectively. This study examined whether considering them jointly allows specific predictions of attachment classifications. The sample (N = 159) was selected from a previous study conducted in Israel between 1991–1993, and over-represented disorganized and ambivalent attachment. Attachment was assessed at 12 months in the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), sensitivity was assessed from free-play observations at 6 and 12 months, and disrupted communication was coded from the SSP. As hypothesized, high sensitivity and low disruption predicted secure attachment; low sensitivity and high disruption predicted disorganized-insecure attachment or ambivalent attachment; and high sensitivity and high disruption predicted disorganized-secure attachment. Low sensitivity and low disrupted communication did not predict avoidant attachment. The results show that combining maternal sensitivity and disrupted communication improves the precision in identifying maternal antecedents of attachment.

The attachment antecedents of shame: mothers’ representations of the shamed self

This study was designed to explore the intergenerational roots of shame in the context of attachment. The sample comprised sixty-nine mothers with four- and five-year-old children (54 girls, M = 58 months) drawn from a study of parenting risk. The mothers (age range 25–48) were culturally diverse, educated, partnered, and middle to upper-middle class. Mothers completed the Adult Attachment Projective (AAP) (George & West, 2012) and children completed the Attachment Doll Play Assessment (ADPA) (Solomon et al., 1995). The dyad was also videotaped interacting with a realistic baby doll and maternal behaviour was rated using Britner et al.’s (2005) maternal scales. The authors developed a coding system to capture three shame-related variables from mothers’ narratives of parent–child conflict in response to one of the AAP stimuli (Child in Corner): 1) evidence of shame; 2) parental socialisation actions; and 3) parental efforts to regulate the child’s shame. Results showed that three-quarters of mothers referred to implicit or explicit shame, but socialisation depicting shame was unrelated to child attachment security. Most mothers described harsh socialisation practices and incomplete efforts to repair the child’s shame. Only mothers of securely attached children described socialisation actions to emotionally repair the relationship. The shame measures were partially validated with the maternal parent–child interaction observation rating variables. The utility and limitations of the new measures are discussed in terms of their potential usefulness to research, clinical assessment, and treatment.

Player Attachment to Mobile Social Network Games: An Information Processing View

This study applied the information processing view and the concept of fit to improve understanding of how attachment behaviour and continued use in mobile social network game (M-SNG) players is affected by the alignment between their motivation and technological capability. A quantitative method and a cross-sectional study design were used to evaluate the research model. Data were collected for 427 active M-SNG players in Taiwan. The proposed model was tested with fit as a covariation and with fit as a propensity score in matching method. The results of this study verified that (1) coalignment between motivation and technological capability is positively associated with attachment behaviour in M-SNG players; (2) M-SNG players who have a high coalignment between motivation and technological capability have stronger attachment behaviour compared to players with low coalignment; and (3) attachment behaviour is positively associated with continued use of M-SNGs. This study contributes to the literature by improving understanding of the antecedents of attachment and continued use in M-SNG players. For providers and developers, this study also provides insights into how to improve the business performance of M-SNGs.

Brand trust and brand loyalty in mall shoppers

PurposeIn today's competitive business environment the success of an organisation depends on its ability to create brand trust and loyalty in the customers. Therefore, the present study focusses on some major constructs of emotional attachment that help in creating brand trust and brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modelling using SmartPLS 2.0 software has been utilised to analyse 332 mall shoppers' data from the age group between 16 and 30 years, as they are highly brand conscious and willing to purchase branded products.FindingsThis study findings show that brand loyalty is not only directly or indirectly influenced by emotional attachment antecedents such as perceived quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction and perceived differentiation but also directly affected by brand trust. Moderating analysis on different income group structures shows that the high-income group customer moderates the result findings, as he/she is highly brand conscious and loyal towards a particular brand.Research limitations/implicationsResearch outcome provides some valuable insights to the retailers for further expansion of consumer market by using various promotional programmes and strategies that focus on the emotional factors of the customer and generate strong brand attachment. This study also suggests some useful factors such as buying pattern, paying capacity and lifestyle, which the future researchers can focus.Practical implicationsThis study suggested that shopping mall retailers should try to increase customer involvement and perception towards the brand during shopping process and clearly differentiate their brand from competitive brands by showing why and how it is better than alternative brands.Originality/valueMajor contribution of this study is the empirical analysis of emotional attachment antecedents such as perceived quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction and perceived differentiation on brand trust and loyalty especially in emerging organised retail markets.

When Nowhere Is Safe: Interpersonal Trauma and Attachment Adversity as Antecedents of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Developmental Trauma Disorder.

Developmental trauma disorder (DTD) has been proposed as clinical framework for the sequelae of complex trauma exposure in children. In this study, we investigated whether DTD is associated with different traumatic antecedents than posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a multisite sample of 236 children referred from pediatric or mental health treatment, DTD was assessed using the DTD Structured Interview. Trauma history was assessed using the Traumatic Events Screening Instrument (TESI). On an unadjusted basis, both DTD, odds ratios (ORs) = 2.0–3.8, 95% CI [1.17, 7.19]; and PTSD, ORs = 1.8–3.0, 95% CI [1.04, 6.27], were associated with past physical assault and/or abuse, family violence, emotional abuse, neglect, and impaired caregivers; and DTD was associated community violence, OR = 2.7, 95% CI [1.35, 5.43]. On a multivariate basis after controlling for the effects of PTSD, DTD was associated with family and community violence and impaired caregivers, ORs = 2.0–2.5, 95% CI [1.09, 5.97], whereas PTSD was only associated with physical assault and/or abuse after controlling for the effects of DTD, OR = 2.4, 95% CI [1.07, 4.99]. Exposure to both interpersonal trauma and attachment adversity was associated with the highest DTD symptom count, controlling for the PTSD symptom count. Although childhood PTSD and DTD share several traumatic antecedents, DTD may be uniquely associated with pervasive exposure to violent environments and impaired caregiving. Therefore, DTD warrants further investigation as a framework for the assessment and treatment of children with histories of interpersonal victimization and attachment adversity.

The role of brand attachment strength in higher education

This paper examines the effect of brand attachment and its antecedents on commitment, satisfaction, trust, and brand equity in the context of higher education institutions. The findings from an online survey with students and recent graduates (n=605) in the United States indicate that brand meaning is the main antecedent of brand attachment strength that affects satisfaction, trust, and commitment as well as brand equity. The effect of the brand attachment antecedents on satisfaction is stronger for current students whereas the effect of brand attachment antecedents on commitment is stronger for recent graduates. The effect of attachment strength on brand equity is also stronger for recent graduates. The paper also highlights practical implications for higher education managers and policy makers.

Consumer Attachments to Human Brands: The “Oprah Effect”

ABSTRACTHuman brands offer an interesting complement to product brands in that consumer attachments to human brands take on personal relationship qualities that can engender greater affiliation and loyalty. At present, one of the most powerful human brands in the developed world is that of Oprah Winfrey. This research uses the Oprah brand as a context in which to explore and expand the existing model of human brand attachment because of the enduring strength and consistency of how she has cultivated her brand. The existing model of human brand attachment identifies autonomy, relatedness, and competence as the antecedents of attachment strength. However, the expanded model in the current research introduces and validates brand personality appeal (and its sub‐dimensions of favorability, originality, and clarity) as an important moderating factor in the relationship between these antecedents of attachment and attachment outcomes. Two studies utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data investigate the impact of these factors on attachment strength as manifested in emotional attachment behaviors, markers of relationship quality, and marketplace responses in the form of brand loyalty and purchase intentions.

Strong Attachment toward Human Brand and Its Implication for Life-Satisfaction and Self-efficacy

In the year 2013, Warren Buffett was named one of the most influential people of the year by TIME magazine. When people are exposed such news, they show strong interest in who the influential people are and how those people became so successful. Likewise, people show strong attachment other prominent figures as well. This social phenomenon indicates that people perceive well-known persona like business leaders, TV stars or sports stars etc. as human brands of intangible assets. As the role of these human brands is becoming more important, people tend develop stronger attachment toward them. Another notable modern social phenomenon is people``s pursuit of life- satisfaction and social well-being. People desire increase their quality of life by having quality time with family and friends, and also by building attachment towards celebrities, sports stars, and so on. The main objective of this study is examine how attachment toward human brands affects quality of life. While existing studies on human brands examined antecedents of attachment, e.g., some needs fulfillment such as A-R-C needs (autonomy, relatedness and competence needs) fulfillment, this study focuses on the outcome variables of attachment, e.g., how attachment toward human brands affects stress relief and life satisfaction through self-efficacy. Based on previous research, we divided human brands into two types: heroes and celebrities. Heroes are defined as people who have considerable and lasting importance on both societal and individual levels, and celebrities are defined as people who are well-known but have little or no short-term impact on society and individual levels. This study focuses on how attachment toward each type of human brands, celebrities and heroes, affects the quality of life or well-being. This study focuses on three important outcome variables; stress relief, life satisfaction, and self-efficacy, (three variables) which have been recently gaining importance, especially in the domain of positive psychology. Major findings from the present study show that although celebrities draw attachment from people by providing fun and entertainment or providing stress relief, they have weak influences on the well- being or efficacy of individuals at a deeper level. In contrast, attachment toward heroes helps people live better by providing meaning and positively influencing life satisfaction through self-efficacy (Frankl 1997). These results are consistent with the main tenet of ``positive psychology`` which seeks to find and nurture genius and talent and make normal life more fulfilling (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2000). Considering the fact that certain celebrities are perceived as heroes some, we can conclude that celebrities can become heroes if they provide meaning and value the lives of people. This study contributes the research stream of human brands since the most current leading research (e.g., Thomson 2006) indicated the need look at the resulting effect of attachment on life satisfaction through self-efficacy. Another important contribution is that we empirically documented the different effects of celebrities and heroes. As expected, this study shows that heroes more deeply influence the lives of individuals in the long term while celebrities do so rather shallowly in the short term. The issues of the influence of heroes on the individuals`` lives need be further investigated in relation with the perspective of positive psychology.

Impacts of Need Satisfaction and Sense of Control on Older Adult Attachment and Attachment antecedents

본 논문은 생애후기 성인의 대인애착 성향에 영향을 주는 요인들을 탐색하기 위해 이뤄진 연구이다. 본 연구에서는 특히 욕구충족과 통제감이 생애후기 성인의 대인애착 형성에 미치는 영향을 분석하고자 하였다. 또한 안녕감과 애착간의 관계에 있어서 욕구충족과 통제감 지각이 미치는 조절변인으로서의 역할을 검증하고자 하였다. 자료분석 결과 연령, 성별, 자녀수 등의 객관적인 인구학적 변인들보다도 자녀관계 만족, 경제상태 지각, 건강상태 지각과 같은 개인이 평가하는 주관적인 인구학적 변인들이 애착을 더 많이 설명해주었다. 욕구충족과 통제감은 인구학적 변인을 통제하고도 안전애착과 불안애착을 유의하게 설명해주었다. 또한 욕구충족과 통제감은 애착과 안녕감 간을 조절해주는 역할을 하였다. 끝으로 본 연구의 결과를 논의하고 장래연구를 위한 시사점을 제안하였다.

Antecedents of Attachment to a Cultural Tourism Destination: The Case of Hakka and Non-Hakka Taiwanese Visitors to Pei-Pu, Taiwan

This article explores the antecedents of place attachment within the context of cultural tourism destinations. The proposed model is examined on two samples of cultural tourists with different cultural backgrounds. One sample consists of Hakka tourists, the same ethnic group as the hosts, and the other consists of tourists from a variety of non-Hakka ethnic backgrounds. The results indicate that both enduring involvement and destination attractiveness have a direct effect on place attachment, and that there is also an indirect effect of enduring involvement on place attachment mediated by destination attractiveness. Cross-group validation of the proposed model revealed that the structure fit both ethnic categories. A subsequent detailed examination, however, showed meaningful differences in the strengths of path coefficients between the two groups. These findings suggest that the meaning and formation of attachment may differ depending on the ethnic background of the tourists. Implications for theory and practice are provided.

Attachment in older adulthood: concept clarification

This paper is an analysis to clarify the concept of attachment by: (1) specifying the antecedents of attachment in older adulthood, (2) describing the defining or critical attributes of attachment as relevant for development beyond adulthood, including older adulthood and old age, and (3) specifying the consequences of attachment in older adulthood. Attachment is a concept that has been studied both within and outside the discipline of nursing. Most of the scholarly work on the concept has involved investigations of the concept as it applies at very early developmental phases of the lifespan. Despite this concentration of effort on the concept in childhood, theorists have consistently called for attention to the concept in adulthood and older adulthood to advance our understanding of how such close and supportive relationships relate to health. Antecedents of attachment behaviour include any number of fear-provoking or challenging situations, as well as interactions that involve conflict. Illnesses commonly have these characteristics and so are broadly included as antecedents. Defining attributes of attachment behaviour include three distinct behaviours: (1) proximity, or keeping to one or more 'preferred others', (2) protest following involuntary and perceived permanent separation from a preferred other and, (3) the presence of a secure base, viewed as necessary for developmental exploration and growth. Consequences include environmental interaction secure in the belief that a safe haven exists should reliable clues to danger present themselves, and the mobilization of personal and interpersonal assets called developmental resources. Nursing implications include the ability of nurses to intervene positively with older clients who may be experiencing age-related transitions that affect health. Knowledge about attachment will help nurses mediate the potentially negative impact of health transitions on developmental tasks and promote high-level wellness and successful ageing.

Attachment behavior and its antecedents in offspring born to methadone-maintained women

Videotaped 35full-tern, African American infants exposed in utero to methadone and 46 comparison infants at 12 months participating in a separation-reunion procedure to assess aspects of the infant's attachment relationship to the mother. Mothers in the two groups were comparable on education, age (18-35 years), socioeconomic status, parity, IQ, and marital status. Offspring born to methadone-maintained women did not differ from comparison infants in indexes of proximity-seeking at reunion but did display higher scores on indexes of disorganized and avoidant behavior and lower scores on indexes of contact-maintaining behavior. Mothers' perceptions during pregnancy of their future infants' degree of bothersomeness were also related to higher scores on contact-maintaining behavior and lower scores on avoidant behavior. Finally, antecedents of attachment behavior within the opioid group alone were considered. The implications of using dimensional attachment ratings for uncovering more subtle attachment antecedents are discussed.

Confidence in protection: Comment on Goldberg et al. (1999).

S. Goldberg, J. E. Grusec, and J. M. Jenkins (1999) presented a provocative and compelling argument for a narrow definition of infant-mother attachment that is true to J. Bowlby's (1969) original theory. In particular, S. Goldberg et al. emphasized protection as the central feature of attachment and considered the importance of such a narrow definition for empirical precision in studies of the interactional antecedents of attachment. This comment considers a number of questions raised by S. Goldberg et al.'s article, including practical, theoretical, and developmental issues stemming from an attachment-as-protection perspective.

Sensitivity and Attachment: A Meta‐Analysis on Parental Antecedents of Infant Attachment

This meta-analysis included 66 studies (N = 4,176) on parental antecedents of attachment security. The question addressed was whether maternal sensitivity is associated with infant attachment security, and what the strength of this relation is. It was hypothesized that studies more similar to Ainsworth's Baltimore study (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) would show stronger associations than studies diverging from this pioneering study. To create conceptually homogeneous sets of studies, experts divided the studies into 9 groups with similar constructs and measures of parenting. For each domain, a meta-analysis was performed to describe the central tendency, variability, and relevant moderators. After correction for attenuation, the 21 studies (N = 1,099) in which the Strange Situation procedure in nonclinical samples was used, as well as preceding or concurrent observational sensitivity measures, showed a combined effect size of r(1,097) = .24. According to Cohen's (1988) conventional criteria, the association is moderately strong. It is concluded that in normal settings sensitivity is an important but not exclusive condition of attachment security. Several other dimensions of parenting are identified as playing an equally important role. In attachment theory, a move to the contextual level is required to interpret the complex transactions between context and sensitivity in less stable and more stressful settings, and to pay more attention to nonshared environmental influences.

Runaway and homeless youth: the effects of attachment history on stabilization.

The effects of attachment antecedents on response to stabilization were examined in a group of runaway and homeless youth aged 12 to 17 years. The attachment histories of those who were not responsive to stabilization showed significant differences on several measurable criteria from the attachment histories of those who were responsive. The clinical and programmatic relevance of these findings is discussed.