Attachment States Of Mind Research Articles

Maternal attachment representations in relation to emotional availability and discipline behaviour

Maternal attachment representations have been investigated in relation to sensitivity and emotional support, but rarely in relation to other important areas of daily parent–child interactions in early childhood, like limit setting and discipline strategies. This study investigates maternal attachment representations in relation to parenting sensitive and discipline behaviours. The sample consists of 37 Portuguese high-risk severely economically disadvantaged mothers and their 1- to 4-year-old children, that responded to the Adult Attachment Interview, and were observed in play and discipline interaction contexts. The results showed that a more preoccupied state of mind was related to less emotional availability in free play interaction with child. A more secure attachment representation was related to more psychologically controlling discipline tactics. These findings highlight the relevance of maternal attachment states of mind in understanding parenting practices in several domains, and are discussed in light of sociocultural factors.

Attachment States of Mind and Couple Relationships in Couples Seeking to Adopt

We present the results of a study carried out in Italy with 39 Italian couples seeking to adopt, aged between 35 and 45 years, and 39 matched non-adoptive couples which compared their attachment states of mind with respect to caregivers and partners and quality of couple relationship. Both partners of the couples completed individually measures of attachment to caregiver (Adult Attachment Interview; AAI), attachment to partner (Current Relationship Interview; CRI and Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised; ECR-R) and marital quality (Dyadic Adjustment Scale; DAS). The results showed that couples seeking to adopt did not differ from the control group with respect to attachment to caregivers (AAI). However potential adoptive fathers were more likely to show secure attachment classifications with respect to partner (CRI) than non-adoptive fathers. Finally, couples seeking to adopt expressed higher levels of positive feelings and thoughts within the couple relationship (ECR-R) and better perceived quality of marital relationship (DAS) than the control group. Overall, these findings suggested that couples seeking to adopt placed a high value on attachment relationships, which is considered a relevant factor for positive outcome of adoption.

Transmission of Attachment at Preschool-Age: The Mediating Role of Mother- Child Conversation Styles

Objective: Parents initiate conversations with their preschoolers about everyday experiences in which they share thoughts, feelings, and intentions. The ability to efficiently treat attachment relevant-information and organize attachment behavior beyond infancy is likely to be scaffolded by the parent in the context of parent-child discourse. The objective of this study was to examine mother-child conversation styles as a function of child attachment and test the the role of mother-child conversation as a mediator in the transmission of attachment from mother to child. Methods: The sample included 111 dyads of mothers and their preschool children (3-5 years of age). Child attachment was assessed using the Preschool Attachment Coding System. Mothers’ attachment state of mind was coded using the Adult Attachment Projective. Mother-child conversation styles were assessed during a 10-minute snack time. Results: Analyses indicated a significant correspondence between maternal and child attachment classifications. Moreover, autonomous mothers and secure children were more inclined to integrate affective information during verbal exchanges, while dyads involved in insecure avoidant, ambivalent, or disorganized relationships were more inclined to minimize, exaggerate, or be overwhelmed with affective information. Finally, children’s ability to integrate affective information mediated the link between mother and child attachment security. Conclusion: Overall, results emphasize the importance of the quality of mother-child conversation for the development of internal working models of child attachment during the preschool period. In addition, results are also informative for the development of attachment-based intervention for parents and their preschoolers.

Attachment and Object Relations in Patients With Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Implications for Therapeutic Process and Outcome

This article presents a therapeutic approach for patients with severe personality disorders, transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP), a manualized evidence-based treatment, which integrates contemporary object relations theory with attachment theory and research. Case material is presented from a narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) patient in TFP whose primary presenting problems were in the arena of sexuality and love relations, and whose attachment state of mind showed evidence of oscillation between dismissing and preoccupied mechanisms. Clinical process material is presented to illustrate the tactics and techniques of TFP and how they have been refined for treatment of individuals with NPD. The ways in which conflicts around sexuality and love relations were lived out in the transference is delineated with a focus on the interpretation of devalued and idealized representations of self and others, both of which are key components of the compensatory grandiose self that defensively protects the individual from an underlying sense of vulnerability and imperfection.

Activation of the attachment system and mentalization in depressive and healthy individuals: An experimental control study

From a developmental and clinical point of view attachment theory and mentalization are closely connected and have become increasingly important to understand the origins of psychopathological development. However, very little is known about how exactly different inner working models of attachment are related to diverse mentalizing abilities and this is particularly true for adult populations - healthy as well as clinical populations. In the present study we investigated this relation with a sample of inpatients diagnosed with depression and a sample of healthy individuals. In an experimental setting the attachment system was activated using the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). Mentalization was assessed during activation and in comparison to a control condition using a modified version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). We expected that an activation of the attachment system i) diminishes the capacity to take another?s perspective in individuals with unresolved state of mind, ii) has no impact in individuals with secure attachment representation and iii) is dependent of clinical status in individuals with insecure (but organized) working models of attachment. Overall, these hypotheses were confirmed. However, the impact of clinical status on mentalization in insecure attachment has to be further explored. We summarize that attachment state of mind has a mediating influence on mentalization basically in such situations where the attachment system is activated.

A Prototype-Based Model of Adult Attachment for Clinicians

Models of adult attachment have proven to be useful for understanding illness behavior, stress responses, susceptibility to disease processes, and psychotherapeutic approaches to difficult patients. Two methods of assessing patterns of attachment, using self-report instruments and using techniques such as the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), are only weakly related and each has drawbacks for clinical use. We have previously assessed commonalities and differences in the descriptions of attachment patterns that emerge from these schools and synthesized them in empirically based attachment prototypes. In this companion article, we describe a prototype-based model of attachment. This model defines dimensions of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance as composites of particular aspects of internal working models of self and other, behavior in current close relationships, patterns of expression of affect, and narrative coherence. The model emphasizes the clinical importance of the severity of attachment insecurity, defined as a dimension which incorporates problems in the previously listed domains of attachment as well as deficits in mentalizing, self-agency, and resolution of trauma. The model locates the central tendencies of prototypic ("textbook") descriptions of four patterns of attachment (secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful/disorganized) while avoiding definitions of the boundaries between categories of attachment. We compare the prototype-based model to the two most prominent current models of attachment, the 4-category, 2-dimension model derived from self-report methods of assessment and categories of "attachment states of mind" derived from the Adult Attachment Interview. Finally, we discuss limitations of the prototype-based model and areas requiring further research.

Attachment states of mind in late adolescence and the quality and course of romantic relationships in adulthood

The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal relations between attachment state of mind in late adolescence and romantic relationships in adulthood. Participants were drawn from two independent studies that were conducted respectively in 1992 and 1996 and that involved the administration of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to 167 college students. They were followed-up in 2007 (N = 99) to investigate different aspects of their romantic relationships since college. Those who had shown greater preoccupation with attachment in the AAI were more likely to be single in adulthood and to report romantic relationships of shorter length. In addition, they reported lower levels of intimacy, commitment, and passion in their current or recent romantic relationships. Dismissing tendencies were associated with higher levels of perceived passion in romantic relationships. Most of these associations remained significant after controlling for intervening life events, different dimensions of individual adjustment, socio-economic status, as well as probable life events derived from the AAI.

Teacher–student interactions and attachment states of mind as predictors of early romantic involvement and risky sexual behaviors

Adolescents’ capacities to negotiate sexual behavior in romantic relationships have important implications for their reproductive and health outcomes. This study examined adolescents’ interactions with teachers and attachment states of mind as predictors of their romantic involvement and risky sexual behavior in an economically disadvantaged sample. Negative interactions with teachers predicted increased sexual risk-taking behaviors and females’ early romantic involvement. Preoccupied states of mind increased risk for early romantic involvement and the likelihood that females would engage in risky sexual behavior. The findings demonstrate how adolescents’ school experiences contribute to adaptation in romantic relationships in mid to late adolescence above and beyond representations of parent–child attachment.

Attachment states of mind and the quality of young adults' sibling relationships.

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 resolution task, and (c) asked to describe the quality of their relationship using the Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (Stocker, Lanthier, & Furman, 1997). As hypothesized, dismissing states of mind were associated with lower levels of positive and negative affect while participants attempted to resolve an area of conflict with a sibling as well as with relatively low levels of reported warmth in the relationship. In contrast-but also in line with predictions-preoccupied states of mind were associated with heightened expression of negative affect toward a brother or sister, and the siblings of highly preoccupied individuals reported more conflict in their relationships. Findings provide further support for the importance of young adults' representations of childhood attachment experiences with respect to the quality of their adult relationships. In addition, this study extends previous findings regarding the significance of dismissing versus preoccupied states of mind by demonstrating that these dimensions are differentially associated with behavioral and self-reported aspects of sibling relationship quality in early adulthood.

Attachment mental states and inferred pathways of development in borderline personality disorder: a study using the Adult Attachment Interview

We report the outcome of an investigation on how specific attachment states of mind and corresponding risk factors related to different DSM Axis I comorbidities in subjects with BPD. Mental representations of attachment in four BPD sub-groups (BPD and Anxiety/Mood Disorders, BPD and Substance Use and Abuse Disorders, BPD and Alcohol Use and Abuse Disorders, and BPD and Eating Disorders) were assessed in 140 BPD subjects using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). In addition to the global attachment picture in which Insecure organized (Dismissing 51% and Enmeshed 35%) and Insecure disorganized categories (40%) were overrepresented, significant differences in attachment category were found between the four BPD sub-groups. Axis I comorbidities corresponded with attachment features on the internalizing/externalizing functioning dimension of the disorder. Furthermore, specific constellations of inferred developmental antecedents and attachment states of mind corresponded differentially with the BPD sub-groups. Implications for developmental research and clinical nosology are discussed.

More bridges: Investigating the relevance of self-report and interview measures of adult attachment for marital and caregiving relationships

The aim of this report was to investigate the associations between attachment state of mind, romantic attachment style, and indices of maternal functioning in two relational spheres: the mother—child relationship (i.e., maternal sensitivity and child attachment security) and the marital relationship (i.e., mothers’ and their partners’ marital satisfaction). The results, based on 59 families, indicated that attachment state of mind was associated with maternal sensitivity and with child attachment security, although not to mothers’ or their partners’ subjective feelings of marital satisfaction. In contrast, romantic attachment styles were related to both mothers’ and their partners’ marital satisfaction, although not to maternal sensitivity or child attachment. These findings add to the growing literature highlighting the unique value of each tradition of assessment in adult attachment research, by suggesting that variation in attachment security tapped by each measure may bear particular relevance for specific relationships.

Attachment states of mind, mentalization, and their correlates in a first‐episode psychosis sample

Although there has been increased interest in applying attachment theory to the psychological understanding of psychosis, research to date has focused on self-reported attachment and psychotic symptomatology. This study presents evidence for applying attachment and mentalization constructs to understanding engagement and adaptation to first-episode psychosis (FEP), using a narrative based interview. A cross-sectional cohort design was used. Thirty-four individuals with a first episode of psychosis were interviewed using the Adult Attachment Interview. Attachment classifications and reflective function scores were derived from the interview. Psychotic symptomatology, premorbid adjustment, duration of untreated psychosis, and psychological variables were also measured. Attachment distribution was heterogeneous in the sample, although the majority of participants were classified dismissing of attachment. Mentalization scores were consistent with previous clinical samples. Attachment and mentalization were unrelated to psychotic symptomatology. The current study demonstrates, albeit with a small clinical sample, the importance of assessing attachment and mentalization via narrative methods. The findings also have clinical implications for understanding the process of engagement and adaptation in FEP.

Maternal Sensitivity: Within-Person Variability and the Utility of Multiple Assessments

In this study, we examined within-person variability in maternal sensitivity among a culturally diverse sample of high-risk mother-infant dyads (N = 25). We also examined incremental increases in effect sizes between maternal sensitivity and two related variables, attachment state of mind and child removal from the home, as a function of increasing observations of maternal sensitivity. The dyads were videotaped during 10 1-hour-long home visits and maternal sensitivity was coded using the abbreviated (25-item) version of the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (MBQS). Attachment state of mind was assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Within-person variability in maternal sensitivity was greater for nonautonomous mothers compared to autonomous mothers. Mothers who were relatively low in maternal sensitivity were more likely to be nonautonomous and also more likely to have their child removed from their home by child protective services. Results from data sampling trials showed incremental increases in these effect sizes as the number of observations of maternal sensitivity increased. Fewer observations of maternal sensitivity resulted in systematic underestimates of effect sizes between maternal sensitivity and related variables. We discuss the implications for maltreatment researchers and interventionists.

Attachment states of mind in adolescents with Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder and/or depressive disorders: a controlled study

Little is known about the contribution of attachment insecurity to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), though speculations have been extensive. We aimed to study how states of mind (SoM) with regard to attachment relate to OCD with and without depressive disorder (DD). We interviewed 100 adolescents, 25 each with OCD, DD, OCD plus DD and general population controls, using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to assess attachment SoM. In the AAI, interviewees are asked about both generalized/semantic and biographical/episodic descriptions of childhood experience. Discourse styles are coded and classified by a blinded coder. While about half of the adolescents from the general population had secure SoM (52%), most adolescents in the clinical groups did not: OCD 12%; DD 8%; and DD+OCD 4% (Fisher's exact test, p=0.0001). SoM with regard to attachment profiles differed significantly across the groups with 60% of participants with OCD classified as dismissing (Ds), 40% of the DD group as unresolved with regard to loss or abuse (U) and 28% as cannot classify, while 44 and 36%, respectively, of those with OCD+DD group were classified as either Ds or U (Fisher's exact test, p=0.0001). Different kinds of SoM reflecting insecure attachment differentiated the clinical groups studied, with OCD predominantly showing dismissing traits and depression attachment SoM commonly associated with severe adverse events. Such differences might play distinct roles in the pathogenic processes of the psychiatric disorders, or be the result of the cognitive states associated with OCD and DD.

Maternal and child characteristics as antecedents of maternal mind-mindedness.

This article compares an expanded descriptive measure of maternal mind-mindedness to the original measure. We included assessments of the valence and richness of descriptions given by 106 mothers when asked to talk about their 18-month-old child (55 boys), in addition to assessing the proportion of mind-related descriptors. Contrary to previous findings, the proportion of mental descriptors was not associated with maternal sensitivity. However, the expanded measure revealed a significant positive link between positive mind-mindedness and maternal sensitivity, and between richness of the description and maternal sensitivity. We then investigated predictors of positive maternal mind-mindedness. Maternal state of mind regarding past attachment experiences, psychological adjustment, and perception of the child's temperament were considered. The findings revealed that attachment state of mind and parenting stress constitute independent predictors of positive mind-mindedness. These findings suggest that mind-mindedness is associated not only with parental state of mind but also to current factors related to parenthood.

The association of unresolved attachment status and cognitive processes in maltreated adolescents

AbstractThis exploratory investigation sought to gain a better understanding of the mental representations of attachment in maltreated adolescents, and how, if at all, unresolved attachment representations are related to cognitive processes in this population. Measures of cognitive functioning, attachment state of mind and parent ratings on attention were obtained from 38 adolescents with a history of maltreatment. Results showed that maltreated adolescents with unresolved states of mind in regard to attachment scored significantly lower on measures of cognitive processes of attention, working memory and cognitive efficiency, even when intelligence was controlled for in the analyses. Theoretical considerations, implications for future research and clinical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A sibling adoption study of adult attachment: The influence of shared environment on attachment states of mind

This study extends existing research investigating sibling concordance on attachment by examining concordance for adult attachment in a sample of 126 genetically unrelated sibling pairs. The Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985; Main, Goldwyn, & Hesse, 2003) was used to assess states of mind with regard to attachment. The average age of the participants was 39 years old. The distribution of attachment classifications was independent of adoptive status. Attachment concordance rates were unassociated with gender concordance and sibling age difference. Concordance for autonomous/non-autonomous classifications was significant at 61% as was concordance for primary classifications at 53%. The concordance rate for not-unresolved/unresolved was non-significant at 67%. Our findings demonstrate similarity of working models of attachment between siblings independent of genetic relatedness between siblings and generations (i.e., parent and child). These findings extend previous research by further implicating shared environment as a major influence on sibling similarities on organized patterns of attachment in adulthood. The non-significant concordance for the unresolved classification suggests that unresolved loss or trauma may be less influenced by shared environment and more likely to be influenced by post-childhood experiences or genetic factors.

A Comparison of Unresolved versus Resolved Status and its Relationship to Behaviour in Maltreated Adolescents

This exploratory investigation sought both to gain a better understanding of the mental representations of attachment in high-risk, maltreated adolescents and to explain how, if at all, unresolved attachment representations are related to behavioural maladjustment. Parent ratings, self-report ratings and attachment state of mind were obtained from 34 adolescents with a history of maltreatment. Results showed that maltreated adolescents with unresolved states of mind in regard to attachment were rated higher on maladaptive behaviour and lower on adaptive behaviour than maltreated adolescents who were resolved. Implications for school-based mental health intervention and future research are discussed.

Anticipating the Outcome of Help: Can We Predict Placebo/Nocebo Response and Side-Effect Sensitivity Based on Attachment State of Mind?

Anticipating the Outcome of Help: Can We Predict Placebo/Nocebo Response and Side-Effect Sensitivity Based on Attachment State of Mind?

Attachment state of mind and perceptual processing of emotional stimuli

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment state of mind and perceptual processing of social and non-social, affective, and neutral material. A total of 57 young adults completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) plus an experimental task in which their perceptual thresholds to different types of pictures were assessed. Significant correlations were found between the AAI dimensions and perceptual thresholds for social stimuli such as social interactions or human faces displaying emotional expressions. As expected, no relationships were found between the AAI and perception of neutral stimuli. The pattern of correlations was especially clear for the dismissing dimension. The results suggest that higher vigilance to social stimuli is related to dismissing attachment tendencies and, to a milder degree, to preoccupied tendencies.