Attachment Bonds Research Articles

Conceptual and Application Considerations of Emotionally Focused Therapy With White Heterosexual Working-Class Rural Males

Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) is an empirically supported approach to couple’s therapy and offers a clear structure and map for working with this population. There are few publications in the research literature that focus on White heterosexual working-class rural males in coupled relationships. This article offers several specific applications and a case conceptualization to demonstrate EFT with this population. Specific responses to stressors affecting the therapeutic relationship involve normalizing the help-seeking process, exploring the impact of alexithymia, and unearthing how hegemonic masculinity has affected emotional expression. EFT is effective for work with White heterosexual working-class rural males in monogamous coupled relationships because of its focus on the attachment bond. EFT builds a secure relationship foundation for the individual and the couple to explore the impact of masculinity within the relationship.

Attachment as a framework to facilitate empowerment for people with severe mental illness.

ObjectivesRecovery and empowerment have evolved into key objectives in the treatment and care of people with severe mental illness (SMI), and interest has grown in the role of social relationships in recovery. This study is the first to explore whether attachment styles are related to levels of empowerment, and secondly, whether attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance are associated with lower empowerment levels, independently of quality and frequency of social contact.DesignWe used a cross‐sectional design.MethodsIn a sample of 157 participants with SMI in outpatient care, associations between attachment (Revised Adult Attachment Scale), self‐reported social functioning, and empowerment (Netherlands Empowerment List) were assessed.ResultsAttachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were both associated with lower levels of empowerment. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the prediction of empowerment was significantly improved by adding attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance to quality and frequency of social contact. Attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and quality of social contact were significant predictors; frequency of social contact was not.ConclusionsAlthough our design does not allow causal conclusions, our results highlight the importance of interpersonal processes and behaviours as routes to improving empowerment for people with SMI. A promising approach might thus consist of securing attachment bonds with significant others so that the self and the other are perceived as reliable resources. Our findings also feature the importance of reciprocity and equality in social relationships. Taken together, our study emphasizes the value of social, contextualized interventions in recovery work for people with SMI.Practitioner points Working towards attachment safety in interpersonal relations may be important in recovery‐oriented treatment and care for people with severe mental illness (SMI).Helping people with SMI to recognize and change how they tend to relate themselves to others may promote engagement and effectiveness of recovery‐oriented treatment and care.Reciprocity and equality in social relationships as vital complements to the more one‐sided nature of ‘standing alongside’ and offering support may be important requisites for empowerment.

La insoportable soledad de ser un "no ser". Ser un "Don nadie"

This presentation is about the pain and suffering felt by people who, right from early childhood, have been disconnected from their emotions. Lack of affection and insecure attachment bonds are breeding grounds, “kitchens”, where false identities, role reversal or identities of feeling insignificant to their caregivers are cooked; this is what they refer to as being "nobody". Two clinical cases are used to illustrate this way of being in the world. "They might say good or bad things about me, but at least they talk about me", says Antonio, the 41-year-old patient we'll be discussing in this presentation. It is within the patient-therapist bond where patients find an opportunity to learn a new way of interacting and relating to others. Modifying their implicit relational knowing, they have a second chance to build a secure attachment with their therapist. We are emotional beings, regulating emotions through our relations; thus, our principal focus is relationships/interactions. "You're my only support,” says the patient to the therapist, “I can be me, Antonio, with you; but outside I'm Anthony, the dealer and addict". It's from here on that he can forgo feeling "nobody" and gain access to his singularity: simply be himself. This can come about because he has felt listened to and seen by his therapist. Feeling felt helps to build his identity.

On The Impact of Psychotherapy on Psychological Growth: The Waning of Defenses

ABSTRACT A discussion of Micheal Reison’s “The Subjective Importance of Accommodation and Non-Accommodation: Expanding Brandchaft’s Ideas of Pathological Accommodation” explicates Dr. Bernard Brandchaft’s signature contribution—the defense of pathological accommodation. The imperative need to maintain attachment is seen as the primary goal of this defense. Pathological Accommodation is seen as a mode of maintaining attachments to caretakers, an unconscious, compulsively self-limiting behavior which occurs when a child experiences threats to his bond with a needed parent. In Kohutian terms, pathological accommodation functions to protect the self a child has been able to construct despite formidable obstacles. The term “accommodation” is traced through writings by Atwood, Stolorow, and Brandchaft. Accommodation, in Brandchaft’s terms, refers to the child’s response to relational trauma suffered when his or her emotional expressions and/or actions regularly evoke profoundly malattuned parental responses which threaten the child’s attachment bond. Dr. Reison’s case is reviewed through the lens of these ideas and Dr. Reison’s emotional attunement and genuine appreciation of his patient is appreciated. His genuine empathic understanding of his patient is seen as the foundation of the considerable psychological development and growth demonstrated in Reison’s very fine case report. Indeed, the genuine psychological growth demonstrated eventually made the defense of pathological accommodation unnecessary.

Mind the Gap: Perceived Partner Responsiveness as a Bridge between General and Partner-Specific Attachment Security.

A core idea of attachment theory is that security develops when attachment figures are responsive to a person’s connection needs. Individuals may be more or less secure in different relationships. We hypothesized that individuals who perceive a current relationship partner as being responsive to their needs will feel more secure in that specific relationship, and that the benefits of perceived partner responsiveness would be more pronounced for individuals who generally feel insecure. The current study included 472 individuals (236 couples) in romantic relationships. Consistent with our predictions, individuals who perceived more responsiveness from their partner displayed lower partner-specific attachment anxiety and partner-specific avoidance, especially when they were generally insecure. These findings are discussed in terms of the conditions that promote secure attachment bonds.

The Potential of Human–Horse Attachment in Creating Favorable Settings for Professional Care: A Study of Adolescents’ Visit to a Farm

Simple SummaryAlthough previous research has shown that the features of an attachment bond are fulfilled in human–dog dyads, it is still unclear if people may have horses as attachment figures. This paper examines whether adolescents’ contact with horses can result in attachment bonds and whether these forms of attachment hold any potential for motivating adolescents in professional care. The paper is based on a time-limited session where six girls and three boys, aged 16–17, were observing and interacting with free-roaming horses at a farm. The results suggest that the presence of horses may activate the development of attachment in adolescents in the same way people do. The four criteria of an attachment bond—proximity maintenance, safe haven, secure base, and separation distress—may be fulfilled in the interaction between a human and a horse. This promotes a therapeutically favorable environment for professional care that is appealing, unique, and accurate. The study provides insights into horses’ therapeutic potential in dealing with adolescents in need of professional therapy or care.Previous research has shown features of an attachment bond to be fulfilled in, for instance, human–dog dyads; however, there is a considerable lack of research on the potential attachment in human–horse relationships. Employing Bowlby’s criteria of an attachment bond and Pierce’s model of therapeutically powerful activity, this article studies whether short-term exposure to horses brings about elements of emerging attachment for adolescents and if this interaction holds potential in creating a favorable early-stage setting for professional care. It draws from group discussions carried out with nine 16–17-year-old adolescents who participated in an EASEL (Equine-Assisted Social and Emotional Learning) session when visiting a farm with a youth worker. A qualitative content analysis of the discussions revealed that some characteristics of the four principal criteria of an attachment bond—proximity maintenance, safe haven, secure base, and separation distress—were identifiable in the adolescents’ expressed experiences of observing and interacting with horses. Moreover, the three main sources of therapeutic power—appeal, accuracy, and intactness—intersected with the emerging development of the adolescents’ attachment to horses. Additionally, space for self-reflection was enhanced by the presence of the horses. The study offers insights into the potential of human–horse attachment in dealing with adolescents with and without special needs for various therapy and care purposes.

« S’attacher pour bien grandir » : résultats préliminaires d’un groupe thérapeutique de guidance parentale et de mise en situation centré sur l’attachement

BackgroundPreventive and therapeutic settings are very common in perinatal and early childhood mental health services. However, their theoretical basis, their methods and their efficacy are rarely described. AimsIn this paper, we present and describe the first feedback from parents about a new group therapeutic setting model that relies on parental guidance and practical experiences designed to prevent and to treat attachment-related parent–infant/child problematic issues. MethodThe group is designed to enhance the quality of parent-child attachment by promoting parents’ awareness of the nature and the importance of attachment bonds for child development and parent–child relationship, and by bringing parents and child to experience new interactions that promote child attachment security. The group is led by two psychologists, a pediatric nurse and a childcare assistant. It is designed to receive up to five families referred by a child psychiatrist after a consultation. Children are aged 1 to 3 years old. Parents and children are received for an assessment interview prior and after they complete their participation to the group, including measures of parental stress (PSI-SF), infant relational withdrawal (ADBB), parent-child relationship (PIRGAS), and child social and emotional competences and problems (BITSEA). Families attend six thematic sessions each of which addresses one of the main attachment pillars: sensitivity, reciprocity, engagement, proximity, emotional regulation and support network. Contents are delivered via slides, video clips, group discussions, practical situations and home tasks. Both parents are encouraged to participate. The feedback from the first families (n=17) who attended the group are presented. ResultsPreliminary results on the first families who participated in this group show that all of them were satisfied about the group contents and setting. Most parents reported they have acquired new insights on their child's attachment needs and behaviors, felt more comfortable with regulating their own and their child's emotional needs and expression, and became more able to manage problematic behaviors, separation and conflict situations. Slides, video clips and experiencing practical situations and home tasks were also greatly appreciated. PerspectivesThe preliminary positive feedback from the parents supports the relevance of this new intervention model targeted on attachment issues. The group setting, the concrete materials and the active participation of parents and children promote the awareness of attachment needs and the experience of new and safer parent–child interactions.

Considering Family Dog Attachment Bonds: Do Dog-Parent Attachments Predict Dog-Child Attachment Outcomes in Animal-Assisted Interventions?

Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) have become more prevalent in recent years, with dog-assisted interventions among the most popular. The literature suggests that a variety of dog-human interventions have the potential for beneficial outcomes for human participants and owners, however, critical gaps in knowledge still exist. Research addressing intervention outcomes for dogs, and the impact of AAI on the dog-human bond, has lagged behind. Even less is known about how dogs perceive child partners in AAI settings. The current study, which involved AAI for youth with developmental disabilities and their family dog, aimed to determine if the dog’s style of attachment to a primary adult caretaker in the home was predictive of dog-child attachment style pre-and post-intervention. Using a Secure Base Test (SBT), the attachment style of the family dog toward an adult owner/parent was evaluated, and the attachment style of the dog toward the participating child was assessed before and after the dog-assisted interventions. The dog’s attachment style to the child was then compared to the dog-parent attachment style. The findings show that all dogs with a secure attachment to the child at the initial assessment also had a secure attachment to the parent. It was also demonstrated that AAI has the potential to change the attachment style between a family dog and child to a more secure attachment, and that the dog-parent attachment style is a significant predictor of which dogs were able to develop a secure attachment to the child over the course of the AAI.

Concordance in parent and offspring cortico-basal ganglia white matter connectivity varies by parental history of major depressive disorder and early parental care.

Social behavior is transmitted cross-generationally through coordinated behavior within attachment bonds. Parental depression and poor parental care are major risks for disruptions of such coordination and are associated with offspring’s psychopathology and interpersonal dysfunction. Given the key role of the cortico-basal ganglia (CBG) circuits in social communication, we examined similarities (concordance) of parent–offspring CBG white matter (WM) connections and how parental history of major depressive disorder (MDD) and early parental care moderate these similarities. We imaged 44 parent–offspring dyads and investigated WM connections between basal-ganglia seeds and selected regions in temporal cortex using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography. We found significant concordance in parent–offspring strength of CBG WM connections, moderated by parental lifetime-MDD and care. The results showed diminished neural concordance among dyads with a depressed parent and that better parental care predicted greater concordance, which also provided a protective buffer against attenuated concordance among dyads with a depressed parent. Our findings provide the first neurobiological evidence of concordance between parents-offspring in WM tracts and that concordance is diminished in families where parents have lifetime-MDD. This disruption may be a risk factor for intergenerational transmission of psychopathology. Findings emphasize the long-term role of early caregiving in shaping the neural concordance among at-risk and affected dyads.

Attachment Theory and Psychological Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on the psychological health of individuals and societies. A theoretical framework is required in order to understand this impact and strategies to mitigate it. In this paper, individual and community responses to COVID-19 are discussed from the point of view of attachment theory, a psychological theory which examines the formation and disruption of attachment bonds across the life-span from an evolutionary perspective. The contributions of this perspective to individual psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress, as well as to social responses such as interpersonal violence and stigmatization, are discussed in the light of findings from attachment research. Proposals for incorporating the knowledge derived from attachment theory into therapeutic strategies, as well as in developing community resilience in the face of COVID-19, are discussed based on the available evidence. It is hoped that this information will be of value to clinicians and researchers, as well as to those involved in planning health services and social policy.

Examining the Role of the Attachment Bond in the Process of Recovering from an Affair

Infidelity is an attachment injury as it shatters basic assumptions about one’s relationship. This study investigated the role of the attachment bond in affair recovery. Individual qualitative interviews were conducted with couples (both partners; N = 20) who stayed together after an affair. Thematic analysis revealed important aspects of the recovery process including ongoing communication, intentional bids for closeness, and a commitment to the healing process. However, perceptions of partner responsiveness varied amongst participants. These findings reflect new insights from the perspective of both partners about the necessary components of affair recovery. Clinical implications based in attachment theory are discussed.

Reflective parenting home visiting program: A longitudinal study on the effects upon depression, anxiety and parenting stress in first-time mothers

ObjectiveOur study aimed to investigate the effects of a reflective parenting home visiting program in first time-mothers at risk for depression, anxiety, and parenting stress, from three to 12 months after their child's birth. Study designThe sample was composed by 77 first-time mothers and their healthy babies (53% boys and 47% girls). Mothers filled out the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Parenting Stress Index-SF at 3, 6 and 12 months of the child. Thirty-six mothers were assigned to the experimental group and received the reflective parenting home-visiting program, the other 36 constituted the control group. ResultsAnalyses showed a significant higher reduction in the level of depression, anxiety and parenting stress among mothers belonging to the experimental group, compared to the control group. ConclusionOur findings confirm the benefits of reflective parenting home visiting programs and underline the need to constantly evaluate the levels of depression, anxiety and parenting stress throughout the perinatal period to target effective prevention programs to foster early mother-child attachment bond.

Prise en charge pluridisciplinaire des liens d’attachement chez l’enfant : cas clinique

Bowlby's theory of attachment (1958) helps to understand the relationship between parent and child. Attachment refers to an affective bond between infant and caregiver. The child identifies as principal attachment figure the person bringing comfort and security. Other people are considered as subsidiary attachment figures whom the child mobilizes in the absence of the principal attachment figure. When distressed, the child seeks proximity and physical contact with specific and innate behaviors. Once the needs are met, the security base allows exploration of the environment. The repetition of these experiences leads to the development of internal working models which concern the representations of oneself and others. They serve as filters to understand the environment and to help the child assess, predict and choose the behavior to be realized. The type of attachment developed by infants depends on the quality of care they have received. There are four identified attachment types: secure, insecure avoidant, insecure ambivalent and insecure disorganized. The quality of the tie of attachment has repercussions on the development of the child (mental, physical, intellectual, emotional and social). It is also associated with certain psychological difficulties (anxiety, depression, psychotrauma). In practice, we meet regularly with children and their parents whose follow-up needs to refocus on the bonds of attachment. However, there are few articles or research presenting the way and the particularities of taking care of the insecure attachment style. In this article, we present a clinical case of a multidisciplinary therapeutic follow-up of a mother-child relationship with ambivalent attachment ties. We describe the evolution of the follow-up according to the significant moments, the stages of development of the child and the therapeutic spaces proposed (psychomotor, educational and psychological). Therapy includes sensorimotricity, internal working models, early schemas, trauma desensitization, narrative and parenting support. We expose the specificity of the therapeutic framework and the interest of acting jointly to allow the establishment of a secure attachment link. This framework is container and protection for everyone. It influences the therapeutic follow-up and adapts to the symptoms and development stage expressed. This device has enabled the creation of the therapeutic alliance and moves from an insecure attachment style to a secure attachment style. It is an evolutionary and singular therapy with each relation.

The relationship between romantic and prenatal maternal attachment: The moderating role of social support.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between three types of maternal attachment bonds: anxious romantic, avoidant romantic and prenatal. The moderating role of perceived social support is also analysed. Ninety-one pregnant women in or near their thirtieth week of gestation (M=29.59; SD=4.57) were recruited, all of whom completed a series of questionnaires to assess the quality of their romantic and prenatal attachment bonds and their levels of perceived social support. The results reveal that both anxious and avoidant romantic attachments were significantly associated with low levels of maternal prenatal attachment. Moreover, the level of social support perceived during pregnancy moderated the relationship between anxious and prenatal attachments but had no effect on avoidant romantic and prenatal attachments. Our discussion of these findings considers the emotional and behavioural characteristics of various forms of insecure romantic attachments. Overall, the data highlight the relevance of the quality of intimate close relationships on maternity experiences and women's caregiving abilities.

Trauma exposure and the importance of attachment in people with intellectual disabilities

‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you’ (Maya Angelou)This brief paper considers how trauma and attachment can be present in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Trauma of a serious nature in childhood is both a heightened likelihood, and strong predictor, of negative outcomes for people with ID. However, it can also be addressed through psychological assessment and interventions, and is mediated through attachment bonds with others.

Prenatal Attachment and Perinatal Depression: A Systematic Review.

Pregnancy is a period of complex bio-psychological changes, during which the development of an attachment bond to the fetus takes on a central role. Depressive symptoms are common during this period. Both symptoms of depression and low levels of prenatal attachment are related to negative outcomes in caregivers and infants. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement, this systematic review analyzes and systematizes 41 studies concerning the association between prenatal attachment and perinatal depression. The majority of the studies reported a significant association between the two. Specifically, prenatal depressive symptoms were found to be negatively associated with prenatal attachment. Furthermore, lower levels of prenatal attachment were related to higher postnatal depressive symptoms, although fewer studies assessed this association. While these results were found across different populations, conflicting findings emerged, suggesting they should be interpreted with caution, particularly in male samples and in non-normative pregnancies (e.g., high-risk pregnancies, medically assisted pregnancies, and pregnancies with previous perinatal losses). These results are clinically important for the perinatal screening process and for implementing preventive and treatment programs. However, future studies are needed to further confirm and generalize these results.

Behavioral Observation and Analysis of Participants in Foster Care Visits

ObjectiveTo identify situations and behaviors occurring during contact visits that are likely to have an impact on a foster child's well‐being.BackgroundIt has been argued that contact visits between foster children and birth parents can help to maintain attachment bonds and support the child's development. However, contact continues to be a subject of controversy, and evidence of both benefits and drawbacks has been reported in the literature. Few studies have examined what actually occurs during such visits, how parents and children interact, and what role is played by those involved.MethodWe conducted an in‐depth qualitative observational analysis of the behavior of participants in contact visits (birth parent, child, and social worker), as well as of the characteristics of the venue. Participants were 20 children in nonkinship foster care and their birth parents. Information regarding the characteristics of visits was provided by the child protection services and the fostering agencies involved.ResultsThe analysis revealed a large number of positive behaviors among parents, children, and social workers, but also the need for improvement in several areas (e.g., family relationships, social/communication skills, and presents).ConclusionsThis study highlights the need to improve contact visits by developing intervention strategies targeting all those involved. Notably, the support and supervision provided by social workers was not always adequate.ImplicationsThe results of this study could be used to develop an instrument for assessing the quality of contact visits and identifying aspects that need to be improved.

The Challenge is «Now” and «In the Future” for Bioenergetic Analysis

Alexander Lowen developed his theory by observing what happened in the evolution of the child and in the construction of his/her defenses. Character defenses block vitality and therefore we could define «vitality” as the procedural memory of our «natural child” who, in the course of their development, has created so many characterological adaptations. Vitality is blocked because it is disorganized by developmental traumas that prevent the natural process of adaptation generated by a loss of love and by attachment disorders. So, working with the life force becomes the center of the therapeutic process, since our vitality is blocked by disorganized defenses that we could consider to be real post-traumatic stress syndromes. Rebuilding «safe relationships” becomes fundamental to create that energy field in which the individual can experience his/her «asleep” vitality. The therapist must be able to convey bonds of attachment that can connect the patient to both humanity and to nature. The therapeutic relationship explores the nature of these bonds, which is fundamentally sensory and emotional, intrinsically «intelligent”, as guided by profound regulatory processes.

Life Force: The Source of Self-Regulation, Love and Bonding

«Life force” is at the core of the prodigious upsurge in the complexification of the living, from the bacterium to the human being, thanks to the life force’s regulating principle: «homeostasis”. Lowen had faith in the life force, in the unsuspecting skills of the human organism, in his intelligence, in his capacities of self-regulation. We, bioenergetic therapists, are today «ferrymen” between the atom and the spirit, «ferrymen” between nature and culture, «ferrymen” between individual homeostasis and ecological homeostasis, «ferrymen” between the grounding in the earth and the oceanic feeling. We transmit to our patients these bonds of attachment that unite us both to humanity and to nature: these links are sensori-emotional in nature, intrinsically intelligent and deeply regulating.

Physical Distance Between Romantic Partners as a Marker for Attachment in Couples: A Proof of Concept Study

Proximity seeking is at the core of attachment theory. Previously proximity has been studied almost exclusively in psychological terms. In clinical practice, however, couple therapists may interpret physical distance between romantic partners as a marker for the quality of the attachment bond. Unfortunately, this concept of physical distance between partners as an expression of attachment has never been tested. This study examines whether physical distance between romantic partners is associated with attachment. In 53 students and 43 clinical couples physical distance was repeatedly measured from video using novel software with excellent reliability. Attachment was measured with the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire. It was found that male attachment anxiety about rejection repeatedly showed statistically significant associations with physical interpersonal distance in student and clinical couples. We conclude that attachment may manifest itself not only in terms of psychological intimacy but also in terms of physical distance. Clinical utility and research implications are discussed.