Insecure Attachment Patterns Research Articles

Attachment and Couple Satisfaction: The Mediating Effect of Approach and Avoidance Commitment

Satisfactory couple relationships are demonstrated to have a myriad of benefits. However, the ability to establish couple satisfaction is shown to be strongly and negatively impacted by insecure romantic attachment patterns (i.e., anxious and avoidant attachment). This study sought to gain an enhanced understanding of the aforementioned link by means of investigating a novel mediator model incorporating two facets of romantic commitment: approach commitment (the desire to maintain a relationship due to benefits inherent within this) and avoidance commitment (the desire to maintain a relationship to avoid potential losses resulting from relationship dissolution). Bootstrap analyses demonstrated that insecure attachments were differentially related to commitment goals, such that anxious attachment was related with higher approach and avoidance commitment. Conversely, while avoidant attachment was negatively linked with approach commitment goals, no relation was revealed with avoidance commitment goals. Additionally, results demonstrated that one's idiosyncratic commitment goals partially mediated the strongly established link between insecure attachment and couple satisfaction.

The relationships among interpersonal problem solving behaviors, adult attachment patterns, and psychological symptoms

Objective: This study aimed at examining the relations among adult attachment patterns, interpersonal problem solving behaviors, and psychological symptoms. Moreover, the study intended to test the mediating role of interpersonal problem solving behaviors on the relationship between attachment and psychological symptoms. Methods: In accordance with this purpose, ‘Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory’, ‘Interpersonal Problem Solving Inventory’, and ‘Brief Symptom Inventory’ had been administered to 458 Hacettepe University undergraduate students. Results: Results showed that the anxious attachment styles had effects on ineffective interpersonal problem solving behaviors; and the avoidant attachment styles not only had effects on lacking of self-confidence and unwillingness to take responsibility in interpersonal problem solving situations but also had negative effects on effective problem solving behaviors. Moreover, it’s seen that both avoidant and anxious attachment styles and approaching problems in a negative way and lacking of self-confidence from ineffective problem solving behaviors had effects on psychological symptoms. Last of all, the mediating role of lacking of self-confidence between avoidant attachment patterns and psychological symptoms, and the mediating roles of approaching problems in a negative way and lacking of self-confidence between anxious attachment patterns and psychological symptoms had been supported. Discussion: Based on these results, the importance of striving to replace insecure attachment patterns with secure patterns and development of effective problem solving skills in the therapies of clients with interpersonal relationship problems or psychological symptoms had been emphasized.

Attachment and adaptive skills in children of international adoption

The attachment pattern of a sample of 168 internationally adopted children was explored in this study using the semi-structured Friends and Family Interview. The pattern was analysed in relation to the development of adaptive skills as an expression of the children's resilience. The secure attachment pattern rates were slightly lower and the insecure attachment patterns were considerably higher than those of normative samples from the previous studies. The children from Eastern Europe demonstrated a more insecure attachment pattern (odds ratio [OR]= 2.46; confidence interval [CI]= 1.23–3.94), and their scores on the adaptive skills scales were lower than the scores of children from other countries (OR = 2.62; 95% CI = 1.02–6.72). These results help to identify the groups at risk of failing to develop secure attachment patterns and appropriate adaptive skills, and should provide valuable information for designing effective interventions.

Child Protection and Mental Health

Child Protection and Mental Health

INSECURE ATTACHMENT AS A PREDICTOR OF DEPRESSIVE AND ANXIOUS SYMPTOMOLOGY

Most studies have shown that insecure attachment and stress are important risk factors in the development of depression and anxiety. However, it is unclear whether distinct patterns of insecure attachment may relate differently to depression and anxiety following stressful events. Thus, the current study examined whether anxious and avoidant attachment, both of which are operationalized as insecure attachment, predict depressive and anxious symptoms following the occurrence of hassles. A sample of 662 Chinese university students was recruited from Hunan, China. At the initial assessment, participants completed self-report measures assessing insecure attachment (i.e. anxious and avoidant attachment), hassles, anxious symptoms, and depressive symptoms. Additionally, hassles and symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed once a month for the subsequent 6 months. The results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated a significant interaction between anxious attachment and hassles in predicting follow-up depressive symptoms. Specifically, participants with high levels of anxious, but not avoidant, attachment reported high levels of depressive symptoms when experiencing high, as opposed to low, levels of hassles. At the same time, while both anxious and avoidant attachment predicted higher levels of anxious symptoms over time, a cross-level, significant interaction did not emerge. Insecure attachment styles serve as a vulnerability factor in the development of depressive and anxious symptoms in Chinese young adults. Consequently, fostering the development of secure attachment in prevention and intervention programs may, ultimately, prevent the onset and maintenance of depressive and anxious disorders.

Insecure attachment patterns at five years. What do they tell us?

Developmental outcomes for children whose primary caregivers are misattuned but not considered abusive are unclear. This paper argues that if by the pre-school years, insecure patterns of attachment are evident then a continuing dysfunctional attachment relationship is indicated and the likelihood of later difficulties is increased. The current study compared attachment patterns in a cohort of pre-school children from the regular community with concurrent behavioural ratings obtained from caregivers and teachers. The sample was followed up seven years later. At pre-school age, there was no association between teachers or caregiver ratings and pattern of security in the children. By pre-adolescence, children with compulsively insecure patterns showed higher levels of depression on a self-report measure. Ratings by caregivers of the pre-adolescent children did not differentiate the two groups. The paper argues that since caregiver misattunment to the child contributed to the initial problems, emotional difficulties in the pre-adolescent might go unseen.

P-299 - Child abuse and its relationship with attachment patterns in a group of turkish university students

The attachment theory proposes a highly useful foundation for understanding the effects of child abuse and its relational consequences. Although the literature on child abuse and its relation with attachment styles is extensive in developed countries there are relatively few studies on this issue in developing countries. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relation between child abuse and attachment styles in Turkish culture. Relationship Scale Questionnaire and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire were applied to 1008 volunteer students from 8 different universities in Istanbul. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate child abuse as a predictor of attachment pattern. This study is part of a larger study which investigates attachment patterns as a mediator between child abuse and psychopathology. Physical abuse explained approximately 3% of the variance in fearful attachment, 2% of the variance in preoccupied attachment, and 1% of the variance in dismissing attachment. Although there are correlations between sub-types of child abuse and insecure attachment patterns, only physical abuse is a significant predictor. The findings of this research may be useful for mental health professionals who work with young adults.

Effects of social support by a dog on stress modulation in male children with insecure attachment.

Up to 90% of children with special education needs and about 40% of children in the general population show insecure or disorganized attachment patterns, which are linked to a diminished ability to use social support by others for the regulation of stress. The aim of the study was to investigate if children with insecure-avoidant/disorganized attachment can profit more from social support by a dog compared to a friendly human during a stressful task. We investigated 47 male children (age 7–11) with insecure-avoidant or disorganized attachment. Social stress was elicited via the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C). For one group of children a friendly therapy-dog (n = 24) was present, for one control group a friendly human (n = 10) and for the other control group a toy dog (n = 13). Stress levels of the children were measured via salivary cortisol at five times (t1–t5) before, during, and after the TSST-C and subjective reports. The physiological stress response was significantly lower in the dog condition in comparison to the two other support conditions at t4, t5 and the overall stress reaction from t1 to t5 (Area Under the Curve increase; Kruskal–Wallis H-Test, pairwise post hoc comparisons via Mann–Whitney U-Tests). Cortisol levels correlated negatively (rs) with the amount of physical contact between the child and dog. We conclude that male children with insecure-avoidant or disorganized attachment profit more from the presence of a therapy-dog than of a friendly human under social stress. Our findings support the assumption that the increasing practice of animal-assisted education is reasonable and that dogs can be helpful assistants in education/special education, since stress interferes with learning and performance in students.

The Effect of a Real Dog, Toy Dog and Friendly Person on Insecurely Attached Children During a Stressful Task: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACTThe regulation of stress by an attachment figure is a key feature of attachment relationships. Previous research suggests that in some cases animal companionship may be regarded as an attachment relationship. This may be particularly important for persons with an insecure or disorganized attachment pattern who may find it more difficult than securely attached individuals to accept social support from humans. In our study, we investigated whether 31 boys (aged 7–12 years) with insecure/disorganized attachment would profit more from the presence of a dog (n = 11) than of a friendly human (n = 11) or a toy dog (n = 9) as support during a socially stressful situation (Trier Social Stress Test for Children, TSST-C). Stress levels were assessed via salivary cortisol recorded five times before, during, and after the TSST-C. The behavior of the children was coded from video recordings. Self-reported stress levels did not significantly differ between the groups before and after the TSST-C. Salivary cortisol, however, was significantly lower in the real dog condition than in the other two conditions (Kruskal-Wallis H test on area under the curve increase (AUCi): χ2 = 15.17, df = 2, p = 0.001). Also, the more the children stroked the dog, the less pronounced was their stress reaction (rs = −0.818, p = 0.002). Our data suggest an important role of physical contact in the stress reducing effect. We conclude that the children investigated profited more from interacting with a friendly dog than with either a human or a toy dog in a stressful situation. We discuss the relevance of our findings for animal-assisted interventions.

Therapeutic Attachment with College-Aged Women

Therapeutic attachment can help a college-aged woman deal with separation from her mother, making the transition from dependence to mutually supportive peer relationships. An insecure relationship experience with the mother replays in treatment as a patient resists therapeutic influence. Serving as a secure base, a therapist can help a young woman let go of potentially self-fulfilling negative expectations and develop trust that she can find responsive caregiving, internalizing a capacity to love and be loved. Using two case examples that illustrate different attachment styles, one anxious and the other avoidant, I explore my struggle to deal with the injury of feeling discounted while seeking opportunities for connection. Examining our interaction, I consider the patient's and my own role in perpetuating patterns of insecure attachment. By helping a young woman to better understand her mother as a separate person and to express autonomy within the treatment relationship, therapists can foster healthier attachments while supporting individuation.

Multi-method assessment of mother-child attachment: Links to parenting and child depressive symptoms in middle childhood

This study included two different methods to assess mother–child attachment, questionnaires, and a doll play story stem interview, so their overlap could be evaluated. In addition, we investigated how attachment is related to parenting and child depression. The sample was comprised of 10- to 12-year-olds (N = 87) and their mothers. Children completed questionnaires (assessing security, avoidance, and ambivalence), and were administered a doll play interview to assess attachment patterns (security, avoidance, ambivalence, and disorganization). Two aspects of parenting (warmth/ engagement and psychological control) were assessed with child reports and observer ratings of maternal behavior. We also obtained child reports of depressive symptoms. Questionnaire and interview measures of attachment security were related to one another, and each showed predictable associations with parenting and child depression. By contrast, results were less consistent for the ambivalent and avoidant insecure attachment patterns, although disorganized attachment showed some associations with parenting and child adjustment.

Representations of Attachment Patterns in the Family Drawings of Maltreated and Non‐maltreated Children

The study was conducted to investigate and compare the attachment styles of maltreated and non‐maltreated children through the use of the family drawing technique. The sample consisted of ten maltreated and ten non‐maltreated children between the ages of five and 11. The findings revealed that the maltreated children depicted significantly more items in their drawings linked to an insecure attachment pattern than non‐maltreated children, while the non‐maltreated children made use of significantly more drawing features linked to a secure attachment pattern. These results corresponded to scores on the Child Behaviour Checklist (Achenbach, 1991). All maltreated children scored in the clinical range. The family drawings of maltreated children significantly evidenced a greater distress − represented by an insecure attachment pattern – than the drawings of non‐maltreated children represented by a secure attachment style. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.‘The family drawings of maltreated children significantly evidenced a greater distress’

The Relationship between Adult Attachment Styles and Work-Related Self-Perceptions for Australian Paediatric Occupational Therapists

Introduction: An attachment framework has been increasingly employed to inform our understanding of the ways in which early childhood relationships have an impact upon people's adaptation to the workplace. Evidence supports the presence of four attachment-related work orientations in adulthood (secure, cautious, support-seeking and self-reliant), which correspond to a secure and three insecure attachment patterns in early childhood. Although these work orientations have been investigated in several working populations, they have not yet been considered within a sample of occupational therapists. Method: The present exploratory study considered the results of a nationwide survey of 486 paediatric occupational therapists, and investigated the associations between attachment styles and a range of demographic variables and work-related self-perceptions. Results: Consistent with hypotheses, those with a secure attachment style reported a high investment of skill and energy in their job and low levels of over commitment. Conversely, cautious attachment and, to a lesser extent, support-seeking attachment were linked with feeling overcommitted and perceiving low returns in terms of recognition and prestige from their work. Conclusion: Understanding how practitioners' predominant attachment style is associated with work-related self-perceptions may offer insights into their behaviours and needs. This, in turn, can inform the provision of appropriate supports, with potential benefits for staff satisfaction, retention, health, wellbeing and, ultimately, client care.

Knowing loved ones' end-of-life health care wishes: Attachment security predicts caregivers' accuracy.

At times, caregivers make life-and-death decisions for loved ones. Yet very little is known about the factors that make caregivers more or less accurate as surrogate decision makers for their loved ones. Previous research suggests that in low stress situations, individuals with high attachment-related anxiety are attentive to their relationship partners' wishes and concerns, but get overwhelmed by stressful situations. Individuals with high attachment-related avoidance are likely to avoid intimacy and stressful situations altogether. We hypothesized that both of these insecure attachment patterns limit surrogates' ability to process distressing information and should therefore be associated with lower accuracy in the stressful task of predicting their loved ones' end-of-life health care wishes. Older patients visiting a medical clinic stated their preferences toward end-of-life health care in different health contexts, and surrogate decision makers independently predicted those preferences. For comparison purposes, surrogates also predicted patients' perceptions of everyday living conditions so that surrogates' accuracy of their loved ones' perceptions in nonstressful situations could be assessed. Surrogates high on either type of insecure attachment dimension were less accurate in predicting their loved ones' end-of-life health care wishes. It is interesting to note that even though surrogates' attachment-related anxiety was associated with lower accuracy of end-of-life health care wishes of their loved ones, it was associated with higher accuracy in the nonstressful task of predicting their loved ones' everyday living conditions. Attachment orientation plays an important role in accuracy about loved ones' end-of-life health care wishes. Interventions may target emotion regulation strategies associated with insecure attachment orientations.

Is attachment transmitted across generations? The plot thickens.

Studies have demonstrated a strong relation between adult attachment security, using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and infant security, using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). This suggests that a mother's representations of attachment may influence the development of her infant's attachment to her. This study both confirms and modifies that finding in a cohort of 47 first-time mothers and their infants. The AAIs were administered during the third trimester of pregnancy and the SSPs were performed when the infant was 14 months of age. The AAIs were classified using Crittenden's Dynamic-Maturational Model (DMM) and the SSPs using both the DMM and also Main and Solomon's ABC+D methods. There was a significant match of patterns for secure mothers and babies, but a tendency for inversion of insecure patterns of attachment, that is Type A mothers often had infants with a Type C pattern and vice versa. No significant relation was seen between the DMM adult and ABC+D infant patterns of attachment. A significant, but modest, association was found between the DMM and ABC+D infant SSP classifications. These findings may help guide treatment of insecure mother-infant dyads by individualizing interventions to include a focus on maternal representations of the infant and maternal responses to infant behavior.

Parent–child attachment and internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence: A review of empirical findings and future directions

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the theory and evidence for the links of parent-child attachment with internalizing problems in childhood and adolescence. We address three key questions: (a) how consistent is the evidence that attachment security or insecurity is linked to internalizing symptoms, anxiety, and depression? (b) How consistent is the evidence that specific forms of insecurity are more strongly related to internalizing symptoms, anxiety, and depression than are other forms of insecurity? (c) Are associations with internalizing symptoms, anxiety, and depression consistent for mother-child and father-child attachment? The current findings are consistent with the hypothesis that insecure attachment is associated with the development of internalizing problems. The links between specific insecure attachment patterns and internalizing problems are difficult to evaluate. Father-child and mother-child attachments have a comparable impact, although there are relatively few studies of father-child attachment. No moderators consistently affect these relations. We also propose two models of how attachment insecurity may combine with other factors to lead to anxiety or depression.

An exploratory study of the association between reactive attachment disorder and attachment narratives in early school‐age children

To explore attachment narratives in children diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder (RAD). We compared attachment narratives, as measured by the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task, in a group of 33 children with a diagnosis of RAD and 37 comparison children. The relative risk (RR) for children with RAD having an insecure attachment pattern was 2.4 (1.4-4.2) but 30% were rated as securely attached. Within the RAD group, children with a clear history of maltreatment were more likely to be Insecure-Disorganised than children without a clear history of maltreatment. Reactive attachment disorder is not the same as attachment insecurity, and questions remain about how attachment research informs clinical research on attachment disorders.

Adult attachment, personality traits, and borderline personality disorder features in young adults.

Previous studies have demonstrated that insecure attachment patterns and a trait disposition toward negative affect and impulsivity are both associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD) features. According to attachment theory, insecure attachment patterns impart greater risk for the maladaptive personality traits underlying BPD. Hence, insecure attachment might be indirectly related to BPD through its association with these traits. The current cross-sectional study used structural equation modeling to compare two competing models of the relationship between adult attachment patterns, trait negative affect and impulsivity, and BPD features in a large nonclinical sample of young adults: (M1) attachment anxiety and avoidance are positively related to trait negative affect and impulsivity, which in turn, are directly associated with BPD features; and (M2) trait negative affect and impulsivity are positively related to attachment anxiety and avoidance, which in turn, are directly associated with BPD features. Consistent with attachment theory, M1 provided a better fit to the data than M2. However, only attachment anxiety, and not attachment avoidance, was significantly associated with negative affect and impulsivity. The results favored a model in which the relationship between adult attachment anxiety and BPD features is fully mediated by trait negative affect and impulsivity.

Oxytocin enhances the experience of attachment security

Repeated interactions between infant and caregiver result in either secure or insecure relationship attachment patterns, and insecure attachment may affect individual emotion-regulation and health. Given that oxytocin enhances social approach behavior in animals and humans, we hypothesized that oxytocin might also promote the subjective experience of attachment security in humans. Within a 3-week interval, 26 healthy male students classified with an insecure attachment pattern were invited twice to an experimental session. At the beginning of each experiment, a single dose of oxytocin or placebo was administered intranasally, using a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subject design. In both conditions, subjects completed an attachment task based on the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). Thirty-two AAP picture system presentations depicted attachment-related events (e.g. illness, solitude, separation, and loss), and were each accompanied by four prototypical phrases representing one secure and three insecure attachment categories. In the oxytocin condition, a significant proportion of these insecure subjects (N=18; 69%) increased in their rankings of the AAP prototypical "secure attachment" phrases and decreased in overall ranking of the "insecure attachment" phrases. In particular, there was a significant decrease in the number of subjects ranking the pictures with "insecure-preoccupied" phrases from the placebo to the oxytocin condition. We find that a single dose of intranasally administered oxytocin is sufficient to induce a significant increase in the experience of attachment security in insecurely attached adults.

Editorial: Attachment, development and quality of life

This issue includes the 2008 Emanuel Miller Lecture on attachment presented by Prof. Sir Michael Rutter and the practitioner review on quality of life in child mental health by Coghill et al., as well as other papers pertaining to closely related issues of interest, including papers on screening for childhood mental health problems, prosocial development, empathy and psychopathic traits, sibling relationships, parent groups for young children with behaviour difficulties, school-based intervention to reduce aggression, face processing among adolescence with conduct disorder and early markers and maternal sensitivity as associated with attachment in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). No doubt that Emanuel Miller would have been pleased to read this collection of papers which relate nicely to the transactional model of development (Sameroff & Chandler, 1975). Rutter, Kreppner and Sonuga-Barke raise some important questions regarding the state of the art research and its application in the field of attachment. They outline five key landmarks in the development of attachment theory including the differentiation of attachment from love made by Bowlby, the creation of the Strange Situation Procedure by Ainsworth to assess various forms of attachment (secure, insecure – ambivalent, insecure avoidant) between young children and their caregivers, a representational level of attachment in addition to the behavioural level, the addition of the disorganized category to the three aforementioned categories, and the introduction of the diagnostic category of Reactive Attachment Disorder. The authors state that “in itself, insecurity is not an indication of disorder or even maladjustment” (p. 530). Therefore, attachment as conceptualized and assessed in children with typical as well as atypical development does not “incorporate the whole of social relationships and behaviour” (p. 530) but rather is one aspect of social relationships. Today we know that children with ASD with all their social difficulties and impairments, not only discriminate among adults, but also form secure attachments with their mothers (Rutgers, Bakermans-Kranenburg, van IJzendoorn, & van Berckelaer-Onnes, 2004). Whereas the 50% rate of secure attachment in samples of children with ASD is lower than the 65–70% in normative samples, it is still surprisingly high, suggesting that insecure attachment and ASD may be somewhat independent of one another, and this may be true for other disorders as well. Even in the case of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), which may intuitively suggest an insecure attachment pattern, it is well documented that adopted children can reveal both secure attachments toward their adoptive parents and signs of RAD at the same time (Chisholm, 1998; O’Connor et al., 2001). Thus attachment may be best viewed as one component of social and emotional development and not as encompassing the whole of social relationships and behaviour, nor as explaining or as a prerequisite of psychopathology. It is perhaps more appropriate to view secure attachment as a protective factor and insecure attachment as a risk factor. The interaction and transaction of disposition and context are important contributors to the continuity and discontinuity in attachment classifications and to the independence of attachment classifications on the one hand, and typical development and diagnostic entities on the other hand. Moreover, attachment security and insecurity may be best conceptualized as contributing positively or negatively, respectively, to the quality of life in children with typical development as well as in children with various diagnoses because secure attachments help all children to more fully actualize their developmental potential, whereas insecure attachments may inhibit such actualization.