Levels Of Attachment Anxiety Research Articles

Comparing attachment across cultures, child gender, age, and parental gender: Vietnamese versus Belgian adolescents' self-reported attachment anxiety and avoidance.

The short form of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised Child version (ECR-RC) is a promising self-report measure of anxious and avoidant attachment in Western adolescents, yet little is known about its psychometric properties across cultures. More importantly, little is known about attachment styles across cultures, child gender, and parental gender. The present study aims to address these limitations by studying the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the ECR-RC in a sample of 1,232 Belgian and Vietnamese adolescents (45.9% boys, Mage = 12.3, SD = 1.20, range = 9.0-15.0; 61.36% Vietnamese adolescents). Results indicated that the factor structure of the mother-oriented ECR-RC was replicated across a Belgian and a Vietnamese sample and that the scale was invariant across both cultures and across gender and age. Vietnamese adolescents were more avoidantly and anxiously attached to their mothers compared to their Belgian counterparts. Boys were more avoidantly and anxiously attached compared to girls for the total sample. Considering two countries separately, boys were found to be more avoidantly attached, not anxiously attached compared to girls. Furthermore, with increasing age, more anxious and avoidant attachment was reported, except in Belgian adolescents where anxious and avoidant attachment did not differ over age. Focusing solely on the Vietnamese data, results revealed that the ECR-RC is a reliable measure to assess Vietnamese adolescents' anxious and avoidant attachment to both parents. Vietnamese adolescents did not differ in their levels of anxious attachment toward both parents but showed higher avoidant attachment to fathers compared to mothers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Attachment Security Priming Delayed Negative Information-Related Attentional Disengagement Among Anxiously Attached Individuals: Evidence From Behavioral and Functional MRI Experiments.

Although attachment security has been found to attenuate people’s experience of unpleasant information, how it modulates the attentional process toward such information remains unknown. The present study examined this issue by employing the dot-probe task in functional MRI. After completing the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire (ECR-R), 39 participants were asked to complete the dot-probe task in two conditions: the attachment security priming condition and neutral priming condition. The behavioral results revealed that individuals with high level of attachment anxiety exhibited larger attention disengagement from negative traits in the security priming condition than in the control condition. Correspondingly, the brain regions involved in attention regulation and shifting, such as the posterior cingulate and bilateral parietal area, were less activated among high anxiously attached individuals in the security priming condition. These results suggest a role of attachment security priming in regulating the emotional response in anxiously attached individuals during the attentional stage.

We only know that we don’t know: attachment patterns and psychological coping during the COVID-19 pandemic – the mediation role of intolerance of uncertainty

ABSTRACT The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic created sudden changes in many areas of daily life and increased uncertainty about the future. Two studies examined the association between attachment patterns and mental well-being during the pandemic, the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty (IOU), and factors related to social relationships and self-perceptions. The results of the first study, conducted at the outbreak of the pandemic, indicated that individuals with high levels of attachment anxiety experienced more negative emotions and fewer positive emotions at that time, and that IOU and perceived social support mediated these associations. The results of the second study, conducted several months into the pandemic, indicated an association between attachment anxiety and avoidance, and perceived stress during the time of the pandemic. Results of Study 2 also indicated that IOU mediated the association between attachment anxiety and stress, and that sense of coherence (SOC) mediated the association between attachment anxiety and avoidance, and stress. These findings underscore the adverse psychological effects of uncertain situations, especially for individuals with a fragile foundation of interpersonal support, thus emphasizing the need for action to reduce uncertainty, especially in times of emergency.

Disorganized attachment and prolonged grief.

While the relationship between attachment anxiety and avoidance and the severity of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) has been well-studied, less is known about the relationship between disorganized attachment and PGD. We test the associations between disorganized attachment and the interaction between it and attachment avoidance and anxiety on PGD. Participants (N = 258) who had lost a family member from 0.5 to 8.0 years before the survey completed the experiences in close relationships-revised, the adult disorganized attachment scale, and the PGD-13 scale. The model explaining PGD symptoms through attachment, taking into account the level of disorganized attachment, explained variance in PGD significantly better than the model taking into account only the level of attachment anxiety and avoidance as predictors. Additionally, the relationships between attachment avoidance and PGD were positive, negative, or neither, depending on the configuration of the levels of disorganized attachment and attachment anxiety. Future research into the relationships between attachment and PGD should take into account disorganized attachment. Attachment-informed grief therapy focused on insecure styles of attachment - including the disorganized style - to the deceased person and other loved ones may prove a promising approach for bereaved persons who experience PGD.

COVID-19 Related Traumatic Distress in Psychotherapy Patients during the Pandemic: The Role of Attachment, Working Alliance, and Therapeutic Agency.

The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a challenging time for many psychotherapy patients. To understand why certain patients were more resilient, we examined the role of patients’ attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance, as well as collaborative therapy experiences (perceived working alliance and therapeutic agency) in their online sessions on their COVID-related traumatic distress over a three-month period. A total of 466 patients in online psychotherapy completed a survey during the first weeks of the pandemic, and 121 of those completed a follow-up survey three months later. Lower distress at follow-up was predicted by patients’ lower attachment anxiety and higher therapeutic agency in their online sessions after controlling for baseline distress and time of survey completion. Higher working alliance predicted less distress at follow-up only for patients with high attachment anxiety. For patients with low attachment avoidance (i.e., more securely attached), higher therapeutic agency predicted less distress. These findings suggest that patients’ attachment anxiety and therapeutic agency may play significant roles also in online therapy during COVID-19 in patient’s experienced traumatic distress, and that working alliance and therapeutic agency may be differentially important for patients with different levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance.

More Proximal, More Willing to Purchase: The Mechanism for Variability in Consumers' Purchase Intention Toward Sincere vs. Exciting Brands.

Sincerity and excitement are core brand personality dimensions, which capture the majority of consumers’ personality perceptions associated with brands. Previous research has demonstrated that consumers are more willing to purchase sincere brands than exciting brands. The present research addresses the mechanism underlying this variability. A total of four studies were conducted. Study 1 adopted survey-based design and manipulated brand personality by two versions of fictitious coffee brands. Results showed that sincere (vs. exciting) brands elicited more proximal psychological distance and in turn led to higher purchase intention. With a similar procedure, a different sample, and a different product (vacuum cup), Study 2 replicated the pattern demonstrated in Study 1. Moreover, the impact of brand personality upon psychological distance was found to be more prominent among consumers with high (vs. low) levels of attachment anxiety. Because psychological distance is proposed and proved to be a critical variable for mediating the variability in purchase intention, we adopted cognitive computerized tasks in Studies 3–4 to test whether stimuli perceived as sincere and exciting will induce different responses relevant to the perceptions of psychological distance. Study 3 adopted a picture-word version of Stroop task to test whether the automatic activation of personality-priming words would carry various perceptions of psychological distance, and results showed that participants classified distance faster when a close (vs. far) spatial distance matched sincere words and when a far (vs. close) spatial distance matched exciting words. Study 4 adopted the interference task to examine whether visual attention would be affected by personality-priming images, and results indicated a stronger cueing effect and an articulated interference effect for sincere (vs. exciting) figures. This research advances the literature of brand personality by probing the important role of psychological distance and further elaborating on the variability of consumer behavior toward sincere and exciting brands.

Explicit and implicit attachment and the outcomes of acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for depression

BackgroundAttachment theory predicts that patients who are not securely attached may benefit less from psychological treatment. However, evidence on the predictive role of attachment in the effectiveness of treatment for depression is limited.MethodsExplicit attachment styles, levels of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance, as well as implicit relational self-esteem and implicit relational anxiety were assessed in 67 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) receiving Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). ANOVA and hierarchical regression analyses were performed to investigate the predictive power of explicit and implicit attachment measures on treatment outcome.ResultsExplicit attachment avoidance at pre-treatment significantly predicted reduction of depressive symptoms following treatment. Reductions in attachment anxiety and avoidance from pre- to post-treatment predicted better treatment outcomes. Neither one of the implicit measures, nor change in these measures from pre- tot post-treatment significantly predicted treatment outcome.ConclusionsOur findings show that attachment avoidance as well as reductions in avoidant and anxious attachment predict symptom reduction after psychological treatment for depression. Future research should use larger sample sizes to further examine the role of attachment orientation as moderator and mediator of treatment outcome.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov; NCT01517503.

Moderating Role of Attachment Orientation in the Association between the Level of Depressive Symptoms and Informal Support among Hospitalized Older Adults

ABSTRACT Objectives: Close family members or friends support hospitalized older adults in many countries. This support might act as a protective factor against the adverse consequences of hospitalization. However, individual differences might interfere with the ability to gain from this kind of support, especially if the patient in question is suffering from a high level of depression. This study explores how attachment predispositions shape the relationship between depression and informal support in the hospital setting. Methods: A short version of the attachment orientation questionnaire and the level of depression questionnaire were completed by 387, age M(SD) = 75.4(7.1) hospitalized older adults at admission. The number of hours informal caregivers stayed in the hospital and support received were collected for up to three consecutive hospitalization days. Results: Both attachment anxiety (t = −2.47, p = .01) and avoidance (t = −2.17, p = .03) moderated the relationship between depression and hours of support. Post hoc analysis revealed that older adults with high levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance received fewer hours of support under conditions of high depression (t = −3.04, p = .003; t = −2.92, p = .004, respectively). There were no significant results for received support. Conclusions: The study results emphasize the relevance of attachment orientation to caregiving relations in health-related contexts and call for awareness of the effect that level of depression combined with attachment orientation can have during hospitalization. Clinical implications: Assessing attachment orientation and depression in hospitalized elders might be useful for identifying older adults at risk for insufficient informal support during hospitalization.

High Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System Sensitivity, Childhood Emotional Neglect and Their Interaction as Possible Related Factors for Adult Attachment Style in Depression.

ObjectiveIndividual differences in attachment insecurity are important in a broad range of mental health problems. However, few empirical studies have examined the clinical factors that contribute to individual differences in attachment style. This study examines the nature of interrelationships among adult attachment styles, sensitivities of behavioral activation system/behavioral inhibition system (BIS/BAS), and childhood trauma in patients with depressive disorders. MethodsPatients with depressive disorders (n=294) completed self-report questionnaires evaluating adult attachment style, childhood trauma, and BIS/BAS sensitivity. We performed multiple regression analyses to examine the associations between attachment style and other clinical factors, including childhood trauma and BIS/BAS sensitivity. We also conducted hierarchical regression analyses and simple slope analyses to examine the interaction between BIS/BAS sensitivity and childhood trauma. ResultsThe BAS sensitivity was negatively associated with attachment avoidance. The higher was the BIS/BAS sensitivity, the higher was the level of attachment anxiety. Among childhood trauma, emotional neglect contributed to both dimensions of insecure attachment. The interaction between BAS sensitivity and emotional neglect is significantly associated with attachment anxiety. ConclusionThis study used data regarding the interrelationship of childhood trauma and basic motivational systems to contribute to the understanding of adult insecure attachment behaviors, a risk factor for depression.

Individual differences in attachment anxiety shape the association between adverse childhood experiences and adult somatic symptoms

BackgroundAlthough prior research has documented the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and somatic symptoms, it remains unclear why some individuals exposed to ACEs developed somatic symptoms while others did not. ObjectiveFramed by a biopsychosocial perspective, this study investigated the role of attachment anxiety in the association between ACEs and somatic symptoms in adulthood. Participants and SettingA total of 662 emerging adults attending college were recruited to respond to an online survey in a computer lab. MethodThe computer-based survey included demographic form, the Adverse Childhood Experience Scale, the Experience in Close Relationship Scale–Short Form, and the Somatization Scale of the Symptom Checklist–90—Revised for somatic symptoms. Multivariate regression analyses were used to examine the role of attachment anxiety in the association between ACEs and somatic symptoms. ResultsThe results indicated that ACEs positively correlated with attachment anxiety and somatic symptoms; and attachment anxiety and somatic symptoms were positively correlated. Moreover, the results indicated a significant effect of interaction between ACEs and attachment anxiety on somatic symptoms, suggesting a moderating role of attachment anxiety. Subsequent simple slope test revealed that attachment anxiety intensified the strength of relation between ACEs and somatic symptoms; but when the level of attachment anxiety was low, ACEs and somatic symptoms were not related. ConclusionIndividual differences in attachment anxiety shape the association of adverse childhood experiences with somatic symptoms. Targeting and reformulating anxious working models of attachment may help ameliorate vulnerability to somatic symptoms in individuals exposed to ACEs.

Attachment and social support matters: a longitudinal moderated mediation on the link between maternal depression and maternal behaviours in at-risk adolescent mothers

ABSTRACT Adolescent motherhood tends to occur among vulnerable backgrounds, with increased environmental stressors which might jeopardize the quality of mother-infant interaction. One important factor affecting mother-infant interactions is mothers’ depressive symptoms. However, dispositional (e.g. attachment orientation) as well as external characteristics (e.g. social support) might affect this relation. This study examined longitudinally the effects of postpartum depression on maternal behaviours and explored the role played by social support and attachment orientation on this link in a sample of 35 low-income Brazilian adolescent mothers of infants 12 months old. Self-reported maternal depression and social support scales were answered by mothers and maternal behaviours were videotaped and coded at 6 and 12 months postpartum. Self-reported attachment was obtained at 12 months postpartum. Perceptions of social support mediated the association between mothers’ depression and mothers’ positive behaviours only for those with higher levels of attachment anxiety. Findings could be helpful to intervention programmes targeting adolescent mothers to promote the quality of interaction.

The direct and indirect effects of couples’ attachment relationship on children’s depression

The present study examined whether there is any direct or indirect association between couples’ attachment relationship and depressive symptoms experienced by their children. Having in mind the importance of the caregiving role of both mothers and fathers, the initial aim of the study was to collect data about the couple’s attachment relationship, from the two parents. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of fathers were unwilling to provide information regarding their attachment relationship. That’s why it was finally decided to collect data about the couple’s attachment from mothers only. For the same reason, only mothers’ parenting style was used as the mediating factor, in order to test any possible indirect effects, between couples’ attachment relationship and children’s depression. More specifically, three kinds of parenting style were examined, the authoritative, the authoritarian, and the permissive style. The results of the study revealed that mothers who experience higher levels of attachment anxiety tend to apply an authoritarian parenting style and this specific parenting style is significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms in children. Additionally, mothers who experience higher levels of attachment avoidance tend to behave in an authoritarian way towards their children, and this parenting style is also associated with higher depression in children.

Attachment orientations and loss adjustment among bereaved spouses

Stressful life events such as losing a spouse can enhance inflammation. Responses to loss may depend, in part, on individual differences in attachment anxiety and avoidance. An individual’s attachment orientation (i.e., an individual’s levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance) reflects how an individual relates to others-- specifically, whether they feel their trusted others will reliably be there for them, and whether they feel comfortable opening up to and depending on their relationship partners. This study investigated the association between attachment orientations and poor loss adjustment in recently bereaved individuals (N = 100). Poor loss adjustment was operationalized as greater levels of inflammation and grief symptoms, as well as poorer self-reported mental and physical health. Attachment anxiety was associated with increased stimulated monocyte IL-6 and CCL4 production, but not TNFα. Likewise, attachment anxiety was associated with greater grief symptoms as well as poorer mental and physical health. In contrast, attachment avoidance was not associated with inflammation; it was, however, associated with less grief symptoms as well as better self-reported mental and physical health. Our findings provide evidence that attachment orientations may be associated with loss adjustment and adverse health outcomes following the recent loss of a spouse.

Insecure Attachment, Emotion Dysregulation, and Psychological Aggression in Couples.

According to adult attachment theory, levels of insecure attachment-both anxious and avoidant-are associated with abilities to regulate emotions in a relational context. This study is the first to test emotion dysregulation as a mediator of the association between levels of insecure attachment and psychological aggression using dyadic data. Cross-sectional self-report data were collected from 124 couples presenting for couple or family therapy at an outpatient clinic. Path analysis was used to analyze an actor-partner interdependence mediational model. Results did not support emotion dysregulation mediating the association between level of anxious attachment and psychological aggression, or the association between level of avoidant attachment and psychological aggression. Results indicated a direct actor effect between level of anxious attachment and psychological aggression for women (β = .19, p = .045) and men (β = .19, p = .027). Direct partner effects between people's own levels of anxious attachment and their partners' psychological aggression for women (β = .28, p = .001) and men (β = .33, p = .001) were also identified. Results also indicated direct actor effects between anxious attachment and emotion dysregulation in both women (β = .51, p < .001) and men (β = .58, p < .001), whereas direct actor effects between avoidant attachment and emotion dysregulation were only identified among women (β = .32, p < .001). Results suggest that increasing partners' abilities to effectively manage their own maladaptive attachment-related behaviors may decrease levels of psychological aggression between partners. Limitations and clinical implications for couple therapists are discussed.

Exploring the Role of Sexual Avoidance in Male Sexual Dysfunction

Theoretical models of male sexual dysfunction highlight the role of sexual avoidance as a maintaining factor. However, little empirical research has directly tested the role of sexual avoidance in samples of men with sexual problems. The goals of the current study were to A) assess the association between sexual avoidance, sexual function, and subjective sexual well-being, and B) explore possible predictors of sexual avoidance, including insecure attachment, activation of negative sexual schemas, and trait experiential avoidance. One hundred and fifty eight men with self-identified impairments in sexual function (low desire, erectile function, and/or premature/delayed ejaculation) completed validated self-report measures in a secure online survey. Sexual avoidance was uniquely predicted by most aspects of sexual function, and was correlated with poorer subjective sexual well-being. Higher levels of attachment avoidance and activation of negative schemas uniquely predicted more frequent sexual avoidance. Alternatively, interaction models suggested that impaired erectile function was less likely to be associated with sexual avoidance for those with high levels of attachment anxiety and for those with high levels of trait experiential avoidance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The role of attachment avoidance and defensive fight in aggression

Attachment insecurity (i.e., levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance) is associated with interpersonal violence and aggression. However, evidence suggests that the associations are more consistent for attachment anxiety than for attachment avoidance. This raises questions as to whether there are particular moderators that may help to explain the lack of consistency in findings for attachment avoidance. In this article, we focus on a novel moderator regarding the association between attachment avoidance and aggression. Drawing on attachment theory, the aggression literature, and research into systems of threat detection, we suggest that the association between attachment avoidance and aggression may reflect a defensive fight (DF) response in situations of high relationship threat. Across two studies (Study 1, a self-report cross-sectional design; N = 128; Study 2, a cross-sectional experimental design, N = 126), we tested the extent that DF moderated the association between attachment avoidance and aggression under perceived relationship threat. In line with our suggestion, a three-way interaction was found across both studies between attachment avoidance, relationship threat, and DF. The findings have important theoretical and practical implications for the study of interpersonal aggression from an attachment theory perspective.

High emotionality to infant cry: associations with adult attachment, gender, and age

ABSTRACT Caregivers’ sensitive responses to infant cry have long-term consequences for adaptive child development. Although mounting evidence suggests that parents who experience high emotionality to infant cry respond less sensitively to infant cry, there is a dearth of knowledge on potential mechanisms underlying individual differences in emotionality to infant cry. The current study investigates the importance of adult attachment security, gender, and age. 76 non-parents (38 female; 19–30 years old) listened to two episodes of infant cry (15 s; 75 s). Individuals with h⁠igher levels of attachment security reported less anxiety and hostility after the short cry, and less hostility after the long cry. For individuals with higher levels of attachment anxiety, associations were in the opposite direction, and individuals with higher levels of attachment avoidance reported more positive emotions after the long cry. Males and emergent adults reported more hostility after the long cry than females and adults. Results are discussed from an adult attachment, gender, and developmental theoretical framework.

No Such Thing as a Baby: Responses to Infant Cry Paradigms Are Primarily Influenced by Parents’ Experiences and Behavior

SYNOPSISThis article builds on our previous work demonstrating that, when exposed to work–family conflict, parents with high levels of attachment anxiety exhibit greater work–family guilt and less tolerance of infant distress. We respond to commentaries suggesting that the theoretical model could be enhanced by better accounting for innate infant differences and parent psychopathology, arguing that it is possible that parents’ experiences of work–family conflict and attachment anxiety precede the development of psychopathology and may influence the development of infant temperament and behavior. We further explore clinical implications of our findings and identify key suggestions for future work, with an emphasis on the roles of parental experiences of childhood maltreatment and insensitive caregiving.

Ghosts in the Nursery 2.0

SYNOPSISParental working is not unambiguously beneficial for children. On the one hand, working parents can be positive role models for their children, and income can improve children’s lives in many ways. On the other hand, work can impair parent-child interactions, especially when the parents experience high levels of working stress. In my commentary, I conclude that the paper by River, enjoys strong support for the impact of maternal state anxiety (attachment anxiety) and work-interfering-with-family (WIF)-conflict related guilt on parents behaviors. Considering the cognitive-relational stress-theory by Lazarus and Folkman, the balance of personal resources and external demands can explain parental stress, which could be associated with parental behavior. Full-time-working parents, who experience high levels of guilt and report high levels of attachment anxiety, are more prone to show low levels of stress resistance toward crying infants. However, these associations are not studied in families with high risk factors. Furthermore, future studies should include aspects of mental health status in a theoretical model. Taken together, the target article provides a solid foundation for further research. I also propose to transfer the findings into more realistic research setting, which includes high-risk groups (parents with low socioeconomic status, low-income, mental health problems) to study how infant cry can influence parents’ patterns of care and abuse. The commentary tries to enrich the study by including Fraiberg’s “ghosts in the nursery” to further integrating parental mentalizing processes in the model explaining parents’ reactions to infant cry signal in the context of WIF conflicts.

Attachment insecurity and dispositional aggression: The mediating role of maladaptive anger regulation

Attachment insecurity has been associated with dysfunctional strategies for emotion regulation, leading to inflexible or maladaptive responding. Currently, application of the attachment framework to anger is underspecified. This study presents a preliminary investigation of attachment-related differences in the dispositional regulation of anger and aggressive outcomes. Two hundred seventy participants completed measures of adult attachment (attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance), anger regulation processes (anger suppression, unregulated anger, and anger control), and aggressive outcomes (physical aggression, verbal aggression, and hostility). While those high in attachment anxiety have been found to under-regulate other negative emotions, our results postulate that these individuals may implement a suppression strategy when faced with the experience of anger. Mediation models indicate that anger suppression is implicated in the relationship between attachment dimensions and hostility but not physical aggression. This supports the notion that suppression may be useful in reducing the external expression of anger but cannot alleviate the associated internal cognitions. These findings suggest that levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance should be considered when identifying techniques to target specific anger regulatory difficulties that contribute to increased aggression. Further, consideration and exploration of the role of security priming is encouraged as a possible mechanism by which to reduce dispositional hostility in those with high levels of attachment insecurity.