Terms Of Attachment Theory Research Articles

Evaluations of Supportive Messages Provided by Friends and Romantic Partners: An Attachment Theory Approach

In a questionnaire study of 270 college students we investigated relationships of adult attachment‐style dimensions and perceptions of comforting messages received from friends and romantic partners. We found that comfort with closeness, preoccupied with relationships, and fear of intimacy all associated with factors developed by Bippus (2001) on evaluations of comforting communication. These same three attachment‐style dimensions were significantly related with perceptions of social support, further supporting the link between adult attachment orientations and feelings about others’ supportiveness. Gender differences in evaluations of comforting messages were also examined. These findings will be discussed in terms of attachment theory.

Attachment behaviours and parent fixation in people with dementia: The role of cognitive functioning and pre-morbid attachment style

This study replicates and extends exploratory research into the occurrence of attachment behaviours and parent fixation amongst people with dementia. Relationships between cognitive functioning, pre-morbid attachment style, attachment behaviours and parent fixation were examined. Fifty-three people with dementia, living in residential or nursing homes, completed the Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination and were interviewed about their parents. A family member or friend rated pre-morbid attachment style and care staff made observations of attachment behaviour. Results indicated that parent fixation occurred more often in participants with lower levels of cognitive functioning. Parent fixation was not related to pre-morbid attachment style. The occurrence of overt attachment behaviour was inconsistently associated with both high and low levels of cognitive functioning, at different times of the day. Participants with an avoidant attachment style exhibited more overt attachment behaviour than participants with a secure attachment style. Findings are interpreted in terms of attachment theory and the clinical and research implications of the study are discussed.

SOME DEVELOPMENTAL FACETS OF SILENCE: A CASE STUDY OF A STRUGGLE TO HAVE A PROXIMITY FIGURE

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of silence in therapy has not elicited a great deal of research in the past 50 years, but cases that were published acknowledged the many facets of silence in therapy and its having a communicative function and being part of the transference. The aim of this article is to demonstrate a case in which a patient exhibited different kinds of silences which stemmed from different sources over the course of nine years of psychotherapy. In analysing the case, it was proposed that the patient used silences in order to attain proximity to the therapist as an attachment figure and to base the proximity and distance in relation to her. It was also proposed that his silences matured and developed from expressing avoidance to the expression of intimacy thus facilitating the maturation of his capacity to maintain a dialogue. The possibility of interpreting silences is discussed in terms of attachment theory.

Attachment Orientations, Dependence, and Behavior in a Stressful Situation: An Application of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

In this study, we assessed how attachment orientations and degree of relationship dependence influence individuals' own behavior and their partners' behavior in a stressful situation using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kashy & Kenny, 2000). Dating couples were videotaped while the female partner was waiting to engage in an anxiety-provoking task. Raters then evaluated the behavior of each partner on theoretically relevant dimensions. We found that more avoidantly attached individuals behaved more negatively toward their partners. Moreover, people behaved more negatively if their partners were more avoidant. Very few direct effects of dependence emerged. However, attachment orientations, particularly avoidant attachment and level of dependence, interacted to predict the behavior of both partners. In particular, less avoidant and highly dependent people behaved less negatively toward their partners, whereas more avoidant and less dependent people behaved more negatively. These results are discussed in terms of attachment theory, interdependence theory, and the APIM.

Adult attachment and the transition to parenthood.

This study examined how a major life stressor--the transition to parenthood--affects marital satisfaction and functioning among persons with different attachment orientations. As hypothesized, the interaction between women's degree of attachment ambivalence and their perceptions of spousal support (assessed 6 weeks prior to childbirth) predicted systematic changes in men's and women's marital satisfaction and related factors over time (6 months postpartum). Specifically, if highly ambivalent (preoccupied) women entered parenthood perceiving lower levels of support from their husbands, they experienced declines in marital satisfaction. Women's ambivalence also predicted their own as well as their husbands' marital satisfaction and functioning concurrently. The degree of attachment avoidance did not significantly predict marital changes, although women's avoidance did correlate with some of the concurrent marital measures. These findings are discussed in terms of attachment theory.

Adult attachment and the transition to parenthood.

This study examined how a major life stressor--the transition to parenthood--affects marital satisfaction and functioning among persons with different attachment orientations. As hypothesized, the interaction between women's degree of attachment ambivalence and their perceptions of spousal support (assessed 6 weeks prior to childbirth) predicted systematic changes in men's and women's marital satisfaction and related factors over time (6 months postpartum). Specifically, if highly ambivalent (preoccupied) women entered parenthood perceiving lower levels of support from their husbands, they experienced declines in marital satisfaction. Women's ambivalence also predicted their own as well as their husbands' marital satisfaction and functioning concurrently. The degree of attachment avoidance did not significantly predict marital changes, although women's avoidance did correlate with some of the concurrent marital measures. These findings are discussed in terms of attachment theory.

Intimate Relationships Moderate the Association Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Depression

The authors examined adult attachment, intimacy, and partner physical abuse as potential mediators or moderators of the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and depression. Contrary to previous research, our results showed that being a survivor of CSA was not necessarily associated with higher levels of physical abuse or with lower levels of intimacy. Thus, the relationship variables did not mediate the association between CSA and depression. However, they did moderate this relationship. CSA survivors were both better protected from depression when they perceived their relationships to be of high quality and more vulnerable to depression when they did not than were nonsurvivors. However, an exception occurred when their relationships were physically abusive: CSA survivors who were being physically abused reported fewer depressive symptoms than did nonsurvivors in the same situation. This finding was interpreted in terms of attachment theory and the self-verification hypothesis.

The association between adult attachment style and mental health in extreme life-endangering conditions

This study examines the association between adult attachment style and psychopathology in extreme life-endangering conditions. A group of 40 Israeli Jewish settlers who lived within the Palestinian Authority territory (high-threat group) were asked to fill out an attachment style scale and psychiatric symptomatology measures. They were compared to a control group of Israeli Jewish persons who lived within the State of Israel. Findings showed higher symptomatology in the high-threat than control group. Secure attachment style was inversely related to symptomatology measures. In contrast, anxious–ambivalent and avoidant attachment styles were positively related to symptomatology measures. However, whereas the anxious–ambivalent attachment style was related to psychopathology in the two threat conditions, the avoidant style was related to psychopathology only in the high-threat group. Results were discussed in terms of attachment theory.

Adult attachment, emotional control, and marital satisfaction

AbstractThis study extends previous research into the relations among attachment style, emotional experience, and emotional control. Questionnaire measures of these variables were completed by a broad sample of 238 married couples. Continuous measures of attachment showed that insecure attachment (low Comfort with closeness; high Anxiety over relationships) was related to greater control of emotion, regardless of whether the emotion was partner‐related or not. Insecure attachment was also associated with less frequent and intense positive emotion and with more frequent and intense negative emotion, although these links depended on context (partner‐related or not), attachment dimension, and gender. Emotional control added to the prediction of marital satisfaction, after controlling for attachment dimensions; the most robust links with satisfaction were inverse relations with own control of positive emotion and with partner's control of negative emotion. The results are discussed in terms of attachment theory, affect regulation, and communication in marriage.

Differences in Imagined Interactions as a Consequence of Marital Ideology and Attachment

This study examined the relationship between attachment theory and Fitzpatrick's [1] marital typology based on traditional, independent, and separate ideologies in terms of imagined interactions or covert dialogues that individuals have with relational partners. According to attachment theory, individuals have internal schemata of themselves and their relationships which provide expectancies for adult relationships. These expectancies are reflected in secure, anxious/ambivalent, and avoidant attachment based on the typology derived by Hazan and Shaver [2]. A series of five hypotheses were tested exploring the relationship between attachment styles, marital types, and the prediction of attachment as a function of having imagined interactions with a relational partner in which individuals imagine talking with significant others about important relationship issues. The data revealed that sharing as a marital ideology was associated with a secure attachment and negatively associated with an anxious/ambivalent attachment. In addition, the data revealed that an anxious/ambivalent attachment was associated with having discrepant imagined interactions and that a secure attachment was associated with rehearsing messages that were vivid and nondiscrepant from real encounters. Results are discussed in terms of attachment theory, imagined interaction functions, and marital ideologies.

Disturbed female offenders: Helping the ‘untreatable’

Ten highly disturbed women on the psychiatric wing of HMP Holloway, who had experienced difficulty in obtaining beds in NHS secure facilities, were interviewed and completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory II (MCMI-II). The results of the interviews and the MCMI-II, which both showed extreme ambivalence in the women's relationships, are discussed in terms of attachment theory. It is suggested that the ‘treatability’ criterion of the Mental Health Act is used to exclude from forensic psychiatric services women who are challenging to work with and who do not fit easily into a medical model. It is argued that ‘help’, as opposed to ‘treatment’, is a meaningful concept within the terms of the Act and that the gap in service provision through which these women fall could be filled by ‘attachment-minded’ services that have ‘help’ as their primary aim.

The association between spouses' self-reports of attachment styles and representations of family dynamics.

The current research assesses the association between spouses' self-reports of attachment style and their perceptions of family dynamics. The sample included 93 Israeli married couples with young children. Both husbands and wives completed the adult attachment style scale and the perceived and ideal versions of FACES III. Findings showed that spouses whose self-reports endorsed the secure style perceived relatively high levels of family cohesion and adaptability; persons who endorsed the anxious-ambivalent style reported high levels of family cohesion but low levels of adaptability; and persons who endorsed the avoidant style reported relatively low levels of both family dimensions. In addition, significant associations were found between reports of attachment styles, on the one hand, and ideal representations of family dynamics, the marital partner's representations of family dynamics, and spouses' discrepancies in these representations, on the other. Findings are discussed in terms of attachment theory.

The contribution of adult attachment style to the adjustment to infertility.

This study examines the contribution of adult attachment style to the adjustment to infertility. Both husbands and wives of 80 infertile couples undergoing medical treatment completed the Attachment Style Scale, the Mental Health Inventory and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. One year later, data were collected on whether women became pregnant. Diagnosis of male infertility was significantly more distressing than diagnosis of female infertility. Significant differences were found among attachment groups: secure persons, either men or women, reported more well-being, less distress and more dyadic adjustment than avoidant and anxious-ambivalent persons. Partners of secure persons also reported significantly higher levels of well-being and dyadic adjustment and significantly lower levels of distress than partners of anxious-ambivalent persons. However, these effects of attachment style were significant mainly when male infertility was diagnosed. Husbands' secure attachment made a significant positive contribution to pregnancy likelihood and this effect was mediated by adjustment measures. Results are discussed in terms of attachment theory.

When Marriage Breaks Up-Does Attachment Style Contribute to Coping and Mental Health?

This study examines the association between adult attachment style and the way people react to the crisis of divorce. A research group of 120 participants undergoing legal procedures related to divorce and a control group of 108 married participants were classified according to their attachment style (secure, avoidant, anxious-ambivalent) and completed the Mental Health Inventory. In addition, the divorced participants answered scales tapping appraisal of divorce and ways of coping with it. As expected, divorced participants reported more distress than married ones. This effect was found among avoidant and anxious-ambivalent participants, but not among secure participants. Significant differences were also found among attachment groups in appraisal and coping variables. Structural analyses supported the hypothesis that appraisal and coping mediate the association between attachment style and mental health during the crisis of divorce. Results are discussed in terms of attachment theory.

Personality Correlates of One's Image of Jesus: Historiographic Analysis Using the Five-Factor Model of Personality

This research obtained ratings of Jesus on a comprehensive, well-validated personality instrument, the Adjective Check List. Ratings from 77 women and 38 men (ages 17 to 75) were obtained, and the resulting historiographic profile portrayed Jesus as being sympathetic and supportive of others, although he was perceived as maintaining an autonomous and detached presence. Using the five-factor model of personality as the organizing framework, we found that about 11% of the variance in the Jesus ratings overlapped with self-ratings of personality. We outlined the utility of historiographic analysis employing comprehensive models of personality by discussing it in terms of attachment theory.

Are emotional and instrumental supportive interactions beneficial in times of stress? The impact of attachment style

The present study investigates the contribution of individuals' attachment style to the effectiveness of social support in dealing with stress. Secure, avoidant, and anxious-ambivalent persons were exposed to a stressful situation (handling a snake). Then, participants waited alone for the task or were assigned to either emotional or instrumental conversations with a partner, and their affective state before and after the social interactions were measured. Findings indicated that the affective state of securely attached participants was improved by either emotional or instrumental social interactions. The affective state of avoidant persons benefited from an instrumental conversation, but it was impaired by an emotionally-ladden social interaction. Anxious-ambivalent persons were not affected by an emotional conversation, but showed an increase in negative affecs after an instrumental conversation. Results were discussed in terms of attachment theory and research.

Strategies of Co-operation: A Commentary

The papers in this special section illustrate the subtle interweaving of co-operation and competition as individual strategies, in primates and humans. These strategies can be strongly influenced by cultural context, and by individual/relational characteristics. The Charlesworth/LaFreniere paradigm provides opportunities for examining these, and could be analysed further in games theory terms; as can alternative paradigms. Friendship is one important relational characteristic, and its causal links to reciprocity might be examined further in terms of attachment theory and genetic similarity theory. An attachment theory approach may give insight into cultural differences in the co-operation/competition balance.

Cognitive Therapy of Suicidal Behavior: A Manual for Treatment

What About No-Harm Contracts? Cognitive Therapy of Suicidal Behavior: A Manual for Treatment Arthur Freeman and Mark A. Reinecke New York: Springer Publishing Company, 1993,239 pp. $37.95 (hardcover) Freeman and Reinecke have condensed a wealth of research and experience into a practical reference book, Cognitive Therapy of Suicidal Behavior: A Manual for Treatment. The first two chapters provide a general introduction to suicidal behavior and cognitive therapy. Different views (genetic, biochemical, psychoanalytic, religious, and learned helplessness) and types (hopeless, histrionic, psychotic, and rational) of suicidal behavior are discussed briefly. The role of cognition in the development of depression and suicidal behavior, along with research documenting this relationship, is reviewed. Concise descriptions of 16 factors contributing to vulnerability to suicidal behavior and 14 common cognitive distortions are included. The development of "depressogenic schemata and assumptions" (p. 37) is discussed in terms of attachment theory and early experiences of loss and abandonment, fusing more dynamic concepts with the cognitive perspective. Three chapters contain the essential guidelines for cognitive therapy with suicidal patients and could almost serve as a self-contained reference manual. These chapters cover a variety of assessment methods (self-reports, interviews, and testing), 20 cognitive and eight behavioral treatment techniques, methods for overcoming 13 obstacles to treatment, relapse prevention, and terminating therapy relative to suicidal behavior. Samples of patient/therapist dialogue and case examples are used effectively to illustrate cognitive techniques and overcoming obstacles, respectively. The importance, purpose, and benefits of homework in cognitive therapy; the (in)significance of suicide notes; biological markers for suicidal behavior; and the method of Socratic questioning are also discussed. Conspicuously absent from the lists of cognitive and behavioral treatment techniques is the no-harm contract. Could it be that the no-harm contract is not a cognitive/behavioral technique? This nagging question prompted a quick (but not exhaustive) literature review. Surprisingly little research and few references on the use or efficacy of no-harm/no-suicide/ stay-alive contracts were found. A new question emerged. Is there evidence to support the use of no-harm contracts when treating suicidal behavior? Regardless of the answer to this question, because no-harm contracts are commonly and frequently used with suicidal patients, saying nothing appears to be a serious omission. Two chapters provide information on working with special needs (children and adolescents) or high-risk (elderly, chronically ill, and Native American) populations. The last chapter focuses on factors that tend to exacerbate suicidal behavior (alcohol and drug abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], and multiple attempts). In contrast to the succinctness of previous chapters, the more detailed information presented in these final chapters sometimes appears to be excessive, unnecessary, or misplaced. …

Relations between early maltreatment and mental representations of relationships assessed with projective storytelling in middle childhood

AbstractChildren who participate in the Mother-Child Project, a longitudinal study of high-risk children, were giver projective storytelling task during their sixth-grade year. Story sets were coded for relationship themes like peer acceptance and problem solving, and responses were compared between groups identified based on pas maltreatment. The maltreatment group included 43 children who were identified as having been physically abused, sexually abused, or neglected or having psychologically unavailable care. A control group of 53 children from this high-risk sample was identified as having received adequate care. The remaining participants whose care was questionable were not included in this study. Based on quantitative analyses using a factor measuring relationship expectations and controlling for IQ and socioeconoraic status, the maltreate group told stories significantly more negative compared to the control group. Findings are introduced and discussed in terms of attachment theory and related work addressing the mental representations of maltreated children. In particular, it is proposed that, based on early maltreatment experiences, children acquire internal working models of themselves as unworthy and of others as unavailable. In subsequent relationship situations they would be constricted in cognitively processing events, have difficulty regulating their own emotions, an employ processes of defensive exclusion (e.g. projection, introjection, displacement, splitting, preoccupatioi idealization) to manage their distress feelings.

An Attachment-Theoretical Approach to Romantic Love and Religious Belief

This study conceptualizes personal religion, like romantic love, in terms of attachment theory and explores empirical relationships between adult attachment style and religious belief and behavior in an adult sample. Respondents who classified themselves as secure reported greater religious commitment and more positive images of God than insecure respondents. Avoidant respondents were more likely to describe themselves as agnostics; anxious/ambivalent respondents were more likely to report having had a glossolalia experience. Security of attachment to God was positively associated with security of adult attachment, but only among respondents who described their childhood maternal attachments as insecure. Attachment to God, in contrast to other religion variables, was strongly and significantly related to several mental and physical health outcomes. Results are interpreted in terms of mental models of attachment relationships, including relationships with God.