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Results for “Attachment representation”

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PubMed1996

A representational perspective of child abuse and prevention: internal working models of attachment and caregiving.

Attachment theory provides a rich theoretical framework for research and intervention in child abuse. This paper examines the central role of internal working models in the development of child-parent relationships. Mental representations of child attachment (in infancy and middle childhood), adult attachment and parental caregiving are discussed in light of the adaptational deficits that researchers have found to be associated with attachment insecurity. A reconceptualization of the link between insecurity and child abuse is described, highlighting disorganized attachment. Implications for child abuse intervention are discussed.

Child↗

PubMed2002

Effects of cytotoxic nucleus accumbens lesions on instrumental conditioning in rats.

In two experiments the involvement of the nucleus accumbens in instrumental conditioning was investigated using rats as subjects. In experiment 1, extensive bilateral cytotoxic lesions of the nucleus accumbens mildly suppressed instrumental responding reinforced with food, but had no detectable effect on the sensitivity of the rats' performance either to outcome devaluation or to degradation of the instrumental contingency. In experiment 2, restricted accumbens lesions reliably attenuated the excitatory effect of systemically administered d-amphetamine on lever pressing for a conditioned reinforcer, and completely abolished Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. Taken together these results give a picture of the involvement of the rat nucleus accumbens in instrumental conditioning. They support the widely held theory that the nucleus accumbens mediates the excitatory effects of appetitively conditioned Pavlovian signals on instrumental performance and refute the hypothesis that the nucleus accumbens is part of the neural circuitry by which incentive value is attached to the representations of instrumental outcomes.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

[Use of and participation in self-help groups for methadone substitution patients].

To evaluate the importance of self-help groups and the patients' readiness to participate in such groups a sample of 675 methadone patients in Hamburg was asked by means of questionnaires. 43% of the patients had heard of self-help groups. One quarter of them (10% of the whole sample) had participated in self-help groups at some time. The greatest importance of self-help organisations is attached to a representation of the interests of methadone patients to improve their overall situation. Another important purpose of self-help groups is seen in getting help for legal, financial and social problems. Getting in contact with other clients or offering breakfast/lunch, washing clothes or shower facilities etc. is not evaluated as an important task for self-help organisations. Patients who are working on a regular basis and living in stable conditions are less interested in participating in self-help groups. Thus, the participants in self-help groups can hardly benefit from the experiences of the socially better integrated methadone patients.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

[Attachment security and quality of life in atopic dermatitis].

OBJECTIVE: Attachment style is an important variable of influence on general and disease specific quality of life. Insecure attachment may go along with increased autonomic vulnerability and with compromised social support and coping resources. Patients with atopic dermatitis often report interactions of the status and severity of their disease with psychic wellbeing. It was the purpose of the present study to clarify the influence of attachment style and social support on the quality of life in probands with atopic dermatitis. We hypothesized that securely attached test persons with severe skin affection feel less constrained in their quality of life, because they may "buffer" strains from the disease more successfully due to better social support deriving from more satisfying relationships. METHOD: We carried through a cross-sectional study on 124 probands with atopic dermatitis of varying severity, assessed with self report (Neurodermitis Severity Index, NSI) and in part by clinical dermatological ratings (NSI/SCORAD). Attachment style was captured with the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ), social support with the F-SOZU (K-22), and quality of life with the Skindex-29. RESULTS: We found slightly more insecurely attached individuals in the study sample than it was to be expected from representational healthy samples. Securely attached participants have no lower severity of their disease, but show a higher amount of social support. Irrespective of severity, securely attached persons feel less limited in their quality of life compared to insecurely attached participants. In their symptom based quality of life both feel equally limited. Severity predicts quality of life: contrary to our expectation of a buffering effect of attachment security this association is closer in securely attached probands. CONCLUSION: Suffering from atopic dermatitis may go along with more attachment insecurity. The unexpected stronger association between severity and quality of life in securely attached individuals can be interpreted as a more direct reaction to their skin condition in the absence of other encumbering factors (relationship problems etc.).

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Differences in linguistic representation of 10- to 12-year-old boys of divorced and not divorced parents].

Twenty-eight 10- to 14 years old boys from divorced families (separation of the parents was two years before the investigation) were compared with 26 10- to 14 years old boys from two-parent families on the basis of interviews about attachment related themes and daily situations, and by means of the California Child Q-Sort (CCQ). The interviews were analyzed with regard to coherence of language, emotional problems, reflectivity, supportive representation of their parents, verbal and nonverbal emotional openness and social network, as well as for personality variables. The boys of the divorced group did barely talk about relations, had problems in coping with emotional stress, and were less reflective about themselves and others. They felt insufficiently supported by their parents and did not show their emotions openly. They talked about themselves as dependent from their social environment and as less adaptive to new situations. These indications suggest an insecure attachment representation predominantly as a result of the parents' behavior leading to divorce (Table 1). The results show that separations and family disruptions, as a group effect, strongly affect pre-adolescent boys' state of mind. A minority of boys from the parental divorce group, however, show secure mental representations, comparable to a majority in the control group. Tables 2-5 show, independent of parental divorce, the major differences between boys with secure and boys with insecure mental representations.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Bridging the gap between attachment and object relations theories: a study of the transition to motherhood.

An empirical study of the relations between assessments of adult attachment styles and object representations was performed in the context of first-time mothers' emotional ties to their unborn babies. We assumed that, while conceptualizations of attachment behaviour and internal working models grasp the early basic patterns of interpersonal relationships and affect regulation, object representations indicate current transformations of these patterns in an individual's internal world. Participants were a sample of 120 women in the third trimester of their first pregnancy. Participants' representations of their own mothers were found to fully mediate the association between internal working models and antenatal ties to their babies. Similarities and differences between theoretical conceptualizations and empirical operationalizations of attachment and object relations theories are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Bridging the gap between attachment and object relations theories: A study of the transition to motherhood.

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Differences in the speech of 10- to 13-year-old boys from divorced and nondivorced families against the background of emotional attachment.

In Germany, an increasing number of children live with one parent alone and have to cope with the separation or divorce of their parents. Emotional drawbacks have frequently been hypothesized for these children. Thus, we studied if such experiences are reflected in speech behavior. Twenty-eight 10- to 13-year-old boys from separated parents (physical separation of the parents was 2 years before the investigation) were compared with 26 boys from parents living together in an interview focusing on attachment-related themes and everyday situations. The interviews were analyzed with regard to coherence of speech, coping with emotional problems, reflectivity, child representation of both parents, and verbal and nonverbal expression of feelings. Boys from separated parents had incoherent speech, difficulties in coping with emotional problems, a poorer reflectivity (thinking about their own mental states and those of others), they represented neither parent supportively and did not show their feelings openly. These results can be traced back to an insecure attachment representation of the boys with separated parents.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1998

Trauma, mental representation, and the organization of memory for mother-referent material.

Research on the effects of child maltreatment and exposure to community violence suggests that children who experience these types of traumatic events may be at risk for alterations and biases in attention and memory similar to those that have been observed in adults suffering from traumatic stress reactions. Along these lines, attachment theory posits that representational models of relationships also may act as moderators of similar cognitive biases by selectively guiding children's attention to and processing of interpersonal stimuli. Building upon the trauma and attachment literatures, the present investigation examined the links among trauma, representational models of caregivers, and children's memory for mother-relevant information using an incidental recall task in a sample of maltreated (n = 71) and nonmaltreated (n = 102) children between the ages of 8 and 13 years. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that experiences of trauma and representational models of caregivers are associated with differences in the way children process and retrieve information about positive and negative mother attribute words. In particular, experiences of trauma initially were associated with increased insecurity in children's representational models. Moreover, the interaction of traumatic experience and security of mental representation predicted children's recall for mother attribute words: victimized children with insecure models recalled the highest proportion of negative mother stimuli. Trauma and mental representation did not have a consistent effect on structurally encoded aspects of recall. Results were discussed in terms of the ways in which children who have experienced trauma process information about their worlds. The importance of assessing functioning in multiple developmental domains when studying memory also was discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Measuring the ghost in the nursery: an empirical study of the relation between parents' mental representations of childhood experiences and their infants' security of attachment.

This paper presents a summary of the Anna Freud Centre-University College London, Parent-Child Project. Its most important finding was that the security of the infants' relationship with both parents at 12 and 18 months could be predicted on the basis of qualitative aspects of the parents' accounts of their own childhoods collected before the birth of the child. This confirmed Selma Fraiberg's observations concerning the reemergence of childhood conflicts at early stages of childbearing. Possible mechanisms mediating this link are explored with particular reference to the role of the parents' accurate mental representations of the infants' mental world.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Maternal reflective functioning, mother-infant affective communication, and infant attachment: exploring the link between mental states and observed caregiving behavior in the intergenerational transmission of attachment.

This study examines the link between mental representations and maternal behavior within the intergenerational transmission of attachment. Maternal reflective functioning was hypothesized to predict the quality of mother-infant affective communication based on the AMBIANCE measure. Each of these measures was also considered as a predictor of the quality of infant attachment. The subjects were 45 mothers and their 10-14-month-old infants. Results supported each of the study's major hypotheses. The AMBIANCE measure and the reflective functioning measure had a strong negative correlation. Thus, the level of disruption in mother-infant affective communication was inversely related to the level of maternal reflective functioning. The AMBIANCE measure was also shown to be a very good predictor of infant attachment. Mothers with high AMBIANCE scores were more likely to have infants classified as disorganized or resistant, whereas mothers with low AMBIANCE scores were more likely to have infants classified as secure. A linear regression analysis indicated that maternal behavior mediates the impact of maternal reflective functioning upon infant attachment. Implications for attachment theory and early intervention are explored.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

The internal working model of the self, attachment, and competence in five-year-olds.

The present studies examine some of the correlates of the self in the lives of young children. In Study 1, the connection is tested between young children's internal working model of self and their competence, social acceptance, behavioral adjustment, and behavioral manifestations of self-esteem. Ninety-five kindergartners aged between 51 and 76 months (Mage = 5 years, 3 months) participated in the study. An adapted version of the Puppet Interview was used to assess the representation of self. Affective quality (positiveness) of self and openness to admit imperfections were rated independently. Results show significant and positive relations of the positiveness of self with competence and social acceptance, with behavioral adjustment to school, and with behavioral manifestations of self-esteem, all rated by the teacher. In Study 2, Bowlby's assumption was tested that the working model of self is closely intertwined with the working model of attachment to mother. Subjects were 50 children aged between 55 months and 75 months (Mage = 5 years, 5 months). The working model of child-mother attachment was assessed through an Attachment Story Completion Task. The working model of self was measured via the Puppet Interview. Results show a positive and strong connection between the security of the child-mother attachment representation and the positiveness of self. The results of the two studies contribute to the validation of the adapted Puppet Interview. The Puppet Interview seems to be a promising instrument for assessing the representation of self in young children.

Child↗

PubMed2006

Attachment style and individual differences in leadership perceptions and emergence.

The authors examined whether individuals' approaches to relationships, expressed in terms of attachment styles, was related to how they viewed ideal leadership and to their degree of tendency to emerge as team leaders. Specifically, the authors hypothesized that attachment styles, or cognitive representations of orientation to others, would explain individual differences in leadership perceptions and emergence. Participants were 127 American students in college teams. The authors found that securely attached individuals (n = 81) perceived themselves as more effective team members than did insecurely attached individuals (n = 46) and that fellow team members saw securely attached team members as emerging team leaders significantly more often than they did insecurely attached team members.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

[Current aspects of attachment theory and development psychology as well as neurobiological aspects in psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders].

This review covers basic principles of attachment research and its relationship to and implications for psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders. A great number of studies deal with the importance of attachment theory in the development of these disorders associated with distinct attachment styles. The most well-known concept is the attachment theory created by John Bowlby (1907-1990), which has strengthened our knowledge on early mother-infant relationships and influenced guidelines for child care. Within this concept, family structure is of great importance for the psychological development of the child and later the adult. Attachment research indicates that disturbances of patients with psychosomatic, e.g., somatoform disorders, in establishing relations must be seen in a developmental genetic context. A model of vulnerability is introduced which describes the development of psychopathology concerning the formation of representations taking advantage of attachment theory. Additionally, recent progress in cognitive neurosciences addresses attachment theory. During the last decade, neurobiological studies in rodents, primates, and humans indicate that early influences of psychosocial factors could have permanent consequences for brain structure and function. Besides the psychoanalytical and behavioral view concerning psychiatric and especially psychosomatic disorders, the integration of neurobiological findings will be a major challenge for the generation of further concepts.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Attachment over time.

Continuity in attachment classification from infancy to late adolescence was examined and related to autobiographical memories of childhood, divorce, and maladjustment. Eighty-four White middle-class children (48 girls) were seen in a modified Strange Situation at 12 months and given the Adult Attachment Interview at 18 years. In addition, data were collected on 13-year-olds' childhood recollections as well as adolescent, mother, and teacher ratings of maladjustment at 13 and 18 years of age. Divorce status of parents also was obtained. Results indicated no continuity in attachment classification from 1 to 18 years of age and no relation between infant attachment status and adolescent maladjustment. Divorce was related to 13-year-olds' childhood recollections as well as to insecure attachment status at 18 years. Eighteen-year-olds with insecure attachment classification were more likely to rate themselves as maladjusted. The results support the idea of attachment as an evolving representation dependent upon the nature of the family environment as indexed by divorce.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1981

Developmental aspects of the interaction between narcissism, self-esteem and object relations.

This paper reviews the history, within psycho-analysis, of narcissism and shows that it cannot be understood as a unitary concept. This is reflected in much of the extensive literature on the topic. The definition of narcissism solely in terms of the libidinal drive cathexis of the self representation is rejected. Instead, narcissism is defined as the sum of the positively-coloured feeling states attached to the self-representation. By pursuing a developmental investigation of narcissistic and opposing phenomena, the multiple sources which contribute to or detract from the overall level of self-esteem are demonstrated. Such an investigation clarifies the close relationship between the concepts of self-esteem, well-being and narcissism, and differentiating definitions are put forward. The term 'counter-narcissistic' is introduced to denote the negative contributions to self-esteem which detract from the narcissistic input. The interplay between the contributions to the overall quality of self-esteem, deriving on the one hand from somatic and instinctual drive sources, and on the other from object relationships, exemplifies the multiple origins of its qualities at any one time. This interplay is pursued through the sequential developmental phases from infancy to the oedipal level in order to show the complex epigenesis of narcissism, counter-narcissism and self-esteem.

Ego↗

PubMed1990

[Treatment of divorce families--considerations from the viewpoint of object relations theory and contextual therapy].

A child's relationship to both parents in divorcing families is discussed on the background of attachment research. Empirical data emphasize the effects of quality of attachment to both parents on child development, which arises out of the absence or the provision of a secure base. As a consequence the child develops internal working models of attachment figures and self, which is increasingly individually organized during the preschool years and shows considerable continuity throughout early and middle childhood. Adverse effects on attachment and its internal representations are expected to the degree to which through divorce the provision of a secure base is impaired. In psychological practice, parents have to be helped not only in balancing their adult conflicts but in providing a secure base for their children, without missusing them as alies or exposing them to pathological form of parentificaiton. All those are important issues of contextual therapy, which usefullness is especially discussed with respect to its key concept "multidirected partiality".

Child↗

PubMed2006

Neural response to the visual familiarity of faces.

Recognizing personally familiar faces is the result of a spatially distributed process that involves visual perceptual areas and areas that play a role in other cognitive and social functions, such as the anterior paracingulate cortex, the precuneus and the amygdala [M.I. Gobbini, E. Leibenluft, N. Santiago, J.V. Haxby, Social and emotional attachment in the neural representation of faces, Neuroimage 22 (2004) 1628-1635; M.I. Gobbini, J.V. Haxby, Neural systems for recognition of familiar faces, Neuropsychologia, in press; E. Leibenluft, M.I. Gobbini, T. Harrison, J.V. Haxby, Mothers' neural activation in response to pictures of their, and other, children, Biol. Psychiatry 56 (2004) 225-232]. In order to isolate the role of visual familiarity in face recognition, we used fMRI to measure the response to faces characterized by experimentally induced visual familiarity that carried no biographical information or emotional content. The fMRI results showed a stronger response in the precuneus to the visually familiar faces consistent with studies that implicate this region in the retrieval of information from long-term memory and imagery. Moreover, this finding supports the hypothesis of a key role for the precuneus in the acquisition of familiarity with faces [H. Kosaka, M. Omori, T. Iidaka, T. Murata, T. Shimoyama, T. Okada, N. Sadato, Y. Yonekura, Y. Wada, Neural substrates participating in acquisition of facial familiarity: an fMRI study, Neuroimage 20 (2003) 1734-1742]. By contrast, the visually familiar faces evoked a weaker response in the fusiform gyrus, which may reflect the development of a sparser encoding or a reduced attentional load when processing stimuli that are familiar. The visually familiar faces also evoked a weaker response in the amygdala, supporting the proposed role of this structure in mediating the guarded attitude when meeting someone new.

Adult↗