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PubMed1997

Bowlby's legacy to developmental psychology.

In formulating attachment theory, Bowlby made a number of important conceptual contributions to our understanding of human development. Discussed here are the balance (rather than the conflict) between attachment and exploration, the concept of internal working models; and the parent as a psychological secure base. In addition, Bowlby's "theory of reality" is examined, integration of Bowlby's and Erikson's ideas regarding attachment and culture is suggested, and Bowlby's open-minded approach to theory construction is acknowledged.

Child↗

PubMed1996

Attachment organization and history of suicidal behavior in clinical adolescents.

One hundred thirty-three adolescents in psychiatric treatment participated in a case-comparison study investigating the association of attachment patterns with a history of suicidal behaviors. The comparison group comprised 64 adolescents who had never experienced suicidal ideation or behaviors; the case group included 69 adolescents with histories of suicidal behavior (n = 53) and severe suicidal ideation (n =16). Attachment patterns were assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview. In accordance with definitions provided in the scoring system, 86% of case and 78% of comparison adolescents in psychiatric treatment had experienced attachment-related trauma. Lapses in the monitoring of reasoning or discourse occurred during the attempted discussion of these events in 73% of adolescents in the case group but in only 44% of adolescents in the clinical comparison group (p = .002), suggesting that cognitive disorganization may be an important variable mediating between traumatic experience and suicidal behavior. Female adolescents and older adolescents were significantly more likely than other adolescents to be in the case group. Preoccupied attachment, in interaction with unresolved-disorganized attachment, was associated with the case group, whereas dismissing attachment was associated with the comparison group.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Why does attachment style change?

Adult attachment research has proceeded on the assumption that attachment style is relatively stable and affects future functioning. However, researchers have become interested in attachment instability and predictors of attachment style change. In this article, 2 conceptualizations of attachment style change were examined: Attachment style change is a reaction to current circumstances, and attachment style change is an individual difference in susceptibility to change that is associated with stable vulnerability factors. A total of 155 women were assessed after high school graduation, and 6 months and 2 years later. Results primarily supported the conceptualization of attachment style change as an individual difference. Specifically, some women may be prone to attachment fluctuations because of adverse earlier experiences, and women who show attachment fluctuations are similar to women with stably insecure attachments.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Children's peer selection: experimental examination of the role of self-perceptions.

Although previous studies have examined characteristics of children selected as friends, little research has examined the role played by characteristics of the selecting child. In 2 experimental studies that examined the role of self-perceptions in peer selection, participants (91 seventh graders in Study 1 and 83 third graders in Study 2) viewed various evaluations of themselves. Participants either believed evaluations were written by unfamiliar peers (Study 1) or were asked to imagine that the views of puppets were views of unfamiliar peers (Study 2). Participants were asked to select the peers they wished to meet and interact with. When evaluations were related to specific competence domains, 7th graders preferred positive peers to negative peers, whereas 3rd graders selected peers who viewed them as they viewed themselves. When evaluations were related to global self-worth, children's selections were unrelated to views of their own global worth. Selection of a globally negative peer was associated with attachment-insecurity/maternal-rejection and depressive symptoms.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Unresolved states of mind, disorganized attachment relationships, and disrupted interactions of adolescent mothers and their infants.

The links between unresolved maternal attachment status, disrupted maternal interaction in play situations, and disorganized attachment relationships were examined in a study of 82 adolescent mother-infant dyads. Maternal interactive behavior was measured using the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification coding system. Additional rating scales were developed to correspond to the 5 dimensions of disrupted maternal behavior outlined by E. Bronfman, E. Parsons, and K. Lyons-Ruth (1999). A robust association was observed between disrupted maternal behavior and disorganized attachment. Ratings of disrupted maternal behavior revealed that disorganized attachment relationships were strongly related to ratings of fearful/disoriented behavior. Moreover, mothers who were unresolved were more likely than not-unresolved mothers to show disrupted patterns of interaction with their infants. Regression analyses suggested that disrupted behavior statistically mediated the association between unresolved status and disorganized attachment relationships.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Less is more: meta-analyses of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood.

Is early preventive intervention effective in enhancing parental sensitivity and infant attachment security, and if so, what type of intervention is most successful? Seventy studies were traced, producing 88 intervention effects on sensitivity (n = 7,636) and/or attachment (n = 1,503). Randomized interventions appeared rather effective in changing insensitive parenting (d = 0.33) and infant attachment insecurity (d = 0.20). The most effective interventions used a moderate number of sessions and a clear-cut behavioral focus in families with, as well as without, multiple problems. Interventions that were more effective in enhancing parental sensitivity were also more effective in enhancing attachment security, which supports the notion of a causal role of sensitivity in shaping attachment.

Behavior Therapy↗

PubMed2001

Age at placement, adoption experience and adult adopted people's contact with their adoptive and birth mothers: an attachment perspective.

Adoption holds particular interest for attachment researchers. Although children adopted as babies experience almost continuous care by their adoptive parents, older placed children experience at least one major change of caregiver when they join their adoptive family. Moreover, in the majority of cases, older placed children have generally suffered a pre-adoption history of abuse, neglect and/or rejection. It is now being recognized that older placed children's attachment histories and internal working models (IWMs) established in relationship with their initial carers remain active in relationship with their new carers. Transactional models have helped both researchers and practitioners to understand the dynamics of parent-child relationships in cases where insecure children with histories of neglect, abuse and rejection find themselves in new caregiving environments. The present study examines the childhood experiences of adult adopted people and their current levels of contact with their adoptive mothers, and in cases where people had searched for and found a birth relative, current levels of contact with their birth mother. Although no information was collected on the adopted adult's pre-placement history, age at placement was used as a proxy measure to examine whether older placed children reported different adoption experiences and what their current levels of contact were with their adoptive and birth mothers. The findings show that age at placement was associated with adopted people's reported experiences of being adopted and current rates of contact with their adoptive and birth mothers, with those placed at older ages most likely to report that they (1) did not feel they belonged in their adoptive families while growing up, (2) did not feel loved by their adoptive mother, (3) were least likely to remain in high-frequency contact with their adoptive mother, and (4) were least likely to remain in high-frequency contact with their birth mother. An attachment perspective is used to interpret the findings. Children adopted at older ages appear more likely to have experienced an insecure attachment relationship with their adoptive mother.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Parent--child emotion communication, attachment, and affective narratives.

Forty-four pre-schoolers (ages 4.3 to 5.8 years) and their primary caregivers participated in a study on the connections between parent-child emotion communication and a narrative assessment of pre-schoolers' attachment. Children completed the Separation Anxiety Test (SAT), a narrative assessment of children's responses to attachment-related separations (including self-reliance, avoidance, attachment and coherence scores). Several aspects of parent-child discussions of emotion-eliciting events were also assessed in the Emotion Communication Task. Results indicated that SAT coherence was positively related to SAT attachment and negatively related to SAT avoidance. Furthermore, SAT coherence was positively related to parental scaffolding and negatively related to parental and child negativity during the Emotion Communication Task. Parental scaffolding and child reciprocity were positively related to each other and, in general, were negatively related to parental and child negativity. Discussion focused on the potential contributions of children's interactions with caregivers to the development of children's attachment narratives and emotion-related understanding.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The differential roles of early emotion socialization and adult attachment in adult emotional experience: testing a mediator hypothesis.

The goal of the present study was to model the relations among self-reported early emotion socialization, adult attachment styles, and positive and negative adult emotion experiences in younger (mean age = 28) and older (mean age = 74) adults. Using structural equation modeling, we found that reports of early emotion socialization had both direct and indirect effects (the latter mediated by attachment style) on adult emotional experiences. There was also some support for the expectation that age would interact with emotion socialization in the effect on adult emotions. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding how attachment and emotion relate across the lifespan.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Attachment linked predictors of women's emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress.

The purpose of this study was to examine associations among women's emotional and cognitive responses to infant fear and anger and to identify attachment linked predictors of these responses. Four hundred and forty Caucasian and African American undergraduate college women viewed video clips of two crying infants, one displaying anger and the other displaying fear. They identified what the infants were feeling, made causal attributions about the cause of crying, rated their own emotional reactions to the crying infants, and reported on the extent to which their parents met their emotional needs in childhood and their current adult attachment patterns. Emotional and cognitive responses to infant fear and anger were interrelated. Consistent with prediction, a history of parental emotional rejection and adult attachment anxiety and avoidance correlated negatively with accurate identification of emotions and positively with negative attributions, amusement, and neutral responses to infant distress. Adult attachment security moderated the effects of early parental rejection on emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress, and these results varied based on race and parent gender. Results are discussed from an attachment theory perspective.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

The contribution of attachment to burden in adult children of institutionalized parents with dementia.

The impact of adult attachment to parents, perceived disease severity, and caregiving behaviors, moderated by perceived caregiving adequacy, were investigated in 108 adult children of patients with dementia. Multiple regression analyses indicated that attachment style, the trait aspect of attachment, predicted both aspects of caregiver burden: caregiving difficulty and psychological symptomatology. Attachment preoccupation, the state aspect of attachment, predicted psychological symptomatology. No other variables, including demographics, were significant predictors. This suggests that a secure attachment style appears to protect caregivers from some of the strain of caregiving. Preoccupation with the attachment relationship contributed to burden in this population.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Mothers of anxious/ambivalent infants: maternal characteristics and child-care context.

A general model of the determinants of parenting was employed to explore the antecedents of the ambivalent attachment pattern in Israel. Specifically, three classes of variables were identified: maternal, infant, and child-care context. Participants were 98 mothers and their infants. This research was part of a longitudinal study on sleep patterns. Mothers filled out questionnaires and were observed with their infants in the Ainsworth Strange Situation laboratory procedure. Mothers of ambivalent infants showed lower education level, higher separation anxiety, and higher parenting stress than mothers of secure infants. Infants' perceived difficult temperament did not discriminate between the two groups. Longer hours spent at work and placement in group day-care were both associated with ambivalent attachment. The findings are discussed in light of the importance of considering distal factors such as maternal attitudes and general caregiving strategy in clarifying the antecedents of attachment patterns.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Stability and transmission of attachment across three generations.

Stability of adult attachment and transmission of attachment across 3 generations were examined in a longitudinal study of 96 infants, mothers, and maternal grandmothers. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was used to assess attachment in mothers (during pregnancy and when infants were 11 months old) and grandmothers (any time during the study). The Strange Situation (SS) was used to assess attachment in infants at 12 months. Both the 3- and 4-category classification systems of the AAI and SS were used. Mothers' AAI classifications were stable over 12 months in 90% (3-category) and 77% (4-category) of mothers. Mothers' AAI classifications during pregnancy predicted infants' SS classifications in 81% (3-category) and 68% (4-category) of cases, and grandmothers' AAI classifications in 75% (3-category) and 49% (4-category) of cases. Using log-linear analysis, we show that a simple parent-to-child model accounts for transmission of attachment.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The impact of maternal characteristics and contextual variables on infant-mother attachment.

This prospective study examined the effects of maternal characteristics, social support, and risk factors on infant-mother attachment in a heterogeneous sample. Two hundred and six women between the ages of 18 and 40 were interviewed during their last trimester of pregnancy and 1 year postpartum. Structural equation modeling revealed that maternal attachment experiences were significantly related to prenatal representations of the infant and of the self as a mother, which were significantly related to infant-mother attachment assessed by the Strange Situation. Maternal risk factors were significantly related to prenatal representations, and social support from other women predicted infant-mother attachment. The overall model indicated a good fit. Thus, both individual and contextual factors were important in explaining infant attachment security.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Security of children's relationships with nonparental care providers: a meta-analysis.

Meta-analysis aggregated results of 40 investigations involving 2,867 children who averaged 29.6 (SD = 8.6) months of age when their attachments to care providers were assessed using either the Strange Situation (SS) or the Attachment Q-Set (AQS). As opposed to parents, secure attachments to nonparental care providers were less likely (using SS) or equally likely (using AQS), respectively. Secure child-care provider attachments were more likely in home- than center-based care, when the children were assessed longer after enrollment, and when they were girls. Whereas care providers' sensitivity to individual children predicted attachment security only in the small groups that characterize home-based settings, group-related sensitivity was a reliable predictor of secure child-care provider attachment, especially in child care centers.

Caregivers↗

PubMed2006

Transference and attachment: how do attachment patterns get carried forward from one relationship to the next?

This research investigated how working models of attachment are carried forward from one relationship to the next. A two-part study was conducted in which participants learned about two potential dating partners: one that was constructed to resemble a romantic partner from their past and one that resembled a partner from another participant's past. Results showed that people applied their attachment representations of past partners to both targets but did so to a greater degree when the target resembled a past partner. People also tended to feel more anxious and less avoidant toward the target that resembled their past partner. Overall, the findings were consistent with the hypothesis that working models of attachment are transferred in both general and selective ways in new relationships.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Child sexual abuse and attachment theory:are we rushing headlong into another controversy?

The child sexual abuse knowledge base has developed within a highly charged political and social context. As such, early theories of sexual abuse were susceptible to biases that reflected the larger sociocultural context. The purpose of this paper is to consider whether attachment theory as it is applied to child sexual abuse might also be susceptible to such biases. Although this paper concludes that attachment theory can potentially add an important dimension to the conceptualization of child sexual abuse and its dynamics, it is also suggested that attachment theory may remain at risk for becoming a vehicle for transmitting political and ideological agendas.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

[Birth as a stressful experience of parents with newborns and infants showing regulatory disorders].

Parents with 0-3 years-old children seen in our outpatient clinic often report a difficult start in parenthood, with the experience of child birth overshadowed by medical complications and/or psychological stress. Besides the syndrome of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the individual perinatal stress experience of mother/father--as a factor hardly considerated up to now--may contribute to the development of postpartal psychological disturbances in the mother and to dysfunctional mother/parent-child interactions. The current state of empirical research into this area of investigation is unsatisfactory. This article approaches this subject on the basis of research in early infant development and explores the relationship between stressful or traumatic perinatal experiences of the parents and the consequences on affect regulation of the child and relational and attachment processes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗