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PubMed2000

Freud: the first evolutionary psychologist?

An evolutionary perspective on attachment theory and psychoanalytic theory brings these two fields together in interesting ways. Application of the evolutionary principle of parent-offspring conflict to attachment theory suggests that attachment styles represent context-sensitive, evolved (adaptive) behaviors. In addition, an emphasis on offspring counter-strategies to adult reproductive strategies leads to consideration of attachment styles as overt manifestations of psychodynamic mediating processes, including the defense mechanisms of repression and reaction formation.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Adult attachment dimensions and specificity of emotional distress symptoms: prospective investigations of cognitive risk and interpersonal stress generation as mediating mechanisms.

Three prospective studies examined the relation between adult attachment dimensions and symptoms of emotional distress (anxiety and depression). Across all three studies, avoidant and anxious attachment prospectively predicted depressive symptoms, and anxious attachment was associated concurrently with anxiety symptoms. Study 2 tested a cognitive risk factors mediational model, and Study 3 tested an interpersonal stress generation mediational model. Both cognitive and interpersonal mediating processes were supported. The cognitive risk factors pathway, including elevated dysfunctional attitudes and low self-esteem, specifically mediated the relation between insecure attachment and prospective elevations in depression but not anxiety. For the interpersonal stress generation model, experiencing additional interpersonal, but not achievement, stressors over time mediated the association between insecure attachment and prospective elevations in depressive and anxious symptoms. Results advance theory and empirical knowledge about why these interpersonal and cognitive mechanisms explain how insecurely attached people become depressed and anxious.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

A model of dissociation based on attachment theory and research.

The article offers an historical review of studies on the role played by attachment processes in dissociative psychopathology. The treatise proceeds from Bowlby's first insights, through Main and her collaborators' empirical studies on attachment disorganization, to the first formulation of the hypothesis linking disorganized early attachment to pathological dissociation. Recent research supporting the hypothesis is then reviewed. It is concluded that infant attachment disorganization is in itself a dissociative process, and predisposes the individual to respond with pathological dissociation to later traumas and life stressors. Four implications of this theory are interspersed in the review and are discussed in the final section: (1) pathological dissociation should be viewed as a primarily intersubjective reality hindering the integrative processes of consciousness, rather than as an intrapsychic defense against mental pain; (2) early defenses against attachment-related dissociation are based on interpersonal controlling strategies that inhibit the attachment system; (3) dissociative symptoms emerge as a consequence of the collapse of these defensive strategies in the face of events that powerfully activate the attachment system; (4) psychotherapy of pathological dissociation should be a phase-oriented process focused primarily on achieving attachment security, and only secondarily on trauma work. Research studies on the psychotherapy process could test some predictions of this model.

Dissociative Disorders↗
PubMed2001

Temperament, character, and attachment patterns in borderline personality disorder.

The aim of this study was to assess the specificity of the association between temperamental vulnerability, character deficits, and Borderline personality disorder (BPD), controlling for the effects of attachment patterns. A total of 44 BPD patients were compared with 98 non-BPD patients with other cluster B Personality Disorder (PD) diagnoses, 39 patients with any cluster A or cluster C PD diagnoses, 70 patients with no PD diagnosis, and 206 nonclinical patients. All patients were administered the Temperament and Character Inventory, the Parental Bonding Instrument, and the Attachment Style Questionnaire. Multivariate and univariate tests showed that BPD patients differed significantly from all control groups on Novelty Seeking and Cooperativeness. These differences remained significant when controlling for the effect of attachment.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Emotional functioning, attachment style, and attributions as predictors of child abuse potential in domestic violence victims.

To explore cognitive and emotional factors that may exacerbate child-abuse potential among domestic violence victims, 80 participants reported on their depression, hopelessness, anxiety, and anger as well as their attachment style and attributional style. Increased emotional difficulties as well as insecure attachment styles were significantly positively correlated with child abuse potential, although depression and anxiety were the strongest predictors. Externalizing blame for the spousal abuse was not associated with abuse risk. Women residing in shelters demonstrated significantly greater abuse risk than those in transitional housing programs, suggesting that greater temporal proximity to the spousal abuse may in part account for the increased abuse potential. Depression and hopelessness, however, appeared particularly relevant to increased abuse risk in domestic violence victims in the transitional housing system. Implications of these findings for working with battered women in terms of their emotional functioning and attachment style are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Marital satisfaction and relational attachment in a sample of newly married couples.

The purpose was to investigate possible correlates [perception of parental marital satisfaction (Relationship Assessment Scale), marital status of parents, participation in marital enrichment, current stress, and sex] of marital satisfaction (Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale) and relational attachment (Revised Adult Attachment Scale). 71 young couples (M age=25.3 yr., SD=3.2) in their first ten years of marriage completed the measures. Backward regression analysis indicated that marital status of parents, participation in marital enrichment, current stress, and sex accounted for a significant portion of the variance for the Anxiety subscale of the Revised Adult Attachment Scale. None of the models significantly accounted for the variance on the measure of marital satisfaction.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Older sibling correlates of younger sibling drug use in the context of parent-child relations.

The purpose of this study was to examine older brother correlates of younger brother drug use in the context of parental influences and younger brother personality. The sample consisted of 278 White male college students and their oldest brothers, who volunteered to answer self-administered questionnaires. Results indicated that 3 domains of influence each had an independent impact on younger brother drug use: (a) parent-younger brother relationships and parent drug use, (b) older brother-younger brother relationships and older brother drug use, and (c) younger brother personality. Modeling of nondrug use and a strong attachment relationship in the parent-younger brother and sibling dyads, as well as younger sibling traits of conventionality, had strong links to low younger brother drug use. Our findings highlight the importance of modeling and mutual parent-child attachment relationships as well as sibling relationships as they relate to the possible etiology of drug use.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Child-parent attachment and children's peer relations: a quantitative review.

The central premise of attachment theory is that the security of the early child-parent bond is reflected in the child's interpersonal relationships across the life span. This meta-analysis was based on 63 studies that reported correlations between child-parent attachment and children's peer relations. The overall effect size (ES) for child-mother attachment was in the small-to-moderate range and was quite homogeneous. ESs were similar in studies that featured the Strange Situation and Q-sort methods. The effects were larger for peer relations in middle childhood and adolescence than for peer relations in early childhood. ESs were also higher for studies that focused on children's close friendships rather than on relations with other peers. Gender and cultural differences in ESs were minimal. The results for the few studies on father-child attachment were inconclusive.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

[Case of bonding disorder effectively treated by Naikan therapy].

The perinatal period is important for establishing the mother-to-infant bond. Especially, psychiatric disorders during this period, such as postnatal depression, significantly affect mother-to-infant attachment. Recently, the concept of "Bonding Disorder" has been proposed to identify attachment disturbances between mothers and infants. Here, we report a case of bonding disorder effectively treated by Naikan therapy. The patient was a 28-year-old female. She suffered from depression and anxiety one week after giving birth, and then began to have negative feelings foward her child. First, she felt a lack of attachment, claiming for example, "I cannot feel my child is cute." Her negative feelings developed in to strong refusal, which made her say, "I want to give my child up for adoption." After admittance to our hospital, her depressive symptoms improved by adequate treatment with anti-depressants, but her attachment disturbances continued. Because of her character and inflexible child care, she tended to suffer from a mental conflict. She underwent treatment with intensive Naikan therapy and her attachment to her child improved. Mother-to-infant attachment is thought to be influenced by how the mother was brought up. Naikan therapy reflects the relationships with his/her relatives from childhood up to the present, providing an important element concerning attachment formation. Through Naikan therapy, mothers may recall that they themselves have received love from their parents, which strengthens the feeling of basic trust. Consequently, they are encouraged to love their children. Therefore, Nikan therapy is suggested to be one of the effective therapies to treat attachment disturbances between mothers and infants.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Suddenly finding it really matters: the paradox of the analyst's non-attachment.

Psychological discoveries of a certain kind give rise to a particular sense of shock. When we are forced to look afresh at something whose importance we think we already know, we may find it has new and unexpected significance. Our previous understanding, genuine as it was, comes to seem rather shallow. Psychoanalysts must be open to such experiences, and I illustrate this with episodes from the history of psychoanalysis and with clinical examples. 'What really matters about this analysis?' is a question for which patient and analyst must each seek an answer, and both must allow it to take them by surprise. There is a parallel between the patient's need to give up his established ways of coping and the analyst's need not to cling on to his familiar ways of understanding. The paradox of non-attachment is that our understanding can only develop if we are not anxious to hold on to it. I relate this clinical observation to the idea of non-attachment as found in spiritual tradition, and I draw on the work of Bion and Matte Blanco to locate these ideas within psychoanalytic theory.

Fantasy↗
PubMed1995

Promoting secure attachment patterns in infancy and beyond.

The attachment an infant makes to its mother* has a powerful influence over subsequent development. Attachment patterns may be secure, insecure avoidant or insecure ambivalent. They are already established by the age of one year, and are likely to affect future adult relationships, including the marital relationship and relationships with the person's own children. Children with insecure attachments may be more prone to psychological or psychiatric ill health. Family therapy can recognise the relevance of attachment theory and incorporate it when helping families to find new patterns of relating to one another and resolving their difficulties. Early intervention by midwives, health visitors and other primary health care professionals can help prevent faulty attachment patterns from becoming established and so being transmitted from one generation to the next.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Preschoolers' attention to and memory for attachment-relevant information.

This study examined the relation between attachment quality in infancy and attention and memory at 3 1/2 years. Sixty-eight children participated in 2 attention tasks and 1 memory task. In the first attention task, children were shown several sets of drawings; each set depicted a different mother-child dyad engaged in positive, negative, and neutral interaction. Insecure/avoidant children looked away from the drawings more than the other children. In the second attention task, children were shown different sets of drawings; each set depicted a mother-child dyad engaged in positive interaction and an adult dyad expressing neutral affect. Insecure/avoidant and insecure/ambivalent children looked away from the mother-child drawings more than the secure children; when children did look at a drawing, insecure children were less likely than secure children to look at the mother-child drawing. In the memory task, children were read 6 stories in which a mother responds to her child's bid for help. In 2 stories the mother responds sensitively to her child, in 2 stories the mother rejects her child, and in 2 stories the mother provides an exaggerated response to her child. Secure children recalled the responsive stories better than insecure/avoidant children and the rejecting stories better than the insecure/ambivalent children. Findings are discussed in terms of the proposition from attachment theory that attachment experiences influence attention and memory processes.

Adult↗