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PubMed2006

The efficacy of toddler-parent psychotherapy to reorganize attachment in the young offspring of mothers with major depressive disorder: a randomized preventive trial.

The development of insecure attachment relationships in the offspring of mothers with major depressive disorder (MDD) may initiate a negative trajectory leading to future psychopathology. Therefore, the provision of theoretically guided interventions designed to promote secure attachment is of paramount importance. Mothers who had experienced MDD since their child's birth were recruited (n = 130) and randomized to toddler-parent psychotherapy (DI) or to a control group (DC). Nondepressed mothers with no current or history of major mental disorder and their toddlers also were recruited for a nondepressed comparison group (NC; n = 68). Children averaged 20.34 months of age at the initial assessment. Higher rates of insecure attachment were present in both the DI and the DC groups at baseline, relative to the NC group. At postintervention, at age 36 months, insecure attachment continued to predominate in the DC group. In contrast, the rate of secure attachment had increased substantially in the DI group and was higher than that for the DC and the NC groups. These results demonstrate the efficacy of toddler-parent psychotherapy in fostering secure attachment relationships in young children of depressed mothers.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The paradox of group-based guilt: modes of national identification, conflict vehemence, and reactions to the in-group's moral violations.

The authors examined the relationships between 2 modes of national identification (attachment to the in-group and the in-group's glorification) and reactions to the in-group's moral violations among Israeli students. Data were collected during a period of relative calm in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as during a period of great intensification of this conflict. As expected, in Study 1, the 2 modes of identification had contrasting relationships with group-based guilt: Attachment was positively related whereas glorification was negatively related to group-based guilt for in-group's past infractions. Glorification suppressed the attachment effect but not vice versa. Both relationships were mediated by the use of exonerating cognitions. In Study 2, group-based guilt for the in-group's current wrongdoings was increased by priming critical rather than conventional attachment to the in-group, suggesting a causal effect of mode of identification on the experience of negative group-based emotions.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Coparenting, mother-infant interaction, and infant-parent attachment relationships in two-parent families.

Coparenting behavior and the quality of mothers' parenting behavior were examined in relation to parents' perceptions of their child's attachment in 60 two-parent families with 11- to 15-month-old infants (30 boys and 30 girls). Parent-child attachment was assessed using the Attachment Q-Sort. Competitive coparenting was associated with mothers' and fathers' perception of a less secure parent-child attachment relationship, whereas maternal responsiveness was associated with mothers' perception of a more secure mother-child attachment relationship. Families with mothers who were more restrictive and those with parents who were more competitive were less likely to have mothers and fathers with similar perceptions of the quality of parent-child attachment relationships. Findings support the proposal that different levels of family functioning affect the quality of parent-child relationships.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Further evidence for the role of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene in attachment disorganization: interaction of the exon III 48-bp repeat and the -521 C/T promoter polymorphisms.

In non-clinical low-risk populations 15% of infants show disorganized attachment behavior(1,2) with their caregivers in the Strange Situation,(3) a mildly stressful laboratory procedure testing infants' ability to cope with separation anxiety. Disorganization of early attachment has been primarily ascribed to inadequate parenting,(2,4,5) and has been associated with childhood behavior problems(6,7)and adolescent psychopathological tendencies.(5) We have recently reported an association between the DRD4 exon III 48 basepair repeat polymorphism and disorganization of infants' attachment behavior towards their mother in a low-social-risk group of 1-year-old infants:(8) the risk for disorganized attachment among infants carrying the 7-repeat allele was fourfold. Here we report further evidence for the involvement of the dopamine D4 receptor gene in attachment disorganization. The same group of infants was genotyped for the functional -521 C/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the upstream regulatory region of the DRD4 gene(9) in order to test the association with attachment disorganization both alone and in interaction with the DRD4 exon III 7-repeat allele. While the -521 C/T genotype itself had no effect on attachment status (chi(2) = 0.41, df = 2, P = 0.82), there was an interaction between the structural 48-bp repeat polymorphism and the -521 C/T promoter polymorphism: the association between disorganized attachment and the 7-repeat allele was enhanced in the presence of the -521 T allele (chi(2) = 6.61 and 6.67, df = 1, P < 0.025 for CT and TT genotypes, respectively). In the presence of both risk alleles the odds ratio for disorganized attachment increased tenfold. This result supports our previous postulation that the DRD4 gene plays a role in the development of attachment behavior in low-risk, non-clinical populations.

Alleles↗

PubMed2004

[Attachment styles in German alcoholics with or without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)].

INTRODUCTION: Attachment theory yields empirical constructs for development of human self, personality and cognition. Insecure attachment strategies were associated with various psychiatric disorders. METHOD: We investigated distribution of attachment styles in 368 adult alcoholics of German descent with or without persistent symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and in 402 healthy individuals. RESULT: Insecure attachment styles were significantly overrepresented compared to healthy controls. The subgroup of alcoholics with ADHD showed significantly more frequent enmeshed (74.1 %), the subgroup of alcoholics without persistent ADH-associated symptoms showed more frequent dismissing (35 %) attachment strategies. CONCLUSION: In our sample, insecure attachment styles are associated with alcoholism. The subgroup of alcoholics with persistent ADHD shows a specific attachment behavior that could contribute to different therapy response or to early onset or severity of alcoholism.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Event representations, narrative development and internal working models.

In this article I summarize the theoretical framework of experientially based event representations as the basis for early cognitive development. Further work on representational levels, in particular the level of extended discourse such as narratives that incorporate new understandings of the personal, social and cultural world, is discussed. Parallels with the concept of internal working models from attachment theory, and differences between these two theoretical approaches are then laid out, with implications for further interchange between the two.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Attachment in older adulthood: concept clarification.

AIMS: This paper is an analysis to clarify the concept of attachment by: (1) specifying the antecedents of attachment in older adulthood, (2) describing the defining or critical attributes of attachment as relevant for development beyond adulthood, including older adulthood and old age, and (3) specifying the consequences of attachment in older adulthood. BACKGROUND: Attachment is a concept that has been studied both within and outside the discipline of nursing. Most of the scholarly work on the concept has involved investigations of the concept as it applies at very early developmental phases of the lifespan. Despite this concentration of effort on the concept in childhood, theorists have consistently called for attention to the concept in adulthood and older adulthood to advance our understanding of how such close and supportive relationships relate to health. RESULTS: Antecedents of attachment behaviour include any number of fear-provoking or challenging situations, as well as interactions that involve conflict. Illnesses commonly have these characteristics and so are broadly included as antecedents. Defining attributes of attachment behaviour include three distinct behaviours: (1) proximity, or keeping to one or more 'preferred others', (2) protest following involuntary and perceived permanent separation from a preferred other and, (3) the presence of a secure base, viewed as necessary for developmental exploration and growth. Consequences include environmental interaction secure in the belief that a safe haven exists should reliable clues to danger present themselves, and the mobilization of personal and interpersonal assets called developmental resources. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing implications include the ability of nurses to intervene positively with older clients who may be experiencing age-related transitions that affect health. Knowledge about attachment will help nurses mediate the potentially negative impact of health transitions on developmental tasks and promote high-level wellness and successful ageing.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Adult attachment, parent emotion, and observed parenting behavior: mediator and moderator models.

In a middle-class sample of mothers of 2-year-olds, adult attachment classifications measured in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) were related to maternal self-reported emotional well-being and observed parenting behavior, and the potential mediating and moderating roles of maternal emotion were tested. Mothers classified as dismissing on the AAI reported significantly lower levels of positive affectivity. Mothers classified as preoccupied reported significantly higher levels of negative affectivity and anxiety. Preoccupied mothers were observed to be significantly higher on angry/intrusive parenting, but this association was not mediated by attachment-related differences in maternal emotion. Maternal emotional well-being did, however, moderate the associations between adult attachment and parenting behavior: Dismissing attachment was significantly associated with lower warmth/responsiveness only among mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Attachment style and subjective motivations for sex.

The relation of attachment style to subjective motivations for sex was investigated in an Internet survey of 1999 respondents. The relations of attachment anxiety and avoidance to overall sexual motivation and to the specific motives for emotional closeness, reassurance, self-esteem enhancement, stress reduction, partner manipulation, protection from partner's negative affect and behavior, power exertion, physical pleasure, nurturing one's partner, and procreation were explored. As predicted, attachment anxiety was positively related to overall sexual motivation and to all specific motives for sex, with the exception of physical pleasure. Avoidance was negatively related to emotional closeness and reassurance as goals of sex and positively related to manipulative use of sex but minimally related to most other motives. Sexual passion was positively related to attachment anxiety and negatively related to avoidance, and anxiety was related to the maintenance of passion over time, whereas avoidance was related to loss of passion over time.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Family factors in adolescent unipolar depression.

This paper reviews the current literature on the contribution of family factors to unipolar depression among adolescents. Research which examined the following factors was reviewed and evaluated: genetic transmission, parental depression, parental death, quality of attachment and family interaction. Studies had to meet the following criteria to be included: publication must have been between the years 1985 and 1992; the evaluation had to be empirical with some form of control; a dependent measure of family characteristics or functioning; the adolescent had to be between the ages of 13 to 19; and the adolescent had to meet the recognizable criteria for unipolar depression. Recent literature suggests that adolescents suffering from depression share a number of risk factors: a family history of affective disorder, inept or inadequate parenting, abrasive interactions within the family and insecure attachments. At this time, there is no evidence that these aversive interactions predate the disorder. Weaknesses in the current literature are identified and strategies for improving future research are proposed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

A three-generational study of transmission of risk for sexual abuse.

This intergenerational study investigates histories of both attachment relationships and abusive experiences and domains of current functioning that distinguish families of sexually abused children from families of nonabused children. The participants included (a) 199 nonoffending African American mothers of whom approximately half had children with documented sexual abuse histories and half had children with no documented abuse histories and (b) 106 maternal grandmothers of these children; approximately half had sexually abused grandchildren and half had grandchildren with no documented abuse. The children were 4 to 12 years old. Histories of abuse and attachment experiences and current functioning of the grandmother and mother were evaluated. Logistic regression analyses revealed that sexual abuse in a child was best predicted by 3 factors: maternal problems in adult functioning, a currently negative relationship between the grandmother and mother, and a disrupted pattern of caregiving during the mother's childhood. The findings underscore that troubled intergenerational attachment relationships in families can significantly heighten the risk of a child being sexually abused.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Maternal-infant separation at birth among substance using pregnant women: implications for attachment.

The potential for substance use to interfere with initial maternal-infant contact and attachment was examined. Data were collected from confidential interviews with pregnant women and reviews of the medical charts of these women and their infants. Substance users (N = 60) were found to experience significantly (p = .03) more maternal-infant separation at birth than nonusers (N = 22), most often due to health concerns for mother and/or infant. Substance using mothers scored negatively more frequently than nonusing mothers on variables of attachment. Reasons for these differences are explored and some strategies for dealing with this population in the hospital milieu are suggested.

Female↗

PubMed2001

Attachment styles and personality disorders as predictors of symptom course.

Adult attachment styles and personality disorders (PDs) show some conceptual and empirical overlap and both may complicate the course of symptoms among psychiatric patients. In this naturalistic prospective study, 149 patients with affective, anxiety, substance use, and other disorders were interviewed shortly after entering treatment, which included psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, or both. Follow-up interviews were conducted 6 and 12 months later. Attachment styles, DSM-III-R PDs, and symptoms were assessed using structured interviews and consensus ratings. At intake, borderline, avoidant, and dependent PD features correlated consistently with symptom severity and secure attachment correlated inversely with two of four symptom scales. Secure attachment was linked with greater relative improvement in global functioning and a more benign course of anxiety symptoms over 6 months. Borderline PD features predicted less relative improvement of depressive symptoms over 6 months. These findings clarify the relations between attachment styles and PD features and they point to potential mediators of treatment response.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Relationships between God and people in the Bible, Part II: The New Testament, with comparisons with the Torah.

IN AN EARLIER study on the first five books of the Bible, the Torah or Pentateuch, relationships between God and people were assessed with the use of a clinical-quantitative method, the core conflictual relationship theme (CCRT) method. Here, the study is extended to God or Jesus's relationships with people in the New Testament, to obtain the first description of those relationships based on an established measure of relationships. In the New Testament, many different kinds of relationship themes were observed, with benevolent and positive themes as the most frequent. Other results included that: (a) relationships in the New Testament often appeared more positive than in the Torah; (b) New Testament relationships between Jesus and people were less positive than between God and people; and (c) God's relationship with Jesus was more positive than God's relationship with Moses. Relationships with Paul, Peter, and women were also assessed. Relationship patterns were considered within the context of attachment theory, and biblical CCRT patterns were consistent with depiction of both secure and anxious attachments. Biblical relationships portray a variety of models for interpersonal relationships, ranging from the very positive to the very negative.

Bible↗

PubMed2000

Stalking perpetrators and psychological maltreatment of partners: anger-jealousy, attachment insecurity, need for control, and break-up context.

Two studies of the correlates of self-reported courtship persistence, stalking-like behaviors following a relationship break-up, and psychological maltreatment of partners were conducted in samples of male (N = 46 and 93) and female (N = 123 and 110) college students. Approximately 40% (38.5% and 44.6%) engaged in at least one stalking behavior following a break-up. A total of 10.7% (study 1) and 7.6% (study 2) engaged in 6 or more stalking behaviors. Stalking was significantly related to psychological maltreatment of the partner (PMP) prior to the break-up. Being the recipient of the breakup was associated with feelings of anger, jealousy and obsessiveness and with higher levels of courtship persistence, and stalking. A replicated path model showed that anxious attachment and need for control were related to PMP and that need for control had a direct contribution to stalking. For anxious attachment, its connection to stalking was indirect, mediated by the degree of anger-jealousy over the break-up.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Empirical classification of infant-mother relationships from interactive behavior and crying during reunion.

Multiple discriminant function analysis (MDFA) was conducted with data from 255 Strange Situations conducted and scored by Ainsworth and her colleagues. Cross-validated discriminant functions and classification weights were obtained, allowing attachment classifications (A, B, C) to be assigned directly from scores on interactive behavior and crying during reunion episodes. In the past, classification agreement within laboratories has often been used as a training criterion. Unfortunately, this does not insure that classification criteria agreed upon within a laboratory are comparable across laboratories, nor does it insure that agreed upon criteria will yield the same classifications that would have been assigned by the researchers who developed the scoring system. The present results enable researchers who have mastered the scoring systems for reunion behavior and crying to obtain attachment classifications directly from scores on these variables. Alternatively, this procedure may be used to guide the training of, and validate classification decisions by, local judges.

Crying↗

PubMed1984

Infant-mother attachment: factors related to its development and changes over time.

As part of a large longitudinal study, assessments of attachment relationships in high-risk mother-infant pairs were conducted at 12 and 18 months. With data collected prenatally and during the infant's first 2 years of life, this study attempted to discriminate among 3 major attachment classifications and to account for qualitative changes in attachment relationships. The data included maternal and infant characteristics, mother-infant interactions, life-stress events, and family living arrangements. Several patterns seemed to emerge. Mothers of securely attached infants were consistently more cooperative and sensitive with their infants as observed in a feeding and play situation than mothers of anxiously attached infants. Anxious/resistant infants tended to lag behind their counterparts developmentally and were less likely to solicit responsive caretaking. Anxious/avoidant infants, although robust, tended to have mothers who had negative feelings about motherhood, were tense and irritable, and treated their infants in a perfunctory manner. Male babies were somewhat more vulnerable to qualitative differences in caretaking, while, for girls, maternal personality showed a stronger relationship to security of attachment. Changes from secure to anxious attachments were characterized by initially adequate caretaking skills but prolonged interaction with an aggressive and suspicious mother. Changes toward secure attachments tend to reflect growth and increasing competence among young mothers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Parental bonding and mental health in adolescence.

Attachment between parent and child plays a crucial role in the healthy development of the child. Accordingly disturbances in parental bonding will be linked with the development of mental disorders later in life. The present study examines the relationship between parental bonding and mental health in healthy adolescents. Participants were 847 Israeli high school students who completed the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the General Well-Being (GWB), the Perceived Social Support (PSS), and the Social Desirability scale (SDS). In general, Israeli adolescents reported more parental care and less control than did Australian adolescents and adults. Female subjects reported more maternal care than did males. Subjects who reported high care and low control (optimal bonding) reported less distress, better general well-being and better social support that did all other groups. In contrast, those who reported low care and high control (affectionless control bonding) had the highest BSI scores and the lowest GWB and PSS scores. These results are in line with Bowlby's theory of attachment. They also show that specific configuration of parental bonding are linked with distress and isolation in adolescents.

Adaptation, Psychological↗