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PubMed2002

Relationships between maternal adult attachment security, child perceptions of maternal support, and maternal perceptions of child responses to sexual abuse.

This study assessed the relationships between maternal adult attachment style, children's perceptions of maternal support following disclosure of sexual abuse, and maternal perceptions of children's behavioral and emotional responses to sexual abuse among African-American child sexual abuse victims aged 4 to 12 (n=96) and a comparison group of non-abused subjects (n=100). Mothers with insecure attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of internalizing behaviors in their sexually abused children than did securely attached mothers. Among mothers of non-abused children, those with insecure adult attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of externalizing behaviors shown by their children in comparison with mothers with a secure adult attachment style. Mothers with insecure adult attachment styles also reported higher rates of overall behavior problems in their non-abused children that approached statistical significance. Sexually abused children's perceptions of maternal support were not related to maternal attachment style nor to child functioning. Contrary to our prediction, mothers of sexually abused children did not show lower rates of secure attachments when compared to mothers of non-sexually abused children. Our findings indicate that fostering parent- child attachment is important in order to decrease the risk for behavior problems and symptomatology in sexually abused children.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Contingency perception and misperception in infancy: some potential implications for attachment.

A theoretical analysis is presented in which the four major attachment patterns (A, B, C, and D) are viewed as adaptations to particular forms of early contingency experience. The author proposes that human infants analyze contingency experience on the basis of two computations of conditional probability, one prospective and one retrospective. Ideally, when these computations do not agree, the direction of disagreement provides information as to how the infant should adjust effective behavior and/or how potential contingent consequences should be redefined. The author also proposes that the specific patterns of insecure attachment (A, C, and D) are a result of parental responsiveness that is by nature inconsistent or out of balance and that the infant interprets this imbalance as his or her misperception of a balanced contingency. The observed symptoms of attachment insecurity are seen as consistent with specific attempts by infants to adjust behavior and/or discrimination according to the direction of imbalance in conditional probabilities they have experienced in interactions with their caretakers.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1991

Potential psychological attachments formed by donors involved in fertility technology--another side to infertility.

Donor participation has become an integral component in the treatment of infertility. While the donors' reproductive capabilities continue to be utilized to support fertility technology, little effort has been directed at understanding the experience of these participants. Based on attachment theory, it can be argued that donors have the potential to form parent-offspring attachments. This bonding may result in psychological sequelae from the separation inherent in technology that disconnects the genetic, gestational and social functions of parenthood. Implications for health care providers involved in infertility care are discussed.

Counseling↗

PubMed1998

Role of the father.

Fathers make definite contributions to infant development and are now spending more time with their children than in many past decades. This article reviews the most compelling research on the developmental importance of fathers, including father-infant attachment and interaction, and differences between maternal and paternal interaction styles. Results of a long-term study of primary caregiving fathers also are presented.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Attachment theory, metacognitive functions and the therapeutic relationship in eating disorders.

J. Bowlby's attachment theory is used to explore a fundamental motivational force in human behaviour, namely the search for physical and emotional protective intimacy according to an integrated viewpoint remote from Freud's drive-based approach. This theory has received contributions from ethology, the neurosciences, psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology and evolutionary epistemology. Attachment patterns or styles express both the mental and behavioural strategies adopted by individuals to cope with their attachment needs, and their relational history in this area. Experiences of adequate quality promote metacognitive functions, namely a set of mental processes whose role is to protect the individual from psychopathological suffering and construct and articulate a sense of self. Attachment theory and metacognition are the underlying assumptions of reflections on the dynamics marking the development of sometimes very difficult relationships between therapists and eating disorder (ED) patients, who are being increasingly classed as "severe patients" on account of their interpersonal characteristics.

Defense Mechanisms↗

PubMed2003

The parent-child relationship in the context of maternal depressive mood.

The aim of this study was to examine parent-child interactions 15-18 months postpartum, in families where the mother either showed depressive symptoms two months postpartum or did not. Maternal mood was assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Eleven women scoring >12 (signs of depressive mood) and 14 women scoring <10 (no signs of depressive mood) on the EPDS and their partners were videotaped in parent-child interactions, assessed by the Parent Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA). Our results indicate that children of high EPDS-scoring mothers showed less persistence in play with, and less joy in reunion after separation from, their mothers than children of low EPDS-scoring mothers. In contrast, most fathers in families where the mothers scored high on the EPDS seemed to establish joyful relationships with their children and secure child-father attachment 15-18 months postpartum, as if the father "compensated" for the mothers' depressive symptoms.

Child Rearing↗

PubMed2002

Maternal sensitivity, infant attachment, and temperament in early childhood predict adjustment in middle childhood: the case of adopted children and their biologically unrelated parents.

In a longitudinal study, internationally adopted children (N = 146) placed before 6 months of age were followed from infancy to age 7. Results showed that girls were better adjusted than boys, except in cognitive development, and that easy temperament was associated with higher levels of social, cognitive, and personality development and fewer behavior problems. Higher quality of child-mother relationships, in terms of attachment security and maternal sensitivity, uniquely predicted better social and cognitive development. The combination of attachment disorganization and difficult temperament predicted less optimal ego-control and lower levels of cognitive development. It is concluded that even in adopted children, who are not biologically related to their adoptive parents, early mother-infant interactions and attachment relationships predict later socioemotional and cognitive development, beyond infant temperament and gender.

Adoption↗

PubMed1993

Relationships between symptoms of depression and anxiety and dysfunctional beliefs about achievement and attachment.

Psychiatric outpatients (N = 293) provided data to test the symptom specificity and final common pathway hypotheses about symptoms of depression and anxiety. The symptom specificity hypothesis predicts that the symptoms reported by a depressed or anxious patient depend on the dysfunctional beliefs he or she endorses. In contrast, the final common pathway hypothesis predicts that symptoms are unrelated to the types of beliefs the patient endorses. These hypotheses were tested in the context of theories that emphasize the importance of dysfunctional beliefs about achievement and attachment. Only limited support for the symptom specificity hypothesis was obtained; support was strongest for the link between attachment beliefs and anxiety symptoms. Relationships between symptoms and dysfunctional beliefs did not depend on psychiatric diagnosis.

Achievement↗

PubMed2006

Attachment representations of institutionalized adolescents and their professional caregivers: predicting the development of therapeutic relationships.

This study prospectively examined the effects of adolescent (N=81) and professional caregiver (N=33) attachment representations, measured using the Adult Attachment Interview, on therapeutic relationships in a youth treatment institution. After the first 3 months of the clients' stay in the institution, no effects of adolescents' or mentors' (i.e., the professional caregiver assigned) security and type of attachment representations were found. In a subgroup of 28 clients staying for a longer period, more secure adolescents were perceived by their mentors as increasing their secure base use and decreasing avoidance of contact, whereas more secure mentors were increasingly perceived as available as a secure base. Moreover, specific combinations of attachment representations of mentor and adolescent had different effects on adolescent hostility.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Planned conception and infant functioning at age three months: a cross-cultural study.

The conceptions of 53 American and 54 Greek infants were categorized as planned or unplanned on the basis of mothers' reports. At age three months in both cultural groups, infants in the planned category showed higher levels of cognitive processing and attachment to their mothers than did infants in the unplanned category, as shown by their differential vocal responses to mothers versus a female stranger.

Attitude↗

PubMed2005

Associations between loneliness, depressive symptoms and perceived togetherness in older people.

This study explores the associations of loneliness with depressive symptoms in a five-year follow-up and describes how the six dimensions of perceived togetherness explain loneliness and depressive symptoms at baseline. The data were collected on 207 residents of Jyväskylä, central Finland, who at baseline in 1990 were aged 80; and 133 residents who at follow-up in 1995 were aged 85. Loneliness was assessed using a questionnaire item with four preset response options, perceived togetherness using the Social Provisions Scale, and depressive symptoms using the CES-D scale. A recursive structural equation model showed that in women but not in men, depressive symptoms predicted more experiences of loneliness. Those who were lonely were more depressed (CES-D score 16 or over) and experienced less togetherness than those who were not. Loneliness was explained by reliable alliance, social integration and attachment; and depressive symptoms were explained by guidance, reassurance of worth, reliable alliance and attachment. A common feature in both loneliness and depressive symptoms was a lower level of perceived emotional togetherness in social interaction.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Adult attachment style and parental responsiveness during a stressful event.

Despite widespread use of self-report measures of adult attachment, relatively little research has explored the predictive utility of these measures in the domain of parent-child relationships. The present study examined the association between self-reported attachment style and parental responsiveness during a stressful event. Children and their parents were observed while children received an inoculation at a county immunization clinic. Children's reactions to the inoculation were rated and parents' responsiveness was assessed with the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS). Results revealed that children of parents scoring high on self-reported attachment avoidance were more distressed during the inoculation than children of parents scoring low on avoidance. Moreover, parents high on avoidance were less responsive when children were highly distressed, whereas this pattern was reversed among parents scoring low on avoidance. Finally, the influence of adult attachment on parental behavior and children's distress was found to be independent of children's temperament and parental personality. These findings suggest that self-report adult attachment measures may be useful in the domain of parent-child relationships.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Attachment and development: a prospective, longitudinal study from birth to adulthood.

There is much to digest in a 30 year longitudinal study of the developing person (Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins, 2005a). The following paper summarizes some key points regarding the place of infant attachment in the developmental course. It is argued that understanding the role of attachment entails grasping the organizational nature of the attachment construct and embracing a non-linear transactional model. Using such concepts, attachment history was shown in the Minnesota study to be clearly related to the growth of self-reliance, the capacity for emotional regulation, and the emergence and course of social competence, among other things. Moreover, specific patterns of attachment had implications for both normal development and pathology. Even more important than such linkages, however, study of the place of early attachment in later adaptation reveals much about developmental processes underlying both continuity and change. Findings are over-viewed concerning the complex links between attachment and ultimate outcomes and the preservation of early patterns even during times of change. In all, these findings have implications both for future research and for clinical application.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Psychosocial vulnerability from adolescence to adulthood: a prospective study of attachment style differences in relationship functioning and partner choice.

Using a prospective research design, this study explored whether attachment style during adolescence forecasts the nature and quality of romantic relationships in early adulthood and investigated two general pathways for explaining these effects. Black and White community residents were first interviewed in adolescence at which time they completed a self-report measure of attachment style. Approximately 6 years later, they participated in a follow-up interview along with their current romantic partners (N = 224 couples). Results revealed that insecure attachment in adolescence was a risk factor for adverse relationship outcomes in adulthood, although the effects were most consistent for avoidant attachment. Avoidant adolescents were involved in relationships that they (and their partners) rated as less satisfying overall; they also engaged in fewer pro-relationship behaviors, and perceived that their partners engaged in fewer pro-relationship behaviors. In addition, avoidant adolescents were involved with partners who had less healthy personality profiles. Results for anxious-ambivalent and secure attachment were weaker, more complex, and moderated by gender. This study provides the first prospective evidence that avoidant attachment places individuals at risk for adverse relationship outcomes and highlights potential pathways through which this occurs.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1997

Early intervention in adoptive families: supporting maternal sensitive responsiveness, infant-mother attachment, and infant competence.

Results from adoption studies suggest that adoptive families may experience special impediments with respect to the developmental progress and outcome of their children. Based on attachment theory, two early intervention programs were designed to support families in the Netherlands with an internationally adopted child. The intervention aimed at promoting maternal sensitive responsiveness, secure infant-mother attachment relationships, and infant exploratory competence. Ninety families with an interracially adopted infant (71 from Sri Lanka and 19 from Korea) were assigned to either a control group or one of two intervention groups. All of the children, 44 boys and 46 girls, were placed for adoption under the age of 5 months (M = 8 weeks). The first intervention group (N = 30) received a personal book, which focused on sensitive parenting. The second intervention group (N = 30) was provided with the same book as well as with three video-feedback sessions at their home. The control group (N = 30) did not receive intervention. In the control group sensitive responsiveness and security of attachment were comparable to outcomes from normative samples. The least intensive program, the personal book, did not bring about change in mothers or infants. In contrast, intervention effects were established upon maternal sensitive responsiveness, infant competence, and infant-mother attachment in the group that received both the book and video feedback.

Adoption↗

PubMed1981

Symbiosis and confirmation between the parents of the schizophrenic.

Parents of schizophrenics (N = 17) were compared with parents of nonschizophrenic hospitalized patients (N = 14) and parents of normals (N = 15) on the degree of symbiotic enmeshment and confirmation of individuality in the parental relationship. Symbiosis was divided into six component variables: undifferentiation, dependency, intervention, disapproval of other relationships, separation difficulty, and injunctions. Confirmation was bifurcated into acknowledgment and accommodation. Projective tests (TAT and Make-A-Picture-Story) and interviews were used to measure both variables. The results suggest that mothers of schizophrenics tend to be symbiotically attached to their husbands and view their husbands as forming the same type of attachment to them. Fathers of schizophrenics do not tend to be symbiotically involved with their wives but fail to confirm them. The implications of the results for the family system of the schizophrenic are discussed.

Fathers↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Initial differences in postpartum attachment behavior in breastfeeding and bottle-feeding mothers.

Nurses frequently assume that breastfeeding mothers are more attached to their infants than bottle-feeding mothers. The researchers observed 15 breastfeeding and 15 bottle-feeding mothers using the Avant maternal-infant attachment tool. The scores of the two groups were compared and no significant differences were found. The study results and limitations of this study and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Bottle Feeding↗

PubMed1991

Parentification of the child: a case study of Bowlby's compulsive care-giving attachment pattern.

Compulsive care-giving is a pattern of adult attachment behavior in which the person emphasizes the importance of giving care in relationships rather than receiving it. The developmental antecedent of this pattern derives from role reversal in the parent-child relationship. Since care-giving directed from the child to the parent was so constantly associated by the parent with attachment, the child too inevitably associates it with attachment. It is important to differentiate this care-giving from care-giving initiatives that arise properly later in life in reciprocal relationships and true parental relationships. These adult care-giving behaviors arise from the care-giving system, and are complementary to the attachment system. By contrast, care-giving behaviors directed from a child to a parent arise from the child's attachment system and lead to dysfunctional relationships later in life as the individual loses any ability to express need or ask for care, yet retains a pervasive, unsatisfied neediness and longing for care. For such an individual in adulthood, the attachment and care-giving systems do not balance each other to yield stable reciprocal relationships but rather reinforce patterns of exclusive care-giving and the suppression of care-seeking.

Adult↗