The Anxious Couple
Len Sperry, Katherine Helm, Jon Carlson in The Disordered Couple, 2019
In terms of adult attachment, secure attachment offers the opportunity for being comfortable and feeling worthy of being loved and close with others. Preoccupied attachment, or anxious ambivalent, is evident when an individual exhibits generally poor views of themselves but tends to idealize or only view the positive in those around them. These individuals tend to hold the belief they are unworthy of care and consideration from others, but acceptance and commitment are desired and pursued most vigorously (Marganska et al., 2013). Fearful avoidant attachment, however, is evident when an individual views both themselves and others as negative and sources of rejection and pain. These attachment patterns become clear depending on a person’s response to closeness; those with more anxious attachment tendencies dread abandonment, whereas those who demonstrate avoidant attachment are threatened by intimacy (Brumariu et al., 2013; Cusimano & Riggs, 2013; Marganska et al., 2013; Schimmenti & Bifulco, 2013).
Maternal–infant attachment
Chang Amy, Caroline Squire in The Social Context of Birth, 2017
It is believed that parents’ own attachment experiences in childhood influence their internal model of attachment as adults, which in turn influences whether their infant develops a secure or insecure attachment relationship with them (Bowlby 1988). A study by Fonagy, et al. (1991) of 100 women showed that the mother’s account of her childhood may be an indicator of subsequent attachment behaviour with her own children. Steele, et al. (1996) interviewed mothers during pregnancy about their childhood attachment and were able to predict quite accurately which mothers would have an insecurely attached child 15 months later. Brazelton and Cramer (1991) suggest that mothers can tolerate the tremendous selfishness of babies because, in caring for them, they are vicariously satisfying their own selfish needs and wishes, and that these energise a woman’s capacity to mother and nurture and set the stage for attachment to the baby.
Theory of psychodynamic psychotherapy
Patricia Hughes, Daniel Riordan in Dynamic Psychotherapy Explained, 2017
The assessment of adult attachment for research or clinical purposes is not made by observation of behaviour, but by evaluating the mental representation of attachment in the adult. The assessment is made using an analysis of the transcript of a semi-structured interview (the Adult Attachment Interview, or AAI) in which the subject is asked a number of questions relating to their early experience of attachment relationships. The evaluation depends not on a rating of actual or remembered experience, but on the degree to which the subject has been able to form a coherent narrative with regard to his own attachment, to recognise states of mind and motive in both self and attachment figures, and to value attachment to others, even if his own experience was unsatisfactory.
Association of adult attachment with delays in accessing specialist care in women with ovarian cancer
Published in Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 2022
Soumitra Shankar Datta, Lindsay Fraser, Matthew Burnell, Shazia Nasreen, Manisha Ghosh, Aparupa Ojha, Tania Saha, Asima Mukhopadhyay, Anne Lanceley, Usha Menon
Recent research has shown that adult attachment can influence help-seeking behavior.10 Adult attachment is the cluster of attitudes and behavioral and emotional expressions in close relationships that are particularly prominent when an individual is under threat.11 In the model proposed by Bartholomew and Horowitz,12 each individual has a personal attachment pattern that can be mapped by the two dimensions of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance.10,12,13 Attachment anxiety is the degree of discomfort one feels due to separation from attachment figures.11 Attachment avoidance is the extent to which one is distressed by crowding or closeness to the attachment figure.11 It has been studied across multiple countries including India and found to have similar dimensions. Individuals may have predictable responses to serious stressors like a cancer diagnosis or a traumatic life event.
Self-Esteem in 12-Step Recovery; Theoretical History, Evidence, and Implications for Future Research
Published in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 2021
Austin McNeill Brown, Mariah Brennan Nanni, Onawa P. LaBelle
Adult attachment is another broad psychological construction that has roots in attachment theory originally pioneered by Ainsworth (1969) and Bowlby (1973, 1980, 1982). Attachment theory ostensibly states that the styles of bonds formed in early childhood with the primary caregiver influences later adult styles of intimacy with others (i.e. anxious, avoidant, more secure attachment styles). LaBelle and Edelstein (2018) discovered that gratitude exerted positive influence on avoidant attachment styles, possibly allowing those who are socially avoidant to better participate within social practices of 12-Step groups. We hypothesize that SE would negatively correlate with anxious or avoidant attachment styles and perhaps both, thus highlighting the central importance of SE as a key intrapersonal variable.
The Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation in the Relation Between Adult Attachment Insecurity and Depression Among Young Gay and Bisexual Men
Published in International Journal of Sexual Health, 2019
Erica P. Wood, Stephanie H. Cook, Benjamin J. Calebs
Participants filled out the Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures Questionnaire (ECR-RS; Fraley, Heffernan, Vicary, & Brumbaugh, 2011) to assess adult attachment. This self-report measure uses a 7-point Likert scale to evaluate levels of adult attachment anxiety and adult attachment avoidance by asking extent of agreement with statements regarding interactions with and attitudes about close others in their lives. The ECR-RS is divided into four subscales that represent different close relationships: relationship to mother, father, romantic partner, and best friend. Each subscale measure ranges from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) for each subscale. The ECR-RS contains six questions measuring attachment avoidance (e.g., “I don’t feel comfortable opening up to this person”) and three questions measuring attachment anxiety (e.g., “I often worry that this person doesn't really care for me”). Attachment anxiety and avoidance scores were averaged within each subscale to give two separate anxiety and avoidance scores. A global attachment score for each domain of attachment insecurity was then calculated by taking an average of the four relationship-specific attachment scores. Higher scores in each attachment domain indicated higher levels of attachment avoidance or attachment anxiety. The adult attachment avoidance component contained 24 items with good internal consistency (α = .85), whereas the adult attachment anxiety component contained 12 items with acceptable internal consistency (α = .73).
Related Knowledge Centers
- Attachment Theory
- Emotional Dysregulation
- Impulsivity
- Negative Affectivity
- Psychology
- Comfort Object
- Doubt
- Defence Mechanism
- Social Rejection
- Schema