Twenty years ago, meta-analytic results (k = 19) confirmed the association between caregiver attachment representations and child-caregiver attachment (Van IJzendoorn, 1995). A test of caregiver ...sensitivity as the mechanism behind this intergenerational transmission showed an intriguing "transmission gap." Since then, the intergenerational transmission of attachment and the transmission gap have been studied extensively, and now extend to diverse populations from all over the globe. Two decades later, the current review revisited the effect sizes of intergenerational transmission, the heterogeneity of the transmission effects, and the size of the transmission gap. Analyses were carried out with a total of 95 samples (total N = 4,819). All analyses confirmed intergenerational transmission of attachment, with larger effect sizes for secure-autonomous transmission (r = .31) than for unresolved transmission (r = .21), albeit with significantly smaller effect sizes than 2 decades earlier (r = .47 and r = .31, respectively). Effect sizes were moderated by risk status of the sample, biological relatedness of child-caregiver dyads, and age of the children. Multivariate moderator analyses showed that unpublished and more recent studies had smaller effect sizes than published and older studies. Path analyses showed that the transmission could not be fully explained by caregiver sensitivity, with more recent studies narrowing but not bridging the "transmission gap." Implications for attachment theory as well as future directions for research are discussed.
Although research on adult attachment has yielded insight into the legacy of attachment for functioning in adulthood, methodological challenges persist in the assessment of adult attachment. The ...Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) offers a rich assessment of secure, insecure, and unresolved states of mind. However, it is resource intensive to administer and code. Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) offers a resource-effective alternative to the AAI. However, the ASA coding system only yields a single, security-like dimension: secure base script knowledge. Here, we introduce a complementary coding system for the ASA to assess attachment deactivation (i.e. script characterized by limited interpersonal connection and minimization of attachment problems/emotions), hyperactivation (i.e. script in which attachment-relevant problems and negative emotions are heightened), and anomalous content (i.e. script in which attachment problems contain elements of fear and/or disorientation); and we discuss the conceptual convergence of these scripts with corresponding patterns of attachment insecurity and disorganization.
When employees experience distressful events such as abusive supervision, they often rely on their workgroup for sense making and social support. However, research also shows that supervisors tend to ...differentially abuse members of the same group (i.e., abusive supervision differentiation, ASD). We argue that this behavior threatens an employee’s socioemotional bond with and reliance on the workgroup for support. Specifically, ASD drives negative comparisons of “self versus others” that diminish one’s socioemotional relationship with the group as a whole, particularly if one experiences more abuse than others. Drawing on attachment theory, we develop an individual-level conceptual model that links perceptions of ASD to employee outcomes through two forms of unhealthy person-group bonding—group attachment anxiety and group attachment avoidance. The results of two studies show that group attachment anxiety and avoidance uniquely explain the effects of ASD perceptions, over and above group identification. While both attachment patterns mediated the effects of ASD on psychological distress, group attachment avoidance primarily mediated the effects on quit intentions, and group attachment anxiety primarily mediated the effects on interpersonal deviance (Study 2). In addition, Study 2 demonstrates that resentment and envy towards other group members explain why ASD perceptions lead to group attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and subsequent outcomes. Lastly, we find some evidence that the indirect effects of ASD perceptions are more detrimental when one perceives greater (vs. less) personal exposure to abusive supervision. We conclude by discussing the implications of group attachment theory and targeted emotions for understanding ASD.
The Circle of Security intervention uses a group treatment modality to provide parent education and psychotherapy that is based on attachment theory. The purpose of this study was to track changes in ...children's attachment classifications pre- and immediately postintervention. Participants were 65 toddler-or preschooler-caregiver dyads recruited from Head Start and Early Head Start programs. As predicted, there were significant within-subject changes from disorganized to organized attachment classifications, with a majority changing to the secure classification. In addition, only 1 of the 13 preintervention securely attached children shifted to an insecure classification. Results suggest that the Circle of Security protocol is a promising intervention for the reduction of disorganized and insecure attachment in high-risk toddlers and preschoolers.
Objective
Taking a dyadic perspective, this systematic review examined the relationship between attachment constructs and differences in support behavior in romantic couples.
Method
Four databases ...were searched including PsychINFO, Embase, OVOID MEDLINE, and AMED. Out of 2,401 unique references, 43 met the study inclusion criteria.
Results
The review findings offer validation for an attachment‐based model of support processes in couples. Maladaptive support behaviors were more likely to occur when one or both members of a romantic dyad had an insecure attachment. Individuals with an avoidant or anxious attachment were more likely to provide poor quality support, and when receiving support, to interpret it in a negative manner.
Conclusion
We recommend therapeutic interventions to help individuals with insecure attachments to follow more adaptive ways of support seeking, so social relationships are more able to offer a buffering effect against the development of mental health problems.
Researchers have used
J. Bowlby's (1969/1982
,
1973
,
1980
,
1988
) attachment theory frequently as a basis for examining whether experiences in close personal relationships relate to the processing ...of social information across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. We present an integrative life-span-encompassing theoretical model to explain the patterns of results that have emerged from these studies. The central proposition is that individuals who possess secure experience-based internal working models of attachment will process-in a relatively open manner-a broad range of positive and negative attachment-relevant social information. Moreover, secure individuals will draw on their positive attachment-related knowledge to process this information in a positively biased schematic way. In contrast, individuals who possess insecure internal working models of attachment will process attachment-relevant social information in one of two ways, depending on whether the information could cause the individual psychological pain. If processing the information is likely to lead to psychological pain, insecure individuals will defensively exclude this information from further processing. If, however, the information is unlikely to lead to psychological pain, then insecure individuals will process this information in a negatively biased schematic fashion that is congruent with their negative attachment-related experiences. In a comprehensive literature review, we describe studies that illustrate these patterns of attachment-related information processing from childhood to adulthood. This review focuses on studies that have examined specific components (e.g., attention and memory) and broader aspects (e.g., attributions) of social information processing. We also provide general conclusions and suggestions for future research.
Adult Attachment Omri Gillath, Gery C. Karantzas, R. Chris Fraley
2016, 2016-03-22
eBook
Adult Attachment: A Concise Introduction to Theory and Research is an easy-to- read and highly accessible reference on attachment that deals with many of the key concepts and topics studied within ...attachment theory. This book is comprised of a series of chapters framed by common questions that are typically asked by novices entering the field of attachment. The content of each chapter focuses on answering this overarching question. Topics on the development of attachment are covered from different levels of analysis, including species, individual, and relationship levels, working models of attachment, attachment functions and hierarchies, attachment stability and change over time and across situations, relationship contexts, the cognitive underpinnings of attachment and its activation of enhancement via priming, the interplay between the attachment behavioral system and other behavioral systems, the effects of context on attachment, the contribution of physiology/neurology and genetics to attachment, the associations/differences between attachment and temperament, the conceptualization and measurement of attachment, and the association between attachment and psychopathology/therapy. TEDx talk: The Power of (Secure) Love by Omri Gillath: https://youtu.be/PgIQv- rTGgA * Uses a question-and-answer format to address the most important topics within attachment theory * Presents information in a simple, easy-to-understand way to ensure accessibility for novices in the field of attachment * Covers the main concepts and issues that relate to attachment theory, thus ensuring readers develop a strong foundation in attachment theory that they can then apply to the study of relationships * Addresses future directions in the field of attachment theory * Concisely covers material, ensuring scholars and professionals can quickly get up-to-speed with the most recent research
Adults with a history of childhood maltreatment are more likely to experience distrust, feel distant from others, and develop an insecure attachment style which may also affect relationship quality. ...Furthermore, childhood maltreatment has been linked to several mental health problems; including, depression, anxiety, and alcohol dependance severity, that are also known to relationship quality.
The current study was designed to investigate to what extent childhood maltreatment is associated with adult insecure attachment and intimate relationships and whether this association is mediated by psychopathology.
In a study comprised of 2035 adults aged 18–65, we investigated whether childhood maltreatment was associated with insecure adult attachment styles and the quality of intimate relationships and whether this was mediated by depression, anxiety, and alcohol dependence severity (based on repeated assessments of the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report, Beck Anxiety Index, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test respectively).
The path model showed an acceptable fit, RMSEA = 0.05, and suggested full mediation of the association of childhood maltreatment with quality of intimate relationships by depression severity and a) anxious attachment (β = −4.0 ∗ 10−2; 95% CI = −5.5 ∗ 10−2, −2.7 ∗ 10−2) and b) avoidant attachment (β = −7.2 ∗ 10−2; 95% CI = −9.6 ∗ 10−2, −4.9 ∗ 10−2). Anxiety and alcohol dependence severity were not significant mediators. Conclusions: Childhood maltreatment is associated with a lower quality of intimate relationships, which is fully mediated by depression severity and insecure attachment styles.
•Childhood maltreatment and insecure attachment styles are linked to intimate relationships•The strongest pathway was through depression severity and anxious attachment•Anxiety and alcohol dependence severity did not mediate the relationship in the final model•Depression severity and anxious/avoidant attachment styles fully mediated the relationship
One of the long-standing debates in the study of adult attachment is whether individual differences are best captured using categorical or continuous models. Although early research suggested that ...continuous models might be most appropriate, we revisit this issue here because (a) categorical models continue to be widely used in the empirical literature, (b) contemporary models of individual differences raise new questions about the structure of attachment, and (c) methods for addressing the types versus dimensions question have become more sophisticated over time. Analyses based on 2 samples indicate that individual differences appear more consistent with a dimensional rather than a categorical model. This was true with respect to general attachment representations and attachment in specific relationship contexts (e.g., attachment with parents and peers). These findings indicate that dimensional models of attachment style may be better suited for conceptualizing and measuring individual differences across multiple levels of analysis.
Diagnoses characterized by severe, persistent and disabling grief have recently been added to the ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR as prolonged grief disorder. Adult attachment is widely assumed critical in the ...development, persistence, and treatment of prolonged grief, yet a meta-analysis on this topic is lacking. We conducted a systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42021220511) searching PsycInfo, Web of Science, and PubMed (final search: August 2022) to identify and summarize quantitative research examining relationships between adult attachment (i.e., attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, secure attachment, disorganized attachment) and prolonged grief symptoms. Thirty-one studies including 8347 bereaved adults were included. Attachment anxiety (r = 0.28, 95 % CI:0.23–0.32, k = 15) and attachment avoidance (r = 0.15, 95 % CI:0.05–0.26, k = 15) related positively to prolonged grief symptoms concurrently. We found no evidence of publication bias but did detect heterogeneity in effect sizes. Ten longitudinal analyses showed no evidence that insecure attachment styles increase prolonged grief symptoms. Attachment anxiety predicted better therapy outcomes. Insecure attachment styles are concurrently positively related to prolonged grief symptoms but do not increase grief severity. The role of adult attachment in contemporary grief theories may need reconsideration. Intensive longitudinal research should aim to clarify how dynamic changes in attachment to the deceased and others relate to changes in prolonged grief symptoms.
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