The relation between place attachment and pro-environmental behavior is unclear. Studies have reported that place attachment is associated both with more and less pro-environmental behavior. To help ...clarify this, we distinguished two dimensions of place attachment: civic and natural, and explored their respective influences on pro-environmental behavior. A community sample of residents (
N = 104) from two proximate towns with different environmental reputations reported the strength of their civic and natural place attachment, their performance of various pro-environmental behaviors, and a number of sociodemographic characteristics. Regression analyses revealed that natural, but not civic place attachment predicted pro-environmental behavior when controlling for the town, length of residence, gender, education and age. This demonstrates that research and theory on place attachment should consider its civic and natural dimensions independently.
•Children in community sample had a lower prevalence of attachment disorders compared to children in clinic and foster care.•Attachment disorder was associated with psychopathological symptoms and ...higher prevalence of mental disorders.•Attachment disorder was associated with lower cognitive and language abilities.•A high percentage (37.1%) of children fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for both types of attachment disorders.•Our findings corroborate previous literature suggesting that attachment representation is distinct from attachment disorder.
Currently, attachment quality and attachment disorder exist in parallel, but the mutual association is still insufficiently clarified. For policy makers and clinical experts, it can be difficult to differentiate between these constructs, but the distinction is crucial to develop mental-health services and effective treatment concepts.
We aimed to investigate the association between attachment representations (AR) and attachment disorders (AD), including Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED) in children aged between 5 and 9.
A total of 135 children aged between 5 and 9 years (M=7.17 years, SD=1.40, 63% male) and their primary caregivers participated in the study. Children were interviewed with the story stem method to assess AR, and the primary caregiver completed diagnostic interviews and questionnaires on mental disorders, AD, emotional and behavioral problems, and intelligence and development.
The prevalence of AR in children with AD was 28.6% for the ‘secure’ form of AR, 17.1% for the ‘insecure-avoidant’ form, 25.7% for the ‘insecure-ambivalent’ form, and 28.6% for the ‘disorganized’ form. Prevalences of the various AR forms did not differ statistically significantly, indicating that AR is conceptionally distinct from AD. Children with disorganized attachment scored significantly lower on language and intelligence skills than children with secure attachment. AD was significantly associated with a higher number of comorbidities, emotional and behavioral problems, and lower language skills.
Longitudinal studies using standardized assessment instruments are needed to systematically provide comparable and reliable empirical findings to improve current understanding of AR and AD as well as their etiological models.
Gene–environment interactions interpreted in terms of differential susceptibility may play a large part in the explanation of individual differences in human development. Reviewing studies on the ...behavioral and molecular genetics of attachment, we present evidence for interactions between genetic and environmental factors explaining individual differences in attachment security and disorganization. In particular, the DRD4 7‐repeat polymorphism seems associated with an increased risk for disorganized attachment, but only when combined with environmental risk. Gene–environment (G × E) interactions may be interpreted as genetic vulnerability or differential susceptibility. We found support for the differential susceptibility hypothesis predicting not only more negative outcomes for susceptible children in unfavorable environments, but also positive outcomes for susceptible children in favorable environments.
This is the first meta-analysis to synthesize the literature on insecure attachment and negative attribution bias (NAB) from both developmental and social/personality attachment traditions. This ...meta-analysis is important because extant studies report inconsistent associations, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the nature of these associations. Based on 41 samples (N = 8,727) from 32 articles, we specify and compare the effect sizes of these associations across studies. Results confirmed positive associations between NAB and anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions and an insecure composite, with a medium effect size. Correlations were moderated by age group, type of attachment measurement, and cultural background. Our findings advance knowledge and build on attachment and attribution theories, reconcile mixed findings, and inform the development of NAB interventions. Important gaps in the literature are revealed that will inspire future research.
Although 10 studies have been published on the empirical
overlap of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and measures
of self-reported attachment style, results in this
literature have been ...inconsistently interpreted in narrative
reviews. This report was designed as a rapprochement of the
AAI and attachment style literatures and includes 3 studies.
Study 1 (combined
N
= 961) is a
meta-analytic review showing that by J.
Cohen's (1992)
criteria (mean
r
= .09), the association
between AAI security and attachment style dimensions is
trivial to small. Study 2 (
N
= 160)
confirms meta-analytic results with state-of-the-art
assessments of attachment security and also examines
attachment dimensions in relation to the Big 5 personality
traits. Finally, Study 3 is an investigation of 50 engaged
couples that shows that developmental and social
psychological measures of attachment security predict
somewhat distinct-though theoretically
anticipated-aspects of functioning in adult
relationships.
Young children who have experienced early adversity are at risk for developing disorganized attachments. The efficacy of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), an intervention targeting ...nurturing care among parents identified as being at risk for neglecting their young children, was evaluated through a randomized clinical trial. Attachment quality was assessed in the Strange Situation for 120 children between 11.7 and 31.9 months of age (M = 19.1, SD = 5.5). Children in the ABC intervention showed significantly lower rates of disorganized attachment (32%) and higher rates of secure attachment (52%) relative to the control intervention (57% and 33%, respectively). These results support the efficacy of the ABC intervention in enhancing attachment quality among parents at high risk for maltreatment.
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.
Humans have a biological predisposition to form attachment to social partners, and they seem to form attachment even toward non-human and inanimate targets. Attachment styles influence not only ...interpersonal relationships, but interspecies and object attachment as well.
We hypothesized that young people form attachment toward their mobile phone, and that people with higher attachment anxiety use the mobile phone more likely as a compensatory attachment target. We constructed a scale to observe people's attachment to their mobile and we assessed their interpersonal attachment style.
In this exploratory study we found that young people readily develop attachment toward their phone: they seek the proximity of it and experience distress on separation. People's higher attachment anxiety predicted higher tendency to show attachment-like features regarding their mobile. Specifically, while the proximity of the phone proved to be equally important for people with different attachment styles, the constant contact with others through the phone was more important for anxiously attached people.
We conclude that attachment to recently emerged artificial objects, like the mobile may be the result of cultural co-option of the attachment system. People with anxious attachment style may face challenges as the constant contact and validation the computer-mediated communication offers may deepen their dependence on others.
•Young people develop attachment toward their phone, expressed by proximity-seeking and separation stress behaviour.•People's attachment style influences their relationship with the mobile phone.•People's higher attachment anxiety predicted higher tendency to show attachment-like features regarding their mobile.•The proximity of the phone is equally important for people with different attachment styles.•The constant contact with others through the phone is more important for people with higher attachment anxiety.
The goal of this study was to use task analysis to verify that the attachment injury resolution model described in this article discriminates resolved from nonresolved couples. Twenty-four couples ...with an attachment injury received, on average, 13 sessions of emotionally focused therapy (EFT). At the end of treatment, 15 of the 24 couples were identified as resolved. Segments of best sessions for all couples were transcribed and rated on 2 process measures. Resolved couples were found to be significantly more affiliative and achieved deeper levels of experiencing than nonresolved couples. They also showed significant improvements in dyadic satisfaction and forgiveness than nonresolved couples. The results support the attachment injury resolution model and suggest that resolution during EFT is beneficial to couples.
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.
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