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Boldrini T, Mancinelli E, Erbuto D, Lingiardi V, Muzi L, Pompili M, Ducci G, Salcuni S, Tanzilli A, Venturini P, Giovanardi G. Affective temperaments and depressive symptoms: The mediating role of attachment. J Affect Disord 2021; 293:476-483. [PMID: 34256209 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.06.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 06/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies showed that affective temperaments and attachment are associated with depressive symptoms, and that they bi-directionally influence each-other. The aim of this study is to explore mechanisms underlying the relationship between the affective temperaments (i.e., depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, hyperthymic and anxious), interview-based attachment, and depressive symptoms. METHODS A sample of 61 adolescents and young adults outpatients were asked to complete the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Attachment was assessed through the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and employing a dimensional approach to obtain continuous measures. Mediation models were performed with the affective temperaments as predictor, depressive symptoms as the criterion variable, and attachment dimensions as mediators. RESULTS Findings showed significant direct effects between all the affective temperaments and depressive symptoms. Only the cyclothymic (β = 0.22; SE = 0.1; 95% IC = 0.05, 0.42) and irritable (β = 0.21; SE = 0.09; 95% IC = 0.04, 0.4) temperaments showed an indirect effect on depressive symptoms through secure-insecure attachment. Dismissing attachment did not predict either the affective temperaments nor depressive symptoms. Preoccupied attachment significantly predicts depressive symptoms and, when controlling for it, the hyperthymic temperament no longer directly associates with depressive symptoms. LIMITATIONS The cross-sectional study design limit conclusion about causation and directionality. CONCLUSIONS Secure attachment could be a protective factor for depressive symptoms for individuals with a cyclothymic or irritable temperament. Differently, the hyperthymic temperament loses its protective role toward depressive symptoms when accounting for preoccupied attachment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Boldrini
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
| | - Elisa Mancinelli
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Denise Erbuto
- Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Vittorio Lingiardi
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Muzi
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio Pompili
- Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Ducci
- Mental Health Department, ASL Roma 1, S.Spirito Hospital, Rome, Italy.
| | - Silvia Salcuni
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Annalisa Tanzilli
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Venturini
- European Network of Psychodynamic Psychiatry, Rome, Italy; Department of Psychiatry, ASL Roma 1, Rome, Italy
| | - Guido Giovanardi
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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The Psychometric Properties of a Portuguese Version of the Trait-Meta Mood Scale: an Attachment Framework. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10862-020-09817-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Lahat E, Mikulincer M, Lifshin U, Shaver PR. Mothers never retire: Contextual priming of working models of mother affects adults' representations of self and romantic partners. J Pers 2019; 88:501-514. [PMID: 31442306 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Revised: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The main goal of these studies is to provide an experimental test of a core hypothesis based on attachment theory: Working models of mother are active in adults' minds and can bias their views of self and romantic partners. METHOD In two studies, we conducted clinical interviews to identify positive and negative core traits that participants used to describe their mothers. We then implicitly primed either positive or negative traits extracted from the interviews and compared this priming condition to control conditions in which we primed either positive or negative control traits (traits that described the mother of another study participant). Following this manipulation, we assessed participants' self-appraisals (Study 1) and explanations of their romantic partner's hurtful behaviors (Study 2). RESULTS Priming with one's mother's positive traits led to more positive views of self and romantic partner (compared with the effects of priming with positive control traits). In contrast, as compared to negative control traits, the priming of one's mother's negative traits led to less positive views of self and romantic partner. CONCLUSIONS Findings support the hypothesis that working models of mother play a causal role in shaping adults' representations of self and romantic partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eileen Lahat
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Mario Mikulincer
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Uri Lifshin
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Phillip R Shaver
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
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Talia A, Miller-Bottome M, Wyner R, Lilliengren P, Bate J. Patients' Adult Attachment Interview classification and their experience of the therapeutic relationship: are they associated? RESEARCH IN PSYCHOTHERAPY (MILANO) 2019; 22:361. [PMID: 32913798 PMCID: PMC7451326 DOI: 10.4081/ripppo.2019.361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2018] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In the last decade of his career, Jeremy Safran became increasingly interested in investigating the ways in which attachment representations influence the therapeutic relationship. In this paper, we test such influence in a sample of thirty outpatients who received Brief Relational Therapy by comparing their independently coded pre-treatment Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) with their narratives in a post-treatment interview about the relationship with the therapist (the Patient Relationship Interview at Termination, PRI-T). The PRI-T was coded with the following three measures: i) The Patient Attachment to Therapist Rating Scale (PAT-RS), which assesses the quality of the patient's attachment relationship to the therapist; ii) the Coherence scale from the AAI, adapted for use on the PRI-T; and iii) the Patient Attachment Classification System (PACS), which measures generalized differences in how individuals convey their experiences and feelings. Results suggest that patients' AAI predicts how they experience, represent, and communicate about the therapeutic relationship at the end of treatment, as shown by the PAT-RS, the Coherence scale adapted for use on the PRI-T, and the PACS applied to the PRI-T. These findings lend support to Safran and others' hypothesis that patients' AAI-status plays a role in patients' representations of the relationship with the therapist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Talia
- Institute for Psychosocial Prevention, Heidelberg University Hospital, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Jordan Bate
- Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, New York, USA
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Wang Y, Wang Q, Wang D, Feeney BC. How Do I Narrate My Marriage: The Relationship Between Attachment Orientation and Quality of Autobiographical Memory. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2107. [PMID: 30443235 PMCID: PMC6221962 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Attachment orientations play important roles in the generation of emotional autobiographical memory (AM). However, little research has considered the quality of autographical narratives, which may reflect the structure and content of internal working models (IWMs) of attachment. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between attachment orientations and narrative quality of marriage-related autobiographical memories. Ninety-four married adults were asked to retrieve two episodes of emotional autobiographical memories. The coherence and vividness of their narratives were then coded. Results indicated that adults who were highly avoidant were more likely to present their memories in a less coherent way and to describe negative memories with more perceptual details. In contrast, attachment anxiety was associated with lower vividness of negative memories. The current findings suggest that an attachment schematic-processing strategy was used in narrating the attachment-related experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wang
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Qianrong Wang
- Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Dahua Wang
- Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Brooke C. Feeney
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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Petrowski K, Berth H, Schurig S, Probst T. Suppressor effects in associations between patient attachment to therapist and psychotherapy outcome. Clin Psychol Psychother 2018; 26:105-109. [PMID: 30253002 PMCID: PMC6619402 DOI: 10.1002/cpp.2334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Revised: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Objective Several studies propose that patient attachment to therapist is associated with therapy outcome. However, the magnitude of the effect is diverse, which might be explicable by suppressor effects and the new concept of pseudo‐security. Method Associations between patient attachment to therapist (client‐attachment‐to‐therapist‐scale [CATS]) and psychotherapy outcome (“global severity index” of the Symptom Check List) were evaluated in N = 368 patients. Multilevel models were performed. Results When tested in separate models, secure attachment to therapist was associated with a more favourable outcome (p < 0.05), whereas avoidant and preoccupied attachment to therapist were correlated with a less favourable outcome (both p < 0.05). Avoidant but not preoccupied attachment to therapist suppressed the association between secure attachment to therapist and the outcome. When controlling for the other two CATS scales, avoidant as well as preoccupied attachment to therapist remained associated with a less favourable outcome (p < 0.05). Conclusion Avoidant attachment to therapist suppresses the association between secure attachment to therapist and psychotherapy outcome. Pseudo‐security has to be taken into consideration in self‐report data on patient attachment to therapist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Petrowski
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany.,Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technical University Dresden, Germany
| | - Hendrik Berth
- Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Susan Schurig
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technical University Dresden, Germany
| | - Thomas Probst
- Department for Psychotherapy and Biopsychosocial Health, Danube University Krems, Krems, Austria
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Cao X, Madore KP, Wang D, Schacter DL. Remembering the past and imagining the future: attachment effects on production of episodic details in close relationships. Memory 2018; 26:1140-1150. [PMID: 29400595 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1434800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Attachment theories and studies have shown that Internal Working Models (IWMs) can impact autobiographical memory and future-oriented information processing relevant to close relationships. According to the constructive episodic simulation hypothesis (CESH), both remembering the past and imagining the future rely on episodic memory. We hypothesised that one way IWMs may bridge past experiences and future adaptations is via episodic memory. The present study investigated the association between attachment and episodic specificity in attachment-relevant and attachment-irrelevant memory and imagination among young and older adults. We measured the attachment style of 37 young adults and 40 older adults, and then asked them to remember or imagine attachment-relevant and attachment-irrelevant events. Participants' narratives were coded for internal details (i.e., episodic) and external details (e.g., semantic, repetitions). The results showed that across age group, secure individuals generated more internal details and fewer external details in attachment-relevant tasks compared to attachment-irrelevant tasks; these differences were not observed in insecure individuals. These findings support the CESH and provide a new perspective to understand the function of IWMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiancai Cao
- a Institute of Developmental Psychology , Beijing Normal University , Beijing , People's Republic of China
| | - Kevin P Madore
- b Department of Psychology , Stanford University , Stanford , CA , USA
| | - Dahua Wang
- a Institute of Developmental Psychology , Beijing Normal University , Beijing , People's Republic of China
| | - Daniel L Schacter
- c Department of Psychology , Harvard University , Cambridge , MA , USA
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Milan S, Wortel S, Ramirez J, Oshin L. Depressive Symptoms in Mothers and Daughters: Attachment Style Moderates Reporter Agreement. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2017; 45:171-182. [PMID: 27130142 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-016-0156-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Parents and adolescents show only modest agreement when reporting on depressive symptoms. Drawing from attachment theory and previous research on informant discrepancies, we tested hypotheses about how adolescent attachment style may impact reporting agreement in a sample of 184 low-income mother-adolescent daughter dyads (adolescent mean age = 15.4 (SD = 1.05), maternal mean age = 41.4 (SD = 7.60); 58 % Latina, 26 % African-American/Black, 16 % as non-Hispanic, White). Mothers and adolescents reported on their own and each others' depressive symptoms and adolescents reported on attachment style. Using a moderated Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to calculate reporter bias and accuracy estimates, we tested whether attachment style moderated maternal and adolescent accuracy in theoretically consistent ways. Mothers and adolescents showed similar levels of accuracy and bias when reporting on each other. Consistent with hypotheses, we found that adolescents who reported high levels of preoccupation were less accurate when reporting on their mothers because they tended to observe symptoms that their mothers did not endorse. Conversely, mothers were the most accurate in these dyads, potentially because preoccupied adolescents tend to elevate displays of emotional distress. Reporting accuracy was not affected by a dismissive style. These results add to literature indicating that parent-child reporting discrepancies often reflect meaningful information about relationships, and highlight the need to consider different sources of reporting bias and accuracy in assessment and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Milan
- Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road U1020, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
| | - Sanne Wortel
- Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road U1020, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Jennifer Ramirez
- Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road U1020, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Linda Oshin
- Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road U1020, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
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Abstract
The first aim of the current study was to examine the latent structure of attachment states of mind as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) among three groups of parents of children at risk for insecure attachments: parents who adopted internationally (N = 147), foster parents (N = 300), and parents living in poverty and involved with Child Protective Services (CPS; N = 284). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the state of mind rating scales loaded on two factors reflecting adults' preoccupied and dismissing states of mind. Taxometric analyses indicated the variation in adults' preoccupied states of mind was more consistent with a dimensional than a categorical model, whereas results for dismissing states of mind were indeterminate. The second aim was to examine the degree to which the attachment states of mind of internationally adoptive and foster parents differ from those of poverty/CPS-referred parents and low-risk parents. After controlling for parental age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, (a) internationally adoptive parents had lower scores on the dismissing dimension than the sample of community parents described by Haltigan, Leerkes, Supple, and Calkins (2014); (b) foster parents did not differ from community parents on either the dismissing or the preoccupied AAI dimension; and (c) both internationally adoptive and foster parents had lower scores on the preoccupied dimension than poverty/CPS-referred parents. Analyses using the traditional AAI categories provided convergent evidence that (a) internationally adoptive parents were more likely to be classified as having an autonomous state of mind than low-risk North American mothers based on Bakermans-Kranenburg and van IJzendoorn's (2009) meta-analytic estimates, (b) the rates of autonomous states of mind did not differ between foster and low-risk parents, and
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Waters TEA, Ruiz SK, Roisman GI. Origins of Secure Base Script Knowledge and the Developmental Construction of Attachment Representations. Child Dev 2016; 88:198-209. [PMID: 27302650 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that attachment representations take at least two forms: a secure base script and an autobiographical narrative of childhood caregiving experiences. This study presents data from the first 26 years of the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (N = 169), examining the developmental origins of secure base script knowledge in a high-risk sample and testing alternative models of the developmental sequencing of the construction of attachment representations. Results demonstrated that secure base script knowledge was predicted by observations of maternal sensitivity across childhood and adolescence. Furthermore, findings suggest that the construction of a secure base script supports the development of a coherent autobiographical representation of childhood attachment experiences with primary caregivers by early adulthood.
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