Recent developments in attachment theory and research

Associations between parenting style and attachment to mother in middle childhood and adolescence

Associations between parenting style and quality of child–mother attachment in middle childhood ( n = 202; grades 4–6) and adolescence ( n = 212; grades 7–11) were investigated. Participants rated warm involvement, psychological autonomy granting, and behavioural monitoring (Lamborn et al., 1991). Attachment orientation was assessed using the Network of Relationships Questionnaire (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985), Coping Styles Questionnaire (Finnegan et al., 1996), and Relationship Questionnaire (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). Overall, a positive association was found between authoritative parenting (higher scores on all three dimensions) and secure attachment, whereas negligent parenting (lower scores on all three dimensions) predicted avoidant attachment. Moreover, a unique pattern of associations emerged between particular dimensions of parenting and each attachment style. Findings suggests that psychological autonomy may have important implications for children’s views of self whereas warm parental involvement may play a unique role in their views of the attachment figure. Associations were largely consistent across both age groups.

The Impact of Parent–Child Attachment on Aggression, Social Stress and Self-Esteem

This study examined the impact of the quality of parent–child attachment on aggression, social stress, and self-esteem in a clinical sample of 91 boys with disruptive behaviour disorders ranging from 8 to 12 years of age. These boys were included in the study if they were found to exhibit various aggressive and antisocial behaviours such as getting into fights, telling lies and teasing others. Consistent with our hypothesis, multiple regression analyses found that the quality of parent–child attachment significantly predicted parent-rated aggression, social stress and self-esteem. Higher quality of parent–child attachment was associated with lower levels of parent-rated aggression, lower levels of social stress and higher levels of self esteem. Correlational analyses concurred with main findings. The results emphasized the importance of parent–child attachment on boys' behavioural and emotional outcomes. Implications for counsellors and mental health practitioners are also discussed.

Psychological profile of women with infertility: A comparative study

BACKGROUND

An endeavour to probe into the psychological profile of infertile women in a comparative stance with the fertile women is not very common. This study is an attempt to explore the possible non-apparent personality factors which contribute to the unexplained pain of infertility.

METHODS

The main objectives of the present study were (a) to examine whether infertile women are different from fertile women in terms of selected psychological variables- narcissistic components, dimensions of attachment style and uses of defensive manoeuvres; and (b) whether the primary infertile women (n=18) are different from the secondary infertile women (n=12) with respect to those variables. A total of 60 individuals (30 infertile women and 30 matched fertile women) were assessed through Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) and Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40). General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was administered on to the fertile women to rule out the psychiatric morbidity.

RESULTS

Findings revealed that infertile women group differed from fertile women group with respect to narcissism, dimensions of attachment style and uses of defense mechanism. The primary infertile group also showed marked difference from the secondary infertile group with respect to those variables.

CONCLUSIONS

This study endeavours to enrich the knowledge regarding the personality dynamics of infertile women to design psychotherapeutic programme to aid their well-being, help them to cherish the flavour of parenthood and improve their quality of life.

Evaluating the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to assess the bond between dogs and humans

The Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) is increasingly being used to study attachment between dogs and humans. It has been developed from the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure, which is used extensively to investigate attachment between children and their parents. In this experiment, 12 female beagle dogs were tested in two treatments to identify possible order effects in the test, a potential weakness in the SSP. In one treatment (FS), dogs participated together with a ‘familiar person’ and a ‘stranger’. In a control treatment (SS), the same dogs participated together with two unfamiliar people, ‘stranger A’ and ‘stranger B’. Comparisons were made between episodes within as well as between treatments. As predicted in FS, dogs explored more in the presence of the familiar person than the stranger. Importantly, they also explored more in the presence of stranger A (who appeared in the same order as the familiar person and followed the same procedure) than stranger B in SS. Furthermore, comparisons between treatments, where a familiar person was present in FS and stranger A was present in SS, showed no differences in exploration. In combination, these results indicate that the effect of a familiar person on dogs' exploratory behaviour, a key feature when assessing secure attachment styles, could not be tested reliably due to the order in which the familiar person and the stranger appear. It is proposed that in the future only counterbalanced versions of the SSP are used. Alternatively, since dogs reliably initiated more contact with the familiar person compared to the strangers, it is suggested that future studies on attachment in dogs towards humans should focus either on the behaviour of the dog in those episodes of the SSP when the person returns, or on reunion behaviour in other studies, specially designed to address dog-human interactions at this time.

The infant and toddler with diabetes: Challenges of diagnosis and management

Infants and toddlers comprise a small minority of individuals with type 1 diabetes. However, epidemiological data provide evidence of a trend towards diagnosis at a younger age. These very young children pose significant challenges to both the health care professionals involved in their care as well as to their families. At diagnosis, younger children often do not present with classical symptoms of diabetes. Unless health professionals remain alert to the possibility of diabetes being the underlying cause of a child's illness, the diagnosis may be missed. Once the diabetes has been diagnosed, the major challenge is to set up a treatment regimen that is both reasonable and realistic; in the youngest children, the goal of very tight metabolic control may expose them to episodes of severe hypoglycemia which may lead to subtle cognitive impairments later in life. The therapeutic regimen must balance the naturally erratic eating and exercise patterns of very young children with the need to maintain adequate metabolic control. Setting a blood glucose target range of 6 to 12 mmol/L usually allows this to be accomplished. Diabetes during early childhood creates a psychosocial challenge to the families of these children. Successful management of infants and toddlers with diabetes depends on a well functioning and educated family, the availability of diabetes health care team experienced in the treatment of these youngsters, and the involvement of the extended family, child care personnel and others who play a role in their daily care.

Relationship between attachment style, parental bonding and alexithymia in adults with somatoform disorders

BACKGROUND

This study examines the relationship between parental bonding, adult attachment, and alexithymia in patients with Somatoform Disorders (SFD). There are few empirical studies to support the clinical hypothesis that alexithymia may be due to disturbances in the early parent-child relationship.

SAMPLING AND METHODS

In a cross-sectional study, data from 76 patients with SFD were obtained, consisting of questionnaire measures of alexithymia (TAS scale), attachment style (BFKE), and also the German version of the MOPS (Measure of Parental Style), the FDEB scale for measuring perceived parental attitude.

RESULTS

A higher than average prevalence of insecure attachment (n = 67, 88.2%) was found in our sample with SFD and a T-value of 54.3 (9.5) in the TAS total score, 22% reaching clinically significant alexithymia. Regression analyses demonstrated the relationship between the "ambivalent clinging" and "ambivalent withdrawing" attachment style and more marked alexithymia features. Furthermore, alexithymia was positively predicted by "indifference" in the relationship to the father, BDI, and Global severity index (SCL-90-R).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study support the hypothesis that alexithymia is associated with perceived parental bonding and attachment style.

Spouse Similarity in Recollections of Parenting Received: A Study in a Nonclinical Sample

Despite a large body of research on both children’s relationships to their parents and adult dyadic relationships, associations between these types of relationships have rarely been studied. In this paper, spouse similarity in recollections of parenting received in childhood was assessed in a nonclinical sample. Parenting by the same- and opposite-sex parent was measured using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Spouse similarity was found with respect to the recalled level of care received from the same-sex parent. This correlation was independent of similarity in sociodemographic variables or current psychiatric symptomatology. The fact that spouse similarity did not increase with increasing age suggests that similarity is a result of assortative mating rather than convergence during marriage. These results suggest a significant association between parent-child relationships and the mating process.

Emotional abuse in early childhood: relationships with progress in subsequent family placement

BACKGROUND

Several studies of family placements have indicated poorer outcomes for singly placed children. Two of our own studies have additionally shown that late placements of children who were actively singled out from siblings and alone in the care system were at increased risk of poor progress in the first year.

METHOD

This paper draws on the data available for singly placed children from both studies to explore this phenomenon in more detail. The current analyses are limited by the fact that neither study was designed specifically to explore the effect of singling out or parental rejection, rather it emerged as a characteristic of potential explanatory importance.

RESULTS

The findings suggest that a history of being singled out or 'preferentially rejected' by birth parents, particularly in combination with 'false affection' from the child and lower levels of sensitivity in the new parents, was associated with poorer outcomes in the first year. Such children were more likely to show deteriorating behaviour patterns and to have more problems in forming satisfactory relationships with new family members.

CONCLUSIONS

Older age at placement was associated with poorer outcome, but only significantly so among those children not classified as false in their displays of affection.

Mental health and foster carer training

AIMS

To evaluate the impact of training foster carers on children's emotional and behavioural functioning.

METHODS

In a randomised controlled trial in 17 Scottish local council areas, with immediate and nine month follow up, 182 children and their foster families were randomly allocated to either standard services alone or standard services plus extra training for foster carers on communication and attachment. Main outcome measures were child psychopathology, attachment disorder, self esteem, and cost of foster care.

RESULTS

Over 60% of children had measurable psychopathology at baseline. The training was perceived as beneficial by participants. Scores for parent reported psychopathology and attachment disorders decreased by around 5%, self esteem increased by 2%, and costs by 22% in the intervention group. Results were non-significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite being well received by foster carers, the training was not sufficient to make a useful impact on the high level of psychopathology. This group may warrant more intensive interventions.

Adult grief reactions following a sibling's death from AIDS

The AIDS epidemic has resulted in an unprecedented death toll among young adults, many of whom are survived by siblings. Whereas the circumstances surrounding deaths from AIDS place survivors at risk for intense bereavement, no reported studies have examined the pattern or intensity of grief among adult siblings. One hundred and two adults who had experienced the death of a sibling from AIDS were recruited into this study in which grief reactions were measured using the Grief Experience Inventory. Time since the sibling's death ranged from 3 months to 11 years. Grief reactions were found to exceed those previously reported. A positive relationship was found between the level of closeness of the survivor to the deceased and the intensity of grief reactions. No relationship was found between time since the sibling's death and intensity of grief.

Assessing attachment: convergent validity of the adult attachment interview and the parental bonding instrument

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine whether or not the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) can provide information about parent-child attachment that is comparable to information obtained from the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), a more complex measure of attachment.

METHOD

One hundred and thirty emotionally and/or behaviourally disturbed adolescents (73 male, 57 female; ages 13-19 years, x = 15.3 +/- 1.47 years) participating in a study of attachment and suicidality completed the PBI and the AAI. Data from these measures were compared within participants.

RESULTS

Maternal care and overprotection on the PBI differed significantly by AAI attachment classification (F3,122 = 2.79, p = 0.012), with autonomous participants showing the most optimal and unresolved participants the least optimal PBI results. Maternal love and maternal involvement/role reversal on the AAI were significant predictors of maternal care and maternal overprotection, respectively, on the PBI (R2 = 0.15; R2 = 0.16). These predictions improved when AAI scales measuring idealisation and involving anger towards the mother were included in the regression analyses (R2 = 0.35; R2 = 0.20). Autonomous participants on AAI showed the highest scale correlations across instruments.

CONCLUSIONS

Attachment information obtained from the PBI and the AAI is comparable in participants with optimal attachment histories, but not in participants showing idealisation or anger towards their mothers. Caution is, therefore, advisable when using the PBI to obtain attachment information in clinical samples where suboptimal attachment histories are likely.

The evaluation of parental fitness in termination of parental rights cases: a functional-contextual perspective

This article highlights issues involved in carrying out evaluations for termination of parental rights cases and suggests caution for mental health professionals doing such evaluations. It argues that current models of parenting that come from the child development and child maltreatment fields are too narrow in their focus to act as a foundation for such evaluations and are often based on research with select groups in our society making them open to bias. Similarly, it is argued that traditional assessment measures are limited in their utility for responding to the kinds of relational and basic care questions asked in such evaluations. A functional-contextual model is offered as an alternative with examples of potentially useful measurement strategies. With such a frame as a starting point, the field might progress to providing more useful information to courts. Future research directions to improve this practice arena are discussed.

Attachment organization and adaptation in sexually-abused women

OBJECTIVE

To explore the possible associations among attachment organization, current functioning and Axis II personality disorder.

METHOD

Attachment organization was assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview in a clinical sample of 40 women with a history of childhood sexual abuse. The Global Assessment Scale yielded measures of current psychosocial functioning and the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnosis on DSM-III-R was used to assess presence of personality disorder.

RESULTS

Preoccupation with attachment issues was evident in 68% of the subjects; 60% of the subjects were unresolved in respect to loss and/or trauma; and 88% of the subjects met criteria for one or more Axis II disorders. A relationship between Borderline Personality Disorder and the Unresolved attachment classification is suggested.

CONCLUSIONS

Women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse require intervention that focuses on resolution of trauma and loss and responds to individual differences in attitudes toward attachment issues.

Childhood adversity, parental stress, and depression of negligent mothers

The objective of this study was to identify major childhood events that were experienced by negligent mothers matched with non-negligent mothers as well as to define the existing link between those events, depression of the mother and parental stress. The sample was composed of 80 French-speaking Canadian families. The measures used were the Parental Stress Index (Abidin, 1983), the Psycho-Social Interview (Ethier et al., 1989) and the Beck Depression Inventory (1961). The results have shown an extreme level of parental stress and a high level a depression for negligent mothers. The negligent mothers had a history of placements, violence and sexual abuse, but they did not differ from control mothers for parental breakups and nonavailability. We have also shown a significant link between childhood events, depression, and parental stress even more so for the control group than for the negligence group. The results are discussed in the perspective of attachment theory.

The influence of families on child health. Family behaviors and child outcomes

The family is the most central and enduring influence on children. Families, regardless of their composition, are themselves subject to a variety of social forces that influence how well they are able to meet children's needs. Pediatricians who understand the functions families serve and the factors that constrain them will be better able to assist parents in promoting their children's health and well-being.

Attachment theory and its implications for psychotherapy with maltreated children

The implications of attachment theory for clinical work with maltreated children are examined with particular emphasis upon the therapeutic relationship. Psychological and behavioral problems related to an insecure attachment often emerge in the relationship between the child and therapist. The clinician can intervene in the context of the relationship to enable the child to modify negative and pessimistic beliefs and expectations of others and of the self. The article describes a number of therapeutic strategies, as well as other issues relevant to therapists who utilize this theoretical and clinical orientation in their work with this population. A focus upon the therapeutic relationship is just one component of an overall plan to help abused children remediate some of their significant problems.

The social competition hypothesis of depression

Depressive personality and depressive illness are examined from an evolutionary adaptationist standpoint. It is postulated that the depressive state evolved in relation to social competition, as an unconscious, involuntary losing strategy, enabling the individual to accept defeat in ritual agonistic encounters and to accommodate to what would otherwise be unacceptably low social rank.

The Emanuel Miller Memorial Lecture 1992. The theory and practice of resilience

The aim of this paper is to identify a theoretical framework which may provide a meaningful context for developing practical interventions to build upon the concept of resilience. In so doing I shall briefly consider the importance of the concept, what is known about it, and then focus on a specific facet of the problem: intergenerational transmission of maladaptive relationship patterns and resilience to such a threat.

[Mother-infant interaction and the origin of self awareness in the nursing infant]

The mother is the principal care-giving partner of the infant and an important source for the development of self-awareness and self-esteem. The importance of the early relational experiences of the nursing infant with its mother has been widely emphasized by the psychoanalytical approach. Through this special interaction with the parent, the infant gradually internalized images leading to the individuated self and to self-love. The purpose of this paper is to present succinctly some of the broad theoretical positions regarding the forming of the self in the nursing infant, first within the "classical" psychoanalytical current, then under the impact of more recent research in experimental psychology which have given rise to new syntheses. Empirically, the capacity for self-recognition may be observed during early childhood by means of a child's reactions in front of the mirror; therefore, the work dealing with this phenomenon will be discussed briefly.