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Attachment Representations (attachment + representation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Psychology62%
Humanities and Social Sciences37%

Selected Abstracts

Adolescents' Attachment Representations and Their Capacity for Intimacy in Close Relationships

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2007
Ofra Mayseless
A secure state of mind with regard to attachment, as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), as well as attachment styles as assessed by questionnaires (the two most prevalent facets of attachment representations assessed in adolescence and adulthood) were examined as potential contributors to adolescents' capacity for intimacy. Eighty male Israeli adolescents were administered the two measures and reported on their impulsiveness during their senior year of high school. Four years later, at the end of their mandatory military service, they were interviewed regarding their capacity for intimacy, and they filled out questionnaires. State of mind with regard to attachment and attachment styles uniquely predicted capacity for romantic intimacy and affective relationships with friends. Impulsiveness interacted with attachment security (benefiting dismissing and avoidant participants, and hampering secure ones) in predicting romantic intimacy. The discussion underscores the distinctiveness and importance of different facets of attachment representations to close relationships with peers. [source]

Feedback Seeking in Children and Adolescents: Associations With Self-Perceptions, Attachment Representations, and Depression

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2003
Jude Cassidy
Because the feedback children and adolescents receive is important to their development, 2 experimental studies were designed to examine children's (M=12 years) and adolescents' (M=17 years) active selection of the quality of feedback they wish to receive. In both studies evidence emerged that participants' self-perceptions influence their feedback seeking. Participants with positive self-perceptions sought more positive feedback than participants with negative self-perceptions and sought more positive feedback than expected by chance. Participants with negative self-perceptions lacked this tendency to seek positive feedback and sometimes sought less positive feedback than expected by chance. As expected, depression and attachment-related measures were also associated with participants' feedback seeking. Contributions of feedback-seeking patterns to stability and change in children's and adolescents' development are discussed. [source]

The influence of attachment representation on parental perception and interpretation of infant emotions: A multilevel approach

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010
Gottfried Spangler
Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate parental perception and interpretation of infant emotional expression depending on their attachment representation. Forty-six parents' responses to infant pictures depicting positive, neutral, and negative emotions were assessed on the level of affective judgments (valence, arousal), mimic responses (facial muscle activity), and of the eyelid reflex (using the startle paradigm). Results revealed small differences between parents of different attachment representations with respect to their subjective evaluations. However, secure parents, as compared to insecure ones, showed a positive bias in their mimic responses to infant pictures. The modulation of the startle response indicated a negative evaluation of negative infant emotion expressions in dismissing parents, while an augmentation of the startle response to negative infant emotions could not be observed in secure and preoccupied parents. The findings highlight the role of attachment experiences for emotional information processing in parents and its consequences for parental behavior. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 411,423, 2010. [source]

The predictive value of different infant attachment measures for socioemotional development at age 5 years,

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009
Sanny Smeekens
The predictive value of different infant attachment measures was examined in a community-based sample of 111 healthy children (59 boys, 52 girls). Two procedures to assess infant attachment, the Attachment Q-Set (applied on a relatively short observation period) and a shortened version of the Strange Situation Procedure (SSSP), were applied to the children at age 15 months and related to a comprehensive set of indicators of the children's socioemotional development at age 5 years. Three attachment measures were used as predictors: AQS security, SSSP security, and SSSP attachment disorganization. AQS security and SSSP security jointly predicted the security of the children's attachment representation at age 5. Apart from that, SSSP attachment disorganization was a better predictor of the children's later socioemotional development than were the other two early attachment measures. First, attachment disorganization was the only attachment measure to predict the children's later ego-resiliency, school adjustment, and dissociation. Second, as for the socioemotional measures at age 5 that also were related to AQS or SSSP security (i.e., peer social competence and externalizing problems), the attachment security measures did not explain any extra variance beyond what was explained by attachment disorganization. [source]

A Secure Base from Which to Explore Close Relationships

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2000
Everett Waters
The theory of attachment as a secure-base relationship integrates insights about affect, cognition, and behavior in close relationships across age and culture. Empirical successes based on this theory include important discoveries about the nature of infant,caregiver and adult,adult close relationships, the importance of early experience, and about stability and change in individual differences. The task now is to preserve these insights and successes and build on them. To accomplish this, we need to continually examine the logic and coherence of attachment theory and redress errors of emphasis and analysis. Views on attachment development, attachment representation, and attachment in family and cross-cultural perspective need to be updated in light of empirical research and advances in developmental theory, behavioral biology, and cognitive psychology. We also need to challenge the theory by formulating and testing hypotheses which, if not confirmed, would require significant changes to the theory. If we can accomplish these tasks, prospects for important developments in attachment theory and research are greater than ever, as are the prospects for integration with other disciplines. [source]

The influence of attachment representation on parental perception and interpretation of infant emotions: A multilevel approach

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010
Gottfried Spangler
Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate parental perception and interpretation of infant emotional expression depending on their attachment representation. Forty-six parents' responses to infant pictures depicting positive, neutral, and negative emotions were assessed on the level of affective judgments (valence, arousal), mimic responses (facial muscle activity), and of the eyelid reflex (using the startle paradigm). Results revealed small differences between parents of different attachment representations with respect to their subjective evaluations. However, secure parents, as compared to insecure ones, showed a positive bias in their mimic responses to infant pictures. The modulation of the startle response indicated a negative evaluation of negative infant emotion expressions in dismissing parents, while an augmentation of the startle response to negative infant emotions could not be observed in secure and preoccupied parents. The findings highlight the role of attachment experiences for emotional information processing in parents and its consequences for parental behavior. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 411,423, 2010. [source]

Mothers' attachment representations and choice of infant care: center care vs. home

INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2001
Nina Koren-KarieArticle first published online: 14 SEP 200
Abstract In the debate concerning the effects of day care on infant development, insufficient attention has been paid to the potential relationship between pre-existing emotional differences among mothers and the type of care they choose for their infants. To shed light on this issue, this study examines the attachment representations of mothers who choose day-care centres as opposed to mothers who choose to remain at home with their infants. Participants were 76 primiparous mothers. Mothers' attachment classifications were assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview [AAI; Main M, Kaplan N, Cassidy J. 1985. Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: a move to the level of representation. In Growing Points of Attachment Theory and Research. Monograph of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50, (1,2, serial no. 209), Bretherton I, Waters E (eds); 66,104]. Results indicate that more Day-care than Home-Care mothers are classified as insecurely attached. These results highlight the contribution of maternal emotional characteristics to the effects of diverse child care arrangements on infant development. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Preventing preschool externalizing behavior problems through video-feedback intervention in infancy

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 5 2006
Mariska Klein Velderman
In the present study (1) intervention effects on children's preschool behavior problems were evaluated in a high risk sample with an overrepresentation of insecure adult attachment representations in 77 first-time mothers, and (2) predictors and correlates of child problem behavior were examined. Early short-term video-feedback intervention to promote positive parenting (VIPP) focusing on maternal sensitivity and implemented in the baby's first year of life significantly protected children from developing clinical Total Problems at preschool age. Also, compared with the control group, fewer VIPP children scored in the clinical range for Externalizing Problems. No intervention effects on Internalizing clinical problem behavior were found. The VIPP effects on Externalizing and Total clinical Problems were not mediated by VIPP effects on sensitivity and infant attachment or moderated by mother or child variables. Maternal satisfaction with perceived support appeared to be associated with less children's Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems. More research is needed to find the mechanisms triggered by VIPP, but the outcomes could be considered as promising first steps in the prevention of disturbing, externalizing behavior problems in young children. [source]

Adolescents' Attachment Representations and Their Capacity for Intimacy in Close Relationships

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2007
Ofra Mayseless
A secure state of mind with regard to attachment, as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), as well as attachment styles as assessed by questionnaires (the two most prevalent facets of attachment representations assessed in adolescence and adulthood) were examined as potential contributors to adolescents' capacity for intimacy. Eighty male Israeli adolescents were administered the two measures and reported on their impulsiveness during their senior year of high school. Four years later, at the end of their mandatory military service, they were interviewed regarding their capacity for intimacy, and they filled out questionnaires. State of mind with regard to attachment and attachment styles uniquely predicted capacity for romantic intimacy and affective relationships with friends. Impulsiveness interacted with attachment security (benefiting dismissing and avoidant participants, and hampering secure ones) in predicting romantic intimacy. The discussion underscores the distinctiveness and importance of different facets of attachment representations to close relationships with peers. [source]

The association of unresolved attachment status and cognitive processes in maltreated adolescents

CHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 1 2009
Linda Webster
Abstract This exploratory investigation sought to gain a better understanding of the mental representations of attachment in maltreated adolescents, and how, if at all, unresolved attachment representations are related to cognitive processes in this population. Measures of cognitive functioning, attachment state of mind and parent ratings on attention were obtained from 38 adolescents with a history of maltreatment. Results showed that maltreated adolescents with unresolved states of mind in regard to attachment scored significantly lower on measures of cognitive processes of attention, working memory and cognitive efficiency, even when intelligence was controlled for in the analyses. Theoretical considerations, implications for future research and clinical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Stress Regulation in Adolescents: Physiological Reactivity During the Adult Attachment Interview and Conflict Interaction

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2008
Mariëlle D. Beijersbergen
The current study examined whether adolescents' attachment representations were associated with differences in emotion regulation during the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1996) and during a mother,adolescent conflict interaction task (Family Interaction Task [FIT]; J. P. Allen et al., 2003). Participants were one hundred and fifty-six 14-year-old adolescents. Dismissing adolescents showed less interbeat interval (IBI) reactivity (indicating less stress) during the AAI than secure adolescents. However, during the FIT, dismissing adolescents showed more IBI reactivity. No differences in physiological reactivity were found between individuals with resolved or unresolved loss or trauma during the AAI or FIT. The results indicate that dismissing adolescents may effectively use a defensive strategy during the AAI but less so in direct conflict interaction with their attachment figure. [source]

Attachment from Infancy to Early Adulthood in a High-Risk Sample: Continuity, Discontinuity, and Their Correlates

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2000
Nancy S. Weinfield
This study explores the stability of attachment security and representations from infancy to early adulthood in a sample chosen originally for poverty and high risk for poor developmental outcomes. Participants for this study were 57 young adults who are part of an ongoing prospective study of development and adaptation in a high-risk sample. Attachment was assessed during infancy by using the Ainsworth Strange Situation (Ainsworth & Wittig) and at age 19 by using the Berkeley Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main). Possible correlates of continuity and discontinuity in attachment were drawn from assessments of the participants and their mothers over the course of the study. Results provided no evidence for significant continuity between infant and adult attachment in this sample, with many participants transitioning to insecurity. The evidence, however, indicated that there might be lawful discontinuity. Analyses of correlates of continuity and discontinuity in attachment classification from infancy to adulthood indicated that the continuous and discontinuous groups were differentiated on the basis of child maltreatment, maternal depression, and family functioning in early adolescence. These results provide evidence that although attachment has been found to be stable over time in other samples, attachment representations are vulnerable to difficult and chaotic life experiences. [source]

Closeness in relationships as a mediator between sexual abuse in childhood or adolescence and psychopathological outcome in adulthood

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 3 2010
Nevena Dimitrova
Abstract The risk of adverse psychological outcomes in adult victims of childhood and adolescent sexual abuse (CSA) has been documented; however, research on possible mediating variables is still required, namely with a clinical perspective. The attachment literature suggests that secure interpersonal relationships may represent such a variable. Twenty-eight women who had experienced episodes of CSA, and 16 control women, were interviewed using Bremner's Early Trauma Inventory and the DSM-IV Global Assessment of Functioning; they also responded to Collins' Relationship Scales Questionnaire, evaluating adult attachment representations in terms of Closeness, Dependence and Anxiety. Subjects with an experience of severe abuse reported significantly more interpersonal distance in relationships (low index of Closeness) than other subjects. The index of psychopathological functioning was correlated with both the severity of abuse and attachment (low index of Closeness). Regression analysis on the sample of abused women revealed that attachment predicted psychopathology when abuse was controlled for, whereas abuse did not predict psychopathology when attachment was controlled for. Therefore, preserving a capacity for closeness with attachment figures in adulthood appears to mediate the consequences of CSA on subsequent psychopathological outcome. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: , The way CSA victims deal with closeness and intimacy in relationships contributes to the quality of psychological outcome in adulthood. , Treatment strategies for CSA victims should emphasize the enhancement of interpersonal experiences and the strengthening of the subject's sense of closeness to others, intimacy in relationships, and confidence in others. [source]

Different core beliefs predict paternal and maternal attachment representations in young women

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 3 2006
J. Blissett
Core beliefs about the self are hypothesized to be rooted in early interpersonal experiences, particularly with one's family (Young, 1999). This study aimed to assess the relationship between reports of core beliefs and current parental attachment in young women. Two hundred and six young women completed self-report questionnaires to ascertain their cognitive representations of their current attachment to parents (Parental Attachment Questionnaire: Kenny, 1987) and core beliefs (Young Schema Questionnaire: Young, 1998). Regression analyses revealed different predictors of maternal and paternal attachment functioning. Disconnection and rejection beliefs predicted young women's current attachment to their father, whereas the quality of current maternal attachment was predicted by a wider range of dysfunctional beliefs, including disconnection and rejection, impaired autonomy and performance, and impaired limits. The implications of these findings for understanding the relationship between core beliefs and attachment are discussed.,Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]