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Attachment Insecurity (attachment + insecurity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	61%
Humanities and Social Sciences	23%

Selected Abstracts

Attachment, Perceived Conflict, and Couple Satisfaction: Test of a Mediational Dyadic Model

FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 5 2009
Audrey Brassard
Attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance) are often associated with relationship dissatisfaction, but the mediators have been unclear. We examined the mediating role of perceived conflict in 274 French-Canadian couples who completed measures of attachment insecurities, perception of conflict, and relationship satisfaction. Partners' own attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted their experience of conflict. In addition, women's anxiety predicted men's experience of conflict, and men's avoidance predicted women's experience of conflict. The associations between attachment insecurities and relationship dissatisfaction were partially mediated by conflict. [source]

Attachment insecurity, depression, and the transition to parenthood

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 4 2003
Judith Feeney
In a longitudinal study of adult attachment and depression during the transition to parenthood, 76 couples completed questionnaires on three occasions: during the second trimester of pregnancy, and six weeks and six months postbirth. On the first and second occasions, the couples were also interviewed about their experiences of pregnancy and parenthood, respectively. Measures were also completed at similar time intervals by a comparison group of 74 childless couples. Attachment security was assessed in terms of the dimensions of discomfort with closeness and relationship anxiety. Relationship anxiety was less stable for transition wives than for other participants. Relationship anxiety also predicted increases in new mothers' depressive symptoms, after controlling for a broad range of other risk factors. However, the association between relationship anxiety and maternal depression was moderated by husbands' caregiving style. Maternal depression was linked to increases in husbands' and wives' attachment insecurity and marital dissatisfaction. Results are discussed in terms of the impact of depression and negative working models of attachment on couple interaction. [source]

Emanuel Miller Lecture: Attachment insecurity, disinhibited attachment, and attachment disorders: where do research findings leave the concepts?

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 5 2009
Michael Rutter
Background:, Despite the evidence on anomalous attachment patterns, there has been a tendency to interpret most of these as reflecting differences in security/insecurity. Methods:, Empirical research findings are reviewed in relation to attachment/insecurity as evident in both infancy and later childhood, disorganised attachment, inhibited attachment disorder, and disinhibited attachment disorder. Findings:, Substantial differences are found in the correlates and meaning of these different features, as well as in the patterns associated with conditions such as autism, psychopathy, and Williams syndrome. Conclusions:, It is seriously misleading to view all of these patterns through the lens of security/insecurity. This heterogeneity in social relationship features necessarily has implications for the assessment measures for social relationships that need to be used. [source]

Attachment, Perceived Conflict, and Couple Satisfaction: Test of a Mediational Dyadic Model

Mothers' Attachment Style, Their Mental Health, and Their Children's Emotional Vulnerabilities: A 7-Year Study of Children With Congenital Heart Disease

JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 1 2008
Ety Berant
ABSTRACT The long-term contribution of mothers' attachment insecurities to their own and their children's psychological functioning was examined in a 7-year prospective longitudinal study of children with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). Sixty-three mothers of newborns with CHD participated in a three-wave study, beginning with the CHD diagnosis (T1), then 1 year later (T2), and again 7 years later (T3). At T1, the mothers reported on their attachment style and mental health. At T2, the mental health measure was administered again, along with a marital satisfaction scale. At T3, participants completed these two measures again, and their children reported on their self-concept and completed the Children's Apperception Test. Maternal avoidant attachment at T1 was the best predictor of deterioration in the mothers' mental health and marital satisfaction over the 7-year period, especially in a subgroup whose children had severe CHD. In addition, mothers' attachment insecurities (both anxiety and avoidance) at the beginning of the study were associated with their children's emotional problems and poor self-image 7 years later. [source]

Adult attachment dimensions and recollections of childhood family context: associations with dispositional optimism and pessimism

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2004
Kati Heinonen
The present study tested the theoretically inferred but not yet empirically tested association between dispositional optimism,pessimism and attachment security among 423 Finnish women and men. A second-order latent variable representing a generalized representation of attachment insecurity in close relationships that included two latent constructs, the one representing romantic adult attachment dimensions and the other representing recollections of attachment-related childhood family relationship, was associated with greater pessimism; the adult attachment dimension of high anxiety had unique and additional explanatory power, not accounted for by the generalized representation of attachment-related insecurity. The model explained 48% of the variance in pessimism. The results clearly emphasize that additional studies are needed to clarify the role of interpersonal processes in dispositional optimism,pessimism. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Human attachment security is mediated by the amygdala: Evidence from combined fMRI and psychophysiological measures

HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 8 2006
Erwin Lemche
Abstract The neural basis of human attachment security remains unexamined. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and simultaneous recordings of skin conductance levels, we measured neural and autonomic responses in healthy adult individuals during a semantic conceptual priming task measuring human attachment security "by proxy". Performance during a stress but not a neutral prime condition was associated with response in bilateral amygdalae. Furthermore, levels of activity within bilateral amygdalae were highly positively correlated with attachment insecurity and autonomic response during the stress prime condition. We thereby demonstrate a key role of the amygdala in mediating autonomic activity associated with human attachment insecurity. Hum Brain Mapp, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

The emotional quality of childcare centers in Israel: The Haifa study of early childcare

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2005
Nina Koren-Karie
Data from an Israeli project shows higher proportion of insecurely attached infants in center care as compared with noncenter care (Sagi, Koren-Karie, Gini, Ziv, & Joels, 2002). The present study was designed to assess structural and emotional aspects characterizing infants' experiences in center care, aiming to explain, in part, the high incidence of attachment insecurity among center-care infants. In the present study, we focus on 151 center-care infants who were observed in the Ainsworth Strange Situation (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) with their mothers. Sixty-one percent of them were coded as securely attached to their mothers while 39% were coded as insecurely attached. In addition, 56 directors and 120 caregivers in 56 centers were videotaped throughout a full-day observation. The Assessment Profile of Early Childhood Program (Abbott-Shim & Sibley, 1987) was also employed. Results indicated that the centers in Israel are of low standards: Large group size, high caregiver,infants ratio, inadequate professional training, and minimal attention to individual emotional needs. No associations were found between infants' attachment and various aspects of the settings. The low quality of the Israeli settings may explain the higher rate of attachment insecurity in center-care infants. ©2005 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. [source]

Do attributions mediate the association between attachment and negative couple communication?

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 2 2008
ZOE J. PEARCE
This study explored whether attributions for negative partner behavior mediate the association between insecure attachment and negative couple communication, using both self-report and observational data. A sample of 59 married and cohabiting Australian couples completed self-report measures of attachment, attributions, and communication; were videotaped participating in two 10-min problem-solving discussions; and were assessed on their attributions during the discussions using video-mediated recall. Multilevel modeling found that female attachment insecurity was the most consistent predictor of self-reported and observed couple communication, and negative attributions mediated the association between attachment and self-reported couple communication. These findings suggested that attachment insecurity increased the likelihood that negative attributions were generated, which, in some cases, then influenced the style of communication each partner reported. [source]

Attachment insecurity, depression, and the transition to parenthood

Adult attachment, intimacy and psychological distress in a clinical and community sample

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 6 2005
Suzanne B. Pielage
Attachment theory predicts that early experiences with caregivers affect the quality of individuals' later (romantic) relationships and, consequently, their mental health. The present study examined the role of intimacy in the current romantic relationship as a possible mediator of the relationship between adult attachment and psychological distress in a clinical and community sample. Results indicated that attachment security was positively, whereas attachment insecurity was negatively, related to intimacy in the current romantic relationship. Furthermore, security of attachment was negatively related to loneliness and depression and positively to satisfaction with life. The reverse held for attachment insecurity. Mediational analyses revealed that intimacy in the current relationship only partially mediated the relationship between attachment and psychological distress. Although near perfect mediation was found for fearful attachment in the clinical sample and for preoccupied attachment in the community sample, the findings with regard to the other attachment styles were less clear-cut. Apart from the hypothesized indirect effect of attachment on psychological distress through intimacy, a direct effect of attachment on psychological distress remains. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.,Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]