Poster #1 INSECURE ATTACHMENT STYLE MEDIATES THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY AND SUBCLINICAL PSYCHOTIC SYMPTOMS IN A NON-CLINICAL SAMPLE

2012 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. S185
Author(s):  
Tamara Sheinbaum ◽  
Thomas R. Kwapil ◽  
Agnès Ros ◽  
Sergi Ballespí ◽  
Mercè Mitjavila ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Subclinical Psychotic Symptoms

scholarly journals Exploring How UK Adults' Attachment Style in Romantic Relationships Affects Engagement in Controlling Behaviours

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly C. Gilbert ◽  
Robert Blakey
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Anxious Attachment

Copious studies have identified a link between disorganised attachment and engagement in controlling caregiving or controlling punitive behaviours. Studies have suggested that consistently engaging in these behaviours can cause difficulties within relationships and contribute to the development of a personality disorder. Most of the literature thus far has focused on engagement in controlling behaviours by children with a disorganised attachment style, despite there being theoretical grounds to suggest they may also be used by adults and across all types of insecure attachment. This study aimed to address these gaps by looking at adult attachment style and engagement in controlling behaviours in romantic relationships, across all insecure attachment styles; avoidant, anxious and disorganised. The current study recruited a non-clinical sample; specifically, 149 English-speaking adults, living in the UK, between the ages of 18 and 77 years old (M = 34.28, SD = 14.90). The participants answered an anonymous online questionnaire containing four self-report measures which assessed the participants' attachment security and organisation, caregiving style and engagement in punitive behaviours. The results indicated that participants who scored higher in disorganised attachment were more likely to use controlling punitive behaviours in their romantic relationships. Moreover, participants who reported a more insecure-anxious attachment style were more likely to use compulsive caregiving behaviours in their romantic relationships. In contrast, participants who reported a higher insecure avoidant attachment style were less likely to use compulsive caregiving behaviours in their romantic relationships. These results have implications for adult attachment theory and aid the understanding of some of the behaviours that can be harmful within romantic relationships. The findings could be used to help at-risk individuals develop healthy interpersonal relationship going forward.

DYSFUNCTIONAL ATTITUDES AND ATTACHMENT STYLE AMONG CLINICALLY DEPRESSED ADULTS

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Reinecke ◽  
Gregory M. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Dysfunctional Attitudes ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Adult Attachment Style ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Early Experiences ◽  
Clinically Depressed

Previous research has found an association between adult attachment style and symptoms of depression among university students and indicated that this relationship may be mediated by dysfunctional attitudes. The present study represents an initial step toward extending these findings to a clinical sample with more severe forms of depression. A sample of psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (n = 54) completed measures of adult attachment style, dysfunctional attitudes, and depression. An association was found between insecure attachment style and depression severity. This association was partially mediated by dysfunctional attitudes. These findings are consistent with cognitive-interpersonal models of depression that propose that adverse early experiences may contribute to vulnerability for depression through the establishment of dysfunctional attitudes.

scholarly journals Childhood adversity and psychosis: generalised or specific effects?

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Longden ◽  
M. Sampson ◽  
J. Read
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Physical Abuse ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Multiple Exposures ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
The Impact

Background.This study examines relationships between childhood adversity and the presence of characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia. It was hypothesised that total adversity exposures would be significantly higher in individuals exhibiting these symptoms relative to patients without. Recent proposals that differential associations exist between specific psychotic symptoms and specific adversities was also tested, namely: sexual abuse and hallucinations, physical abuse and delusions, and fostering/adoption and delusions.Method.Data were collected through auditing 251 randomly selected medical records, drawn from adult patients in New Zealand community mental health centres. Information was extracted on presence and subtype of psychotic symptoms and exposure to ten types of childhood adversity, including five types of abuse and neglect.Results.Adversity exposure was significantly higher in patients experiencing hallucinations in general, voice hearing, command hallucinations, visions, delusions in general, paranoid delusions and negative symptoms than in patients without these symptoms. There was no difference in adversity exposure in patients with and without tactile/olfactory hallucinations, grandiose delusions or thought disorder. Indication of a dose–response relationship was detected, in that total number of adversities significantly predicted total number of psychotic symptoms. Although fostering/adoption was associated with paranoid delusions, the hypothesised specificity between sexual abuse and hallucinations, and physical abuse and delusions, was not found. The two adversities showing the largest number of associations with psychotic symptoms were poverty and being fostered/adopted.Conclusions.The current data are consistent with a model of global and cumulative adversity, in which multiple exposures may intensify psychosis risk beyond the impact of single events. Implications for clinical intervention are discussed.

scholarly journals Measuring attachment and parental bonding in psychosis and its clinical implications

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mathews ◽  
J. Onwumere ◽  
S. Bissoli ◽  
M. Ruggeri ◽  
E. Kuipers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Parental Bonding ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome

Background.Attachment theory proposes that psychological functioning and affect regulations are influenced by the attachment we form with others. Early relationships with parents or caregivers lay the foundations for attachment styles. These styles are proposed to influence how we relate to others during our life can be modified by the relationships and events we experience in our lifespan. A secure attachment style is associated with a capacity to manage distress, comfort with autonomy and the ability to form relationships with others, whereas insecure attachment can lead to dysfunctional relationships, emotional and behaviour avoidance. Attachment theory provides a useful framework to inform our understanding of relationship difficulties in people with psychosis. This paper aims to complement recent systematic reviews by providing an overview of attachment theory, its application to psychosis, including an understanding of measurement issues and the clinical implications offered.Method.A narrative review was completed of the measures of attachment and parental bonding in psychosis. Its clinical implications are also discussed. The paper also explores the link between insecure attachment styles and illness course, social functioning and symptomatology. The following questions are addressed: What are the key attachment measures that have been used within the attachment and psychosis literature? What are the results of studies that have measured attachment or parental bonding in psychosis and what clinical implications can we derive from it? What are some of the key questions for future research from these findings in relation to the onset of psychosis research field?Results.The most commonly used measures of attachment in psychosis research are reviewed. Self-report questionnaires and semi-structured interviews have mainly been used to examine attachment styles in adult samples and in recent years comprise a measure specifically developed for a psychosis group. The review suggests that insecure attachment styles are common in psychosis samples. Key relationships were observed between insecure, avoidant and anxious attachment styles and psychosis development, expression and long-term outcome.Conclusions.Attachment theory can provide a useful framework to facilitate our understanding of interpersonal difficulties in psychosis that may predate its onset and impact on observed variability in outcomes, including treatment engagement. Greater attention should be given to the assessment of attachment needs and to the development of interventions that seek to compensate for these difficulties. However, further investigations are required on specifying the exact mechanisms by which specific attachment styles impact on the development of psychosis and its course.

Relations between Attachment, Resilience, and Earned Security in Japanese University Students

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 279-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuko Shibue ◽  
Makiko Kasai
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Internal Working Model ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Internal Working ◽  
Avoidant Attachment ◽  
Resilience Scale ◽  
Earned Security ◽  
Positive Correlations

This study investigated the relations between attachment, resilience, and earned security in Japanese university students. It was hypothesized that resilience would have a positive relationship with attachment and that people who had an insecure attachment style but high resilience would also have high earned security. An earned security scale was developed, based on the Naikan thought scale and attachment theory. The earned-security scales, a resilience scale, and an internal working model scale were administered to 343 university students. Three trends were apparent: (1) positive correlations between secure attachment scores and resilience scores; (2) negative correlations between insecure ambivalent attachment scores and resilience scores, but people classified in the ambivalent attachment cluster and high resilience group had higher earned security; and (3) avoidant attachment scores had negligible correlations with resilience and earned security.

Insecure attachment is associated with paranoia but not hallucinations in psychotic patients: the mediating role of negative self-esteem

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1495-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Wickham ◽  
K. Sitko ◽  
R. P. Bentall
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Attachment Representations ◽  
Co Morbidity ◽  
The Relationship

BackgroundA growing body of research has investigated associations between insecure attachment styles and psychosis. However, despite good theoretical and epidemiological reasons for hypothesising that insecure attachment may be specifically implicated in paranoid delusions, few studies have considered the role it plays in specific symptoms.MethodWe examined the relationship between attachment style, paranoid beliefs and hallucinatory experiences in a sample of 176 people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 113 healthy controls. We also investigated the possible role of negative self-esteem in mediating this association.ResultsInsecure attachment predicted paranoia but not hallucinations after co-morbidity between the symptoms was controlled for. Negative self-esteem partially mediated the association between attachment anxiety and clinical paranoia, and fully mediated the relationship between attachment avoidance and clinical paranoia.ConclusionsIt may be fruitful to explore attachment representations in psychological treatments for paranoid patients. If future research confirms the importance of disrupted attachment as a risk factor for persecutory delusions, consideration might be given to how to protect vulnerable young people, for example those raised in children's homes.

scholarly journals Problems with Recall-Based Attachment Style Priming Paradigms: Exclusion Criteria, Sample Bias and Reduced Power

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Kitchener Sakaluk
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Exclusion Criteria ◽  
Sample Bias ◽  
Internal And External Validity

Attachment styles are often primed by having participants recall and describe a relationship that is prototypical of a given attachment style. Researchers may exclude participants who cannot recall such a relationship, or who describe relationships that do not conform to the assigned prime. I suggest that excluding participants is untenable, and may threaten a study’s validity. In the present research, I examine predictors of exclusion from an attachment priming study. Priming insecure attachment resulted in greater odds of exclusion relative to a control condition. Female participants with greater sexual experience also had lesser odds of exclusion. These results suggest that attachment-priming procedures contribute to participant exclusion that compromise internal and external validity. Discussion focuses on directions for future attachment-priming research.

scholarly journals The epidemiology of schizophrenia: replacing dogma with knowledge

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-315 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Paternal Age ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Social Risk ◽  
Social Risk Factors ◽  
Common Pathway ◽  
History Of ◽  
Made In

Major advances have been made in our understanding of the epidemiology of schizophrenia. We now know that the disorder is more common and severe in young men, and that the incidence varies geographically and temporally. Risk factors have been elucidated; biological risks include a family history of the disorder, advanced paternal age, obstetric complications, and abuse of drugs such as stimulants and cannabis. In addition, recent research has also identified social risk factors such as being born and brought up in a city, migration, and certain types of childhood adversity such as physical abuse and bullying, as well as social isolation and adverse events in adult life. Current research is focussing on the significance of minor psychotic symptoms in the general population, gene-environmental interaction, and how risk factors impact on pathogenesis; perhaps all risk factors ultimately impact on striatal dopamine as the final common pathway.

scholarly journals Is attachment style in early childhood associated with mental health difficulties in late adolescence?

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S15-S15
Author(s):  
Philippa Clery ◽  
Angela Rowe ◽  
Marcus Munafò ◽  
Liam Mahedy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Late Adolescence ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Childhood Attachment ◽  
Mental Health Difficulties ◽  
Self Harm

AimsIdentifying factors that contribute to mental health difficulties in young people as early in life as possible are needed to inform prevention strategies. One area of interest is attachment. Although existing research has suggested an association between insecure attachment styles and mental health difficulties, these studies often have small sample sizes, use cross-sectional designs, and measure attachment as a discrete variable at a single point or use romantic relationship attachment as a proxy for childhood attachment. It is also unclear whether these associations persist into late adolescence. In this large prospective study we aimed to determine whether an insecure attachment style measured at repeated points in early childhood, is associated with depression and self-harm at 18 years.MethodWe used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort. Mothers completed attachment related questionnaires when their child was 18, 30, and 42 months old. Offspring depression and lifetime self-harm was assessed at 18 years in clinic using the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised. Attachment was derived as a continuous latent variable in a structural equation modelling framework. Logistic regression was performed on participants with complete attachment data (n = 7032) to examine the association between attachment style and depression and self-harm, with adjustment for potential confounders. Differential dropout was accounted for using multiple imputation.ResultWe found some evidence for an association between a more insecure attachment style in childhood, and a diagnosis of depression and life-time self-harm at age 18. In the fully adjusted imputed model, a one standard deviation increase in insecure attachment was associated with a 13% increase in the odds of depression (OR = 1.13; 95%CI = 1.00 to 1.27) and a 14% increase in the odds of self-harm at age 18 (OR = 1.14; 95%CI = 1.02 to 1.25), for children who had more insecure attachment in early childhood, compared with children who had more secure attachment.ConclusionThis is the largest longitudinal study to examine the prospective association between childhood attachment and depression and self-harm in late adolescence. Our findings strengthen the evidence suggesting that a childhood insecure attachment style is associated with mental health difficulties in late adolescence. Policies and interventions to support parenting behaviours that foster the development of secure attachment styles, or attachment-based therapies to improve attachment quality, could help reduce depression and self-harm in adolescence/young adulthood.Philippa Clery is supported by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research at the University of Bristol and the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund.

scholarly journals Associations between Trauma, Dissociation, Adult Attachment and Proneness to Hallucinations

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Berry ◽  
Paul Fleming ◽  
Samantha Wong ◽  
Sandra Bucci
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ◽  
Relative Contribution

Background: Childhood adversity, dissociation and adult attachment have all been implicated in the development of hallucinations or ‘voice-hearing’. Testing psychological models in relation to subclinical phenomena, such as proneness to hallucinations in non-clinical samples, provides a convenient methodology to develop understanding of the processes and mechanisms underlying clinical symptoms. Aims: This paper investigates the relative contribution of childhood adversity, dissociation and adult attachment in explaining hallucination proneness in a non-clinical sample. Methods: Students and staff with no previous contact with secondary care at the University of Manchester were recruited. Participants completed a series of self-report measures: the Launay‒Slade Hallucination Scale (LSHS), the Relationship Scale Questionnaire (RSQ), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Dissociative Experiences Schedule (DES II) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Results: As hypothesized, insecure attachment, childhood adversity and dissociative symptoms were correlated with hallucination proneness. Multiple regression analysis, controlling for confounds of age and negative affect, indicated that the RSQ, CTQ and DES II predicted hallucination proneness. Only DES II and RSQ avoidant attachment were significant independent predictors in the final model. Conclusions: This study provides further evidence to support the idea that attachment and dissociation are important psychological mechanisms involved in voice-hearing proneness. Further testing is required with a clinical population.

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