Romantic Attachment in Patients with Mood and Anxiety Disorders

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 751-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Marazziti ◽  
Bernardo Dell'Osso ◽  
Mario Catena Dell'Osso ◽  
Giorgio Consoli ◽  
Alessandro Del Debbio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Panic Disorder ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Mood And Anxiety Disorders

ABSTRACTIntroductionRomantic attachment is the establishment of a relationship with a partner and is strongly influenced by the individual's attachment style. While several studies have shown that attachment style may contribute to the development of psychopathology, less information is available for romantic attachment.The aim of the present study was to compare romantic attachment styles among patients with different mood and anxiety disorders and control subjects.MethodThe study sample included a total of 126 outpatients, 62 of whom were affected by bipolar disorders, 22 by major depressive disorder (MDD), 27 by panic disorder, 15 by obsessive-compulsive disorder, and 126 healthy control subjects. Romantic attachment was assessed by means of the Italian version of the “Experiences in Close Relationships” (ECR) questionnaire.ResultsThe results showed that the secure attachment style was more frequent in the control group, while the preoccupied style prevailed among the patients, with no difference among the diagnostic categories.The scores of the ECR anxiety and avoidance scales were significantly higher in the patients than in the control subjects. A trend toward higher ECR anxiety scale scores in women with panic disorder was detected, with the opposite being true for MDD.ConclusionOur findings indicate that patients with different psychiatric disorders would be characterized by higher scores on both the ECR anxiety and the avoidance scales, as well as by the preoccupied style of attachment. In addition, women with panic disorder and MDD seem to be characterized by, respectively, higher and lower scores of the ECR anxiety scale than men.

Effect of Attachment Style on Selective Attention in Panic Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 523-560
Author(s):  
Ottilia Klipsch ◽  
Henning Schauenburg ◽  
Christoph Nikendei ◽  
Cord Benecke ◽  
Ulrike Dinger
Keyword(s):  
Panic Disorder ◽  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
Moderation Effect ◽  
Interpersonal Threat

Introduction: Given the heterogeneity of results in the attentional bias to threatening information in patients with panic disorder, we investigated the attentional bias toward threat and the moderating effect of attachment styles in a female-only sample of panic patients and a nonclinical control group. Methods: Female panic patients (n = 47) were compared to a female control group (n = 47) using a modified Dot Probe Task with body-related and interpersonal threat as well as attachment positive words. Results: An attentional bias toward threat words was not replicated. Furthermore, there was no moderation effect on attentional bias by attachment styles. However, high attachment avoidance was associated with faster reaction times (RT) in attachment positive compared to attachment threat trials in both groups. In the patient group, attachment anxiety was associated with faster RT in panic threat trials compared to attachment positive trials. Anxiously attached controls reacted faster to attachment positive vs. attachment threat trials. Discussion: No attentional bias was found in the present study. However, the findings suggest that attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety differently influence attention responses to trials that include different emotional stimuli in clinical and nonclinical, female participants. Attachment insecurity may modify attention when processing trials including both, threat and positive stimuli.

scholarly journals Serum Cholesterol Level Comparison: Control Subjects, Anxiety Disorder Patients, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patients

2002 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 557-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Peter ◽  
Iver Hand ◽  
Fritz Hohagen ◽  
Anne Koenig ◽  
Olaf Mindermann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Panic Disorder ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Cholesterol Level ◽  
Normal Control ◽  
Serum Cholesterol ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Cholesterol Levels

Objective: To determine whether panic disorder is associated with elevated serum cholesterol levels. Serum cholesterol levels of panic disorder patients are reported to be elevated. This could explain the higher-than-expected cardiovascular mortality in this population. Some evidence exists wherein cholesterol levels are also increased in patients with general anxiety disorder and phobias. To date, there are only 2 reports on cholesterol levels of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, giving controversial results. Method: We compared serum cholesterol levels of anxiety disorder patients, OCD patients, and normal control subjects with each other ( n = 60 in each group). Serum cholesterol was measured in each subject before treatment. Subjects of the 3 groups were matched by age and sex. Results: Patients with anxiety disorders and OCD had elevated cholesterol levels, compared with normal control subjects. Cholesterol levels in OCD patients were comparable with those in patients with phobia. Conclusions: Our data support the assumption that elevation in cholesterol level is not a specific feature of panic disorder (as most assumed), but more generally associated with anxiety disorders. Increased cholesterol levels in patients with anxiety disorders and OCD may be of clinical relevance.

P.8.a.051 Attachment styles in patients with mood and anxiety disorders

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. S561
Author(s):  
A. Del Debbio ◽  
F. Mungai ◽  
L. Vivarelli ◽  
B. Dell'Osso ◽  
C. Carmassi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Mood And Anxiety Disorders

scholarly journals Early Maladaptive Schemas in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety Disorders

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afsaneh Yoosefi ◽  
Sepideh RajeziEsfahani ◽  
Abbas Pourshahbaz ◽  
Behrooz Dolatshahee ◽  
Abbasali Assadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Early Maladaptive Schemas ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Maladaptive Schemas ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Washington State University ◽  
Emotional Deprivation

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Purpose of this study is comparing early maladaptive schemas which are active in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders together, considering recent DSM-5 changes through which OCD has been placed in a separate and new diagnostic level.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>This research is a causal-comparative study. 151 persons were categorized in three groups of people suffering from OCD (50), suffering from anxiety disorders (50), and control group (51). Early diagnosis of disorders in two clinical groups were verified based on structured clinical interview for DSM )SCID-I) and Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS). General health questionnaire (GHQ-28), the short versions of the Young schemas questionnaire (YSQ), and Padua inventory-Washington State University Revision (PI-WSUR) were also implemented.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Findings revealed that<strong> </strong>mean scores of all schemas of those suffering from anxiety disorders, except for Self-Sacrifice, Unrelenting-Standards/Hypercriticalness, Entitlement/Grandiosity schemas, and mean scores of all early maladaptive schemas of those suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder are significantly higher than those of control group. OCD group had significantly higher scores in Emotional Deprivation, Mistrust/Abuse, and Defectiveness/Shame schemas than anxiety disorders group. Defectiveness/Shame and Vulnerability to Harm or Illness schemas can explain 38 percent of variance of obsessive compulsive symptoms.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The dominant and specific early maladaptive schemas of OCD are Defectiveness/Shame, Mistrust/Abuse, and Emotional Deprivation Schemas. This study besides supporting the theory of early maladaptive schemas, suggests that interventions based on specific schemas can be useful methods in treatment of OCD and anxiety disorders.</p>

scholarly journals Psychopathological Organizations and Attachment Styles in Patients with Fear of Flying: A Case Study

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Veronese ◽  
Rossella Procaccia ◽  
Diego Romaioli ◽  
Gianpiero Barola ◽  
Marco Castiglioni
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Fear Of Flying ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Experimental Group

Objectives: The scope of the study is to identify the leading “organization of meaning” in patients affected by aviophobia and the related attachment style. Specifically we hypothesized that participants with fear of flying would predominantly display a phobic organization of meaning, associated with an anxious-ambivalent attachment style. Methods: 150 adults, divided between an experimental group (FOF) and a control group (CON), completed three research instruments: two self-report questionnaires assessing attachment style (AAQ and ASQ) and the self-characterization, a qualitative constructivist tool. Results: The insecure attachment style prevailed in aviophobics rather than control group. Socio-economic and gender differences were found. The vocabulary used by the group with flying phobia featured a system of meaning referring to “freedom” family semantics. Conclusions: Attachment style appears to be a necessary but insufficient condition for predicting fear of flying. A greater role in the disorder is played by the organization of patients' personality, as argued by socio-constructionist and constructivist authors. Implication for clinical work and psychotherapy are discussed.

Depression and anxiety disorders

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Mackie ◽  
John W. Winkelman
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Sleep Disorders ◽  
Sleep Architecture ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Mood And Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Obstructive Sleep

This chapter discusses the frequent comorbidity of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders with specific sleep disorders as well as associated changes in sleep architecture and sleep quality. It includes a review of several of the most common mood and anxiety disorders that are known to be associated with abnormalities in sleep: major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. Changes in objective and subjective sleep parameters, including sleep architecture, sleep quality, and sleep quantity, are addressed in association with each psychiatric condition. The effects on sleep of medications used in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders are also outlined. Finally, the chapter discusses the over-representation in these psychiatric conditions of many common sleep disorders, including insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and delayed sleep phase disorder.

scholarly journals Attached at the lips: The influence of romantic kissing motives and romantic attachment styles on relationship satisfaction

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-30
Author(s):  
Danica J. Kulibert ◽  
Elle A. Moore ◽  
Melinda M. Dertinger ◽  
Ashley E. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Relationship Functioning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Although romantic kissing is an important part of relationship functioning, little research has focused on motives for romantic kissing and how they may relate to other aspects of romantic relationships. To understand how romantic kissing impacts romantic relationship functioning, the current study assessed the relationship between romantic attachment, romantic kissing motives, and relationship satisfaction. Overall, it was hypothesized that (a) those reporting more sexual/explicit kissing motives and fewer goal attainment/insecurity motives would report higher relationship satisfaction, (b) those reporting a more secure attachment style would report higher relationship satisfaction, and (c) the relationship between romantic kissing motives and relationship satisfaction would vary according to one’s romantic attachment styles. Results from a hierarchical linear regression with 286 adults, all of whom were currently in romantic relationships, revealed that sexual/relational (β = 0.25) and goal attainment/insecurity kissing motives (β = -0.35) predicted relationship satisfaction. However, the impact of kissing motives on relationship satisfaction varied according to one’s romantic attachment. Specifically, the influence of sexual/relational motives was only significant for avoidantly attached individuals, whereas the influence of goal attainment/insecurity motives was significant for avoidantly and anxiously attachment individuals. Overall, this suggests that sexual/explicit romantic kissing motives serve to enhance the relationships of insecurely attached individuals, but not securely attached individuals. Furthermore, goal attainment/insecure motives had a negative effect on the relationship satisfaction of insecurely attached individuals, but not securely attached individuals. This study has important implications for both practitioners working with romantic couples and researchers studying romantic relationships.

Brain Hemispheric Organization, Anxiety, and Psychoses

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 58-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvana Galderisi ◽  
Armida Mucci ◽  
Mario Maj
Keyword(s):  
Panic Disorder ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Developmental Perspective ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Hemispheric Functioning

AbstractAbnormalities of brain hemispheric organization have been found in a variety of psychiatric disorders. Despite the great amount of data collected and the number of theoretical models elaborated, the role of these abnormalities in the pathogenesis of these disorders remains controversial. This article briefly reviews current concepts of hemispheric functioning, discusses the role of abnormalities of brain hemispheric organization in schizophrenia and in two anxiety disorders (panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder), and outlines a developmental perspective that accounts for the observed abnormalities.

Desiring and Avoiding Close Romantic Attachment in Response to Mortality Salience

2002 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael K. Coolsen ◽  
Lori J. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Defense Mechanisms ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Mortality Salience ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Romantic Involvement ◽  
Avoidant Attachment ◽  
Agency And Communion

The purpose of this study was to examine individual differences in the effects of mortality salience on romantic attachment style. Participants were categorized as high or low in both agency and communion. After exposure to either a mortality salience or a control videotape, participants rated the idealness of Hazan and Shaver's (1987) three romantic attachment styles and rated the appeal of romantic involvement. Participants who were high in agency responded to mortality salience with increased endorsement of avoidant attachment, decreased endorsement of secure and anxious-ambivalent attachment, and diminished desire for involvement in a romantic relationship. Participants who were low in communion responded to morality salience with increased endorsement of anxious-ambivalent attachment. The results are discussed in light of research on defense mechanisms, Becker's (1973) theories about the role of romance in symbolic transcendence of death, and terror management theory (Solomon, Greenberg,&Pyszczynski, 1991).

scholarly journals Romantic Attachment and Subtypes/Dimensions of Jealousy

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Marazziti ◽  
Giorgio Consoli ◽  
Francesco Albanese ◽  
Emanuela Laquidara ◽  
Stefano Baroni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Interpersonal Sensitivity ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
The Self ◽  
Experiences In Close Relationships ◽  
Preoccupied Attachment

The present study explored the possible relationship between romantic attachment and jealousy in 100 healthy subjects. The romantic attachment and jealousy were evaluated by means of, respectively, the “Experiences in Close Relationships” questionnaire (ECR), and the “Questionario della Gelosia” (QUEGE). The ECR anxiety scale was related to all QUEGE dimensions, while the ECR avoidance scale to three. Individuals with the preoccupied attachment style showed higher scores than secure subjects on the obsessionality, interpersonal sensitivity and fear of loss dimensions. Fearful-avoidant individuals had higher score than secure subjects on the fear of loss dimension only, while dismissing individuals had lower scores on the self-esteem dimension.These findings suggest that romantic attachment and jealousy are intertwined.

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