scholarly journals M113. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ATTACHMENT STYLES AND CLINICAL PRESENTATION IN EARLY PSYCHOSIS PATIENTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S177-S178
Author(s):  
Alena Gizdic ◽  
Lidia Hinojosa-Marqués ◽  
Thomas R Kwapil ◽  
Neus Barrantes Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Early Psychosis ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Positive Symptoms ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Symptom Dimensions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Attachment Dimensions

Abstract Background Research in both clinical and early psychosis samples is increasingly indicating that insecure attachment styles impact on psychosis symptom expression. Moreover, empirical support has been found for the assumption that specific types of insecure attachment predispose individuals to develop different symptom profiles. This study aimed to increase our understanding of the relevance of attachment styles in an early psychosis sample. To this end, we first examined the relationship of attachment styles with the severity of positive, negative and general symptom dimensions. Secondly, associations between attachment styles and specific positive psychotic symptoms were explored. Methods A total of 96 (60 At-Risk Mental State and 36 First Episode Psychosis) patients participated in the study. Patients’ attachment style was assessed by the Psychosis Attachment Measure (PAM) and the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ). The PAM was used to evaluate attachment dimensions (i.e., anxiety and avoidance), whereas RQ was employed to classify participants into an attachment prototypes (i.e., secure, fearful, preoccupied or dismissive). In addition, patients were administered the Positive and Negative Syndromes Scale. Correlation analyses examined the associations of patients’ attachment dimensions and patients’ attachment prototypes with symptom dimensions (positive, negative and general psychopathology) and specific positive psychotic symptoms (delusions, conceptual disorganization, hallucinations, excitement, grandiosity, paranoia and hostility). Results Patients’ attachment anxiety was associated with positive symptoms and general psychopathology, whereas no associations were found between attachment avoidance and symptom dimensions. Moreover, only attachment anxiety was related with specific positive symptoms, such as hallucinations and paranoia. Regarding the associations between attachment prototypes and symptom dimensions, only secure attachment was significantly related to decreased levels of general symptoms. Besides, secure attachment was associated with decreased levels of paranoia, whereas fearful attachment was related with increased levels of paranoid symptoms. No significant relationships were observed between dismissing and preoccupied attachment with specific positive symptoms. Discussion These findings highlight the potential role of secure attachment as a protective factor against poor clinical outcomes and are consistent with previous studies indicating that secure attachment confers a form of resilience for psychopathology. In contrast, attachment anxiety and fearful attachment might represent risk factors for general and positive symptoms. The fact that neither attachment dimensions nor attachment prototypes were associated with the negative symptom dimension seems to confirm previous findings and might suggest that the association of attachment with psychotic symptoms is more robust for the positive dimension. These findings highlight the need of tailoring interventions to patients’ attachment needs. This would include assessing patients’ attachment patterns, as the specific subtypes of insecure attachment style should provide guidance in the context of psychological formulation and treatment planning with early psychosis patients.

scholarly journals Psychosocial development and attachment in late adolescence

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-30
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Lelek ◽  
Tamara Klikovac
Keyword(s):  
Psychosocial Development ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Late Adolescence ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Attachment Dimensions

The study deals with the relationship between psychosocial development and attachment in late adolescence. The aim is to examine the relationship between the success in resolving the crises of psychosocial development and attachment dimensions and to investigate the differences between attachment styles with respect to the success in resolving the crises of psychosocial development. The Questionnaire for Attachment Assessment, II revision (UPIPAV-R) and The Modified Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (MEPSI) were applied on the sample of 212 students (aged 2026) of faculties and colleges situated in Belgrade. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between attachment dimensions and the success in resolving tasks of psychosocial development, with three significantly connected pairs of structures between two sets of variables. The securely attached adolescents were significantly and consistently more successful in resolving the crises of psychosocial development in comparison with the insecurely attached adolescents. They also showed a higher level of general psychosocial matureness. Significant differences in resolving the crises of psychosocial development were obtained between adolescents with different forms of insecure attachment. Based on the success in resolving the crises of psychosocial development, 59.4% of respondents were classified in the original attachment group, including: 76.6% with secure attachment, 57.1% with preoccupied, 56.6% with dismissing and 41.3% with fearful attachment.

scholarly journals Adult attachment and paranoia: an experimental investigation

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Hutton ◽  
Lyn Ellett ◽  
Katherine Berry
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Attachment Representations ◽  
Persecutory Delusions ◽  
Priming Condition ◽  
Induction State

AbstractAttachment theory may develop understanding of the occurrence and maintenance of persecutory delusions. This study investigates the role of dispositional attachment and contextually primed secure base attachment representations in the occurrence of paranoid thinking. Sixty participants were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: a secure attachment priming condition, a positive affect condition, or a neutral control condition. Following priming, all participants were exposed to a paranoia induction. State paranoia was measured at baseline and following the paranoia induction. Dispositional insecure attachment was associated with both trait and state paranoid thinking. Contrary to predictions, the secure attachment prime did not appear to buffer paranoid thinking and had a negative impact for participants with high levels of attachment anxiety, highlighting the potentially aversive effects of exposure to secure attachment material in those with existing insecure attachment styles.

Relationships Between Adult Attachment Dimensions and Patient-Physician Relationship Quality

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lachlan A. McWilliams
Keyword(s):  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Family Physicians ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
Communication Difficulties ◽  
Physician Relationship ◽  
Attachment Dimensions

AbstractPositive associations between attachment insecurity and indicators of poorer patient-physician relationship quality have been found in samples of patients consulting with physicians for a variety of specific medical conditions or needs. The current study was the first to investigate associations between adult attachment characteristics and relationship quality with family physicians. University students (N = 239) completed measures assessing attachment and their relationships with their family physician. Attachment avoidance was associated with poor affective relationship quality and with greater communication difficulties. Attachment anxiety was associated with greater communication difficulties, but was unrelated to affective relationship quality. Those with insecure attachment, particularly those with high levels of avoidance, have poorer relationships with their family physicians than those with more secure attachment.

scholarly journals Attachment Styles and Self-Esteem among Adolescents

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-21
Author(s):  
Sanober Jamil ◽  
Dr. Hina Ayaz Habib ◽  
Laila Lodhia
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
P Value ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Moment Coefficient ◽  
The Relationship

The current research aims to find the relationship between secure attachment style and self-esteem among latency adolescence. The assumptions developed for the study stated that a) secure attachment style would be positively correlated with self-esteem among Adolescents.  b) Insecure attachment style (anxious and avoidant) would be negatively correlated with self-esteem among adolescents. The sample of the study comprised of 180 adolescents including 90 male and 90 female adolescents with age ranges between 12 to 16 years (M=13.27, SD=1.13) were selected through purposive sampling technique from private schools based in Karachi, Pakistan. After taking approval from the authorities, the participant's assent to participate in the research was taken and a demographic form was administered. To measure the effect of attachment on self-esteem, the Attachment Style Classification Questionnaire (Finzi et al., 1996) and the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) were used. Descriptive statistics and Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation were applied to study the correlation among the study variables. The finding shows a noteworthy relationship between secure attachment styles and self-esteem was found with an r-value of .118 and a P value of .116.

The vulnerability of insecure minds: The mediating role of mentalization in the relationship between attachment styles and psychopathology

2021 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 358-384
Author(s):  
Gianluca Santoro ◽  
Laura Rosa Midolo ◽  
Antonino Costanzo ◽  
Adriano Schimmenti
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Mental States ◽  
The Self ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Negative View ◽  
The Relationship

Insecure attachment is linked to mentalizing difficulties and psychopathology. The current study aimed to examine if failures in mentalization, as observed in the form of uncertainty about mental states, mediated the relationship between attachment styles and global psychopathology in a group of 812 adults (66.5% females) from the community. Participants completed measures on attachment styles, uncertainty about mental states, and clinical symptoms. The authors found that uncertainty about mental states was a partial mediator of the associations between attachment styles and psychopathology. Furthermore, the findings supported the role of secure attachment in protecting from mentalization failures and psychopathology; on the contrary, increased scores on attachment styles involving a negative view of the self (preoccupied and fearful attachment styles) predicted high levels of uncertainty about mental states and psychopathology. Accordingly, clinicians may wish to promote mentalizing abilities in individuals who display a negative view of the self embedded in their attachment styles.

Evaluation of positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia

1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy C. Andreasen ◽  
William M. Grove
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Positive Symptoms ◽  
University Of Iowa ◽  
Normal Functions ◽  
Subsequent Investigation ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Positive And Negative Symptoms

SummaryMost investigators concur that schizophrenia is probably a heterogeneous group of disorders that share the common features of psychotic symptoms, partial response to neuroleptics, and a relatively poor outcome. The subdivision of schizophrenia into two subtypes, positive versus negative, has achieved wide acceptance throughout the world during recent years. This distinction has heuristic and theoretical appeal because it unites phenomenology, pathophysiology, and etiology into a single comprehensive hypothesis.In spite of its wide appeal, the distinction has a number of problems. These include the failure to distinguish between symptom syndromes and diseases; failure to deal with the mixed patient; failure to take longitudinal course into account; and failure to address conceptually and methodologically the distinction between positive and negative symptoms.This paper focuses primarily on the conceptual basis for two instruments designed to measure positive and negative symptoms, the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), originally described in 1982. Since their description, these scales have been used in a variety of other centers. These scales are based on the hypothesis that negative symptoms represent a deficit or diminution in normal psychological functions wliile positive symptoms represent an excess or distortion of normal functions. Reliability data are now available from Italy, Spain, and Japan which suggest that these scales can be used reliably in cultural settings outside the United States. The results of these studies are summarized in this paper. In addition, a replication study involving a new sample of 117 schizophrenics collected at the University of Iowa is described. In this second study of the SANS and SAPS, internal consistency is found to be quite high in the SANS. Thus negative symptoms appear to be more internally correlated with one another than are positive symptoms. The implications of this result are discussed. A principal components analysis is used to explore the relationship between positive and negative symptoms. While the study reported in 1982 suggested that positive and negative symptoms are negatively correlated, in the present study they appear to be uncorrelated. Overall, the results suggest that the SANS and SAPS are useful comprehensive instruments for the evaluation of positive and negative symptoms. The relationship between these symptoms and external validators such as cognitive functioning or CT scan abnormalities will be reported in a subsequent investigation.

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 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 Parental Acceptance–Rejection and Adult Separation Anxiety: The Mediation of Adult Attachment Insecurity

SAGE Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401988513
Author(s):  
Hatice Deveci Şirin
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Separation Anxiety ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Separation Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Parental Acceptance ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Retrospective Perceptions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Attachment Dimensions

Adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) is classified under anxiety disorders in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM- 5). However, the reasons for ASAD are uncertain. The relationship between ASAD and childhood experiences is one of the frequently debated issues. The purpose of this study was to develop a model that would examine the mediating roles of insecure attachment dimensions—avoidance and anxiety—in the relationship between adults’ retrospective perceptions of parental acceptance–rejection in childhood and separation anxiety. A total of 1,534 participants completed Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire, Experiences in Close Relationships–Revised, Adult Separation Anxiety Questionnaire, and personal information form. The results of the structural equation model indicated that insecure attachment dimensions—avoidance and anxiety variables—fully mediated the relationship between perceived parental acceptance–rejection and separation anxiety. These findings shed new light on the relationship between adults’ retrospective perceptions of childhood experiences and adult separation anxiety.

Different effects of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance on depressive symptoms: A meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 3028-3050
Author(s):  
Leying Zheng ◽  
Yadan Luo ◽  
Xu Chen
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cultural Orientation ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Attachment Dimensions ◽  
Significant Moderator

Although insecure adult attachment is thought to be associated with depressive symptoms, results of research on the link between attachment dimensions (attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and depressive symptoms have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to use meta-analysis to examine the strength of the correlations between the two attachment dimensions and depressive symptoms. A total of 64 papers and 78 independent samples were included in this meta-analysis. Results showed significant associations between both attachment dimensions and depressive symptoms. Additional analyses indicated that attachment anxiety was more strongly related to depressive symptoms, whereas attachment avoidance was weakly related to depressive symptoms. Cultural orientation and sex were found to moderate the relationship between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms. Age was a significant moderator of the relationships between both attachment anxiety and avoidance and depressive symptoms. Results of the meta-analysis and the implications were discussed.

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