scholarly journals Attachment in adolescence: A move to the level of emotion regulation

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph P. Allen ◽  
Erin M. Miga
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Unexpected Finding ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Social Emotion ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Interactions With Peers

The early adolescent’s state of mind in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is more closely linked to social interactions with peers, who are unlikely to serve as attachment figures, than it is to (i) qualities of the adolescent’s interactions with parents, (ii) the AAI of the adolescent’s mother, or (iii) the adolescent’s prior Strange Situation behavior. This unexpected finding suggests the value of reconceptualizing AAI autonomy/ security as a marker of the adolescent’s capacity for emotion regulation in social interactions. Supporting this, we note that the AAI was originally validated not as a marker of attachment experiences or expectations with one’s caregivers, but as a predictor of caregiving capacity sufficient to produce secure offspring. As such, the AAI may be fruitfully viewed as primarily assessing social emotion regulation capacities that support both strong caregiving skills and strong skills relating with peers.

Major depression as a predictor of the intergenerational transmission of attachment security: Findings from a pregnancy cohort study

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110607
Author(s):  
Megan Galbally ◽  
Stuart J Watson ◽  
Anne Tharner ◽  
Maartje Luijk ◽  
Gaynor Blankley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depression ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Attachment Security ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Parent Attachment ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Infant Attachment ◽  
Strange Situation Procedure

Objective: Understanding the relationship between attachment and mental health has an important role in informing management of perinatal mental disorders and for infant mental health. It has been suggested that experiences of attachment are transmitted from one generation to the next. Maternal sensitivity has been proposed as a mediator, although findings have not been as strong as hypothesised. A meta-analysis suggested that this intergenerational transmission of attachment may vary across populations with lower concordance between parent and infant attachment classifications in clinical compared to community samples. However, no previous study has examined major depression and adult attachment in pregnancy as predictors of infant–parent attachment classification at 12 months postpartum. Methods: Data were obtained on 52 first-time mothers recruited in early pregnancy, which included 22 women who met diagnostic criteria for current major depression using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The Adult Attachment Interview was also administered before 20 weeks of pregnancy. A history of early trauma was measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and maternal sensitivity was measured at 6 months postpartum using the observational measure of the Emotional Availability Scales. Infant–parent attachment was measured using the Strange Situation Procedure at 12 months. Results: Overall, we found no significant association between the Adult Attachment Interview and the Strange Situation Procedure classifications. However, a combination of maternal non-autonomous attachment on the Adult Attachment Interview and major depression was a significant predictor of insecure attachment on the Strange Situation Procedure. We did not find that maternal sensitivity mediated parental and infant attachment security in this sample. Conclusion: While previous meta-analyses identified lower concordance in clinical samples, our findings suggest women with major depression and non-autonomous attachment have a greater concordance with insecure attachment on the Strange Situation Procedure. These findings can guide future research and suggest a focus on depression in pregnancy may be important for subsequent infant attachment.

scholarly journals Ecological Constraints for Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment

1997 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Sagi ◽  
Marinus H. van IJzendoorn ◽  
Miri Scharf ◽  
Tirtsa Joels ◽  
Nina Koren-Karie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intergenerational Transmission ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Attachment Representations ◽  
Ecological Constraints ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Sleeping Arrangements

To determine whether the transmission of attachment across generations is free from contextual constraints, adult attachment representations were assessed in two kibbutz settings, home-based and communal sleeping. It was hypothesised that under extreme child-rearing circumstances, such as the communal sleeping arrangement, the transmission of attachment is not evident, whereas in the more regular home-based environment the expected transmission of attachment will be found. The participants were 45 mothers and 45 infants, about equal numbers of boys and girls, from 20 kibbutz infant houses with communal sleeping arrangements, and from 25 kibbutz infant houses with home-based sleeping arrangements. Mothers were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and infants were assessed through the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Among the home-based pairs, a correspondence of 76% was found between AAI and Strange Situation classifications, whereas the correspondence was only 40% in the communal sleeping group. It is argued that living in a communal sleeping arrangement reduces the expected transmission of attachment.

scholarly journals Attachment representations and autonomic regulation in maltreating and nonmaltreating mothers

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 1075-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Reijman ◽  
Lenneke R. A. Alink ◽  
Laura H. C. G. Compier-De Block ◽  
Claudia D. Werner ◽  
Athanasios Maras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Vagal Tone ◽  
Autonomic Regulation ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Potential Utility ◽  
Attachment Representations ◽  
Attachment Representation ◽  
State Of Mind

AbstractThis study assessed attachment representation and attachment-related autonomic regulation in a sample of 38 maltreating and 35 nonmaltreating mothers. Mothers’ state of mind regarding attachment was measured using the Adult Attachment Interview. They further watched an attachment-based comfort paradigm, during which we measured skin conductance and vagal tone. More maltreating mothers (42%) than nonmaltreating mothers (17%) had an unresolved/disoriented attachment classification. Attachment representation was related to physiology during the comfort paradigm: an unresolved state of mind and a nonautonomous classification were associated with a decrease in skin conductance during the comfort paradigm, specifically during the responsive caregiver scenario. However, physiology did not differ between maltreating and nonmaltreating mothers. The decrease in skin conductance of unresolved mothers during the comfort paradigm might be indicative of a deactivating response, which is congruent with the dissociative nature of the unresolved state of mind. The results point to the potential utility of interventions focused on attachment representations for maltreating mothers.

Intervention in Transmission of Insecure Attachment: A Case Study

1997 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 531-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Femmie Juffer ◽  
Marinus H. van Ijzendoorn ◽  
Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg
Keyword(s):  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Parental Sensitivity ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Mother Attachment ◽  
Home Based Intervention

Several attachment-based intervention studies have been performed, with varying success. An important question is whether short-term interventions can be successful in promoting parental sensitivity and security of infant-parent attachment as well as in changing parental representations of attachment. We investigated this issue in an exploratory way in a case study. A short-term home-based intervention with written material and video feedback, which was effective regarding parental sensitivity and infant security in a former study, was provided a parent who revealed an insecure attachment representation in the Adult Attachment Interview. The intervention sessions were expanded with discussions about past and present experiences of attachment. After four intervention sessions the mother's behavior towards her child was rated as more sensitive than before the intervention. Also, the infant-mother attachment, as observed in the Strange Situation, appeared to be more secure. Nevertheless, in a second Adult Attachment Interview administered after the intervention, the mother showed again an insecure representation of attachment. Possible implications of these results are discussed.

In search of security: The latent structure of the Adult Attachment Interview revisited

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 589-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine C. Haydon ◽  
Glenn I. Roisman ◽  
Keith B. Burt
Keyword(s):  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
States Of Mind ◽  
Behavioral Correlates ◽  
Relevant Evidence ◽  
Early Experiences ◽  
Item Level ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Q Sort

AbstractBuilding on Roisman, Fraley, and Belsky, who produced evidence for two modestly correlated dimensions (i.e., dismissing and preoccupied states of mind) underlying individual differences in attachment as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview using the Main and Goldwyn classification system, this report replicates and extends relevant evidence in a large sample of adults (N = 842) who completed the Adult Attachment Interview coded using Kobak's Adult Attachment Interview Q-Sort. Principal components analysis of item-level Q-Sort data yielded two state of mind (dismissing vs. free to evaluate and preoccupied vs. not) and two inferred experience (maternal and paternal) components that were associated with two domains of theoretical significance to attachment theory: interpersonal functioning in a romantic context and symptoms of psychopathology. Results revealed distinctive behavioral correlates of dismissing versus preoccupied states of mind and emphasize the differential predictive significance for developmental adaptation of attachment states of mind versus adults' recollections of their early experiences. Implications for adult attachment methodology and theory are discussed.

The development of attachment in new relationships: Single subject analyses for 10 foster infants

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. CHASE STOVALL ◽  
MARY DOZIER
Keyword(s):  
Foster Parents ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Attachment Behavior ◽  
Foster Mother ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Infant Attachment ◽  
Diary Data ◽  
Daily Data ◽  
State Of Mind

This paper presents single-subject analyses of newly developing attachment relationships in 10 foster infant–caregiver dyads. Using a diary methodology, at least 2 months of daily data were provided by foster parents on infants' attachment behaviors. Foster infant attachment was also assessed using the Strange Situation. Foster mother state of mind regarding attachment was measured using the Adult Attachment Interview. For eight infants, diary data revealed predominant patterns of attachment behavior emerging within 2 months of placement. In most cases, diary data predicted Strange Situation classifications. Both Strange Situation and diary data indicated that the three children placed in foster care before 12 months of age with foster parents having primary or secondary autonomous states of mind were classified as having secure attachments. The five children placed after 12 months of age showed predominantly insecure attachment behavior in the diary and were classified as insecure in the Strange Situation. Contingency analyses of behavioral sequences reported in the diary revealed that foster parents tended to complement their foster childrens' attachment behaviors.

scholarly journals Is attachment transmitted across generations? The plot thickens

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prachi E. Shah ◽  
Peter Fonagy ◽  
Lane Strathearn
Keyword(s):  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Third Trimester ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Maternal Representations ◽  
Strong Relation ◽  
Type C ◽  
Maternal Responses ◽  
First Time ◽  
Significant Match

Studies have demonstrated a strong relation between adult attachment security, using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and infant security, using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). This suggests that a mother’s representations of attachment may influence the development of her infant’s attachment to her. This study both confirms and modifies that finding in a cohort of 47 first-time mothers and their infants. The AAIs were administered during the third trimester of pregnancy and the SSPs were performed when the infant was 14 months of age. The AAIs were classified using Crittenden’s Dynamic-Maturational Model (DMM) and the SSPs using both the DMM and also Main and Solomon’s ABC+D methods. There was a significant match of patterns for secure mothers and babies, but a tendency for inversion of insecure patterns of attachment, that is Type A mothers often had infants with a Type C pattern and vice versa. No significant relation was seen between the DMM adult and ABC+D infant patterns of attachment. A significant, but modest, association was found between the DMM and ABC+D infant SSP classifications. These findings may help guide treatment of insecure mother—infant dyads by individualizing interventions to include a focus on maternal representations of the infant and maternal responses to infant behavior.

Movement and Emotional Facial Expressions during the Adult Attachment Interview: Interaction Effects of Attachment and Anxiety Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Uwe Altmann ◽  
Catharina Friemann ◽  
Theresa S. Frank ◽  
Mareike C. Sittler ◽  
Désirée Schoenherr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Interaction Effects ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Psychological Disorder ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Parental Figures

Introduction: Adult attachment is commonly associated with emotion regulation. Less is known about the nonverbal embodiment of adult attachment. Objective: We hypothesized that dismissing attachment is related to less movement and fewer facial expressions of emotions, whereas preoccupied attachment is associated with more negative emotional facial expressions. Moreover, the interaction of attachment and the presence of an anxiety disorder (AD) was explored. Methods: The sample included 95 individuals, 21 with AD without comorbidity, 21 with AD and comorbid major depression (AD-CD), and 53 healthy controls. We analyzed nonverbal behavior during a part of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) asking about the family and parental figures. The movements of the interviewees were captured via Motion Energy Analysis. Facial expressions were coded according to the Facial Action Coding System using the OpenFace software. We compared individuals with secure, dismissing, and preoccupied states of mind (assessed with the AAI) with regard to the frequency and complexity of movements and the frequency of the facial expressions such as happy, sad, and contemptuous. Results: As expected, dismissingly attached individuals moved less often and with lower complexity than securely attached. For emotional facial expressions, a main effect of the disorder group and interaction effects of attachment by disorder were found. In the AD-CD group, dismissingly attached patients showed comparatively fewer happy facial expressions than securely attached individuals. Conclusions: Reduced movement specifically seems to be related to dismissing attachment when interviewees talk about significant parental figures. Facial expressions of emotions related to attachment occurred when maladaptive emotion regulation strategies were intensified by a psychological disorder.

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