Attachment Orientations Mediate the Effect of World Assumptions on Posttraumatic Stress in Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110504
Author(s):  
Paulo Ferrajão ◽  
Ask Elklit
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
The Self ◽  
World Assumptions ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
Psychotherapeutic Treatment ◽  
Attachment Orientations ◽  
The World

Recent research indicates that world assumptions are broad cognitive-affective schemas that affect attachment orientations in close relationships which in turn affect psychological symptoms severity. The present study analyzed if adult attachment mediated the effect of world assumptions (worthiness of the self, benevolence and meaningfulness of the world) on PTSD symptoms (PTS), in survivors of childhood sexual abuse during treatment for PTSD. Sample included 327 individuals who were sexually abused in childhood. Variables were assessed using self-report measures. Structural equation modeling was conducted to examine if the effect of world assumptions at the beginning of psychotherapeutic treatment (T1) on PTS levels 12 months after the beginning of psychotherapeutic treatment (T3) was mediated by both attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety six months after the beginning of treatment (T2). Attachment avoidance fully mediated the effect of both worthiness of the self and benevolence of the world at T1 on PTS at T3 was mediated by both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance at T2. Findings suggest that world assumptions are broad cognitive-affective schemas about the self and the world that have their actual expression in close relationships which mediate the effect of world assumptions on PTS levels.

scholarly journals Politics, Responsibility and Adult Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Woodiwiss
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
False Memory ◽  
The Self ◽  
Recovered Memory ◽  
False Memory Syndrome ◽  
The Past ◽  
Hidden Knowledge ◽  
Adult Lives ◽  
Material Conditions

This paper will explore ways in which self identified survivors of childhood sexual abuse and false memory syndrome appropriate therapeutic discourses which both encourage women to hold themselves responsible for their own unhappiness and provide a way to alleviate that responsibility. Although I look critically at women's engagement with abuse narratives the intention is not to enter the ‘recovered memory wars’ but rather to explore the consequences of locating adult victims of childhood sexual abuse within a therapeutic rather than a political framework. Within this therapeutic culture priority is given to self-actualisation and personal fulfilment and the self is increasingly seen as a project to be worked on. A pervasive theme within the therapeutic literature is a particular linkage between women's ‘inferiority’ and their oppression. Women are not only shown an array of problems from which they suffer together with self-improving solutions but are encouraged to seek the ‘hidden’ causes of these problems in the past and to probe further and further back rather than look to the material conditions of their adult lives for explanations. Drawing on interview material I will look at how women invest in discourses which provide an explanation for hidden knowledge of abuse and may offer a way to alleviate responsibility but which also encourage them to (re)construct themselves as sick, damaged and ultimately responsible for their own unhappiness.

Sexual Revictimization: The Impact of Attachment Anxiety, Accumulated Trauma, and Response to Childhood Sexual Abuse Disclosure

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inbal Brenner ◽  
Galit Ben-Amitay
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Neglect ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Sexual Revictimization ◽  
Abuse Disclosure ◽  
Sexual Abuse Disclosure ◽  
Environmental Responses ◽  
Childhood Traumas ◽  
The Impact

It has been proposed that a complexity of personal, interpersonal, and environmental factors is related to sexual revictimization among childhood sexual abuse survivors. In this study, we investigated the relations between attachment dimensions, exposure to accumulated childhood traumas, reaction to childhood sexual abuse disclosure, and adult sexual revictimization. Participants were 60 Israeli women with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Seventy percent of the women reported adult sexual revictimization. Revictimization was related to higher attachment anxiety but not to higher attachment avoidance. Revictimization was also related to emotional and physical child abuse but not to emotional and physical child neglect. Revictimization rates were higher among women who had received negative environmental responses following childhood sexual abuse disclosure than among women who had received supportive reactions and those who had not disclosed childhood sexual abuse at all. Findings were significant even after controlling for severity of childhood sexual abuse. The findings emphasize the role of various contextual-interpersonal factors on revictimization vulnerability among the survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Exploring Mediators of the Link Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Attempted or Completed Rape in a Mixed Gender College Sample

Partner Abuse ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Vanessa Tirone ◽  
Terasa Lillis ◽  
Jennifer Katz ◽  
Todd Moore
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Sexual Revictimization ◽  
Mixed Gender

Research is needed to better understand risk for sexual revictimization following childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Using single and multigroup structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, we examined (a) whether the relation between CSA and attempted or completed rape was mediated by attachment insecurity (either anxiety or avoidance) and sexual motives and (b) whether these models differed significantly by gender. Sexually active college students (920; 59% women, 84% White, 96% heterosexual) were recruited for an Internet-based self-report cross-sectional survey study. About half (49%) of individuals who experienced CSA also experienced victimization since age 14. Thirty-five percent of women and 18% of men reported rape or attempted rape since age 14. In Model 1 attachment anxiety only partially mediated revictimization for women. In Model 2 attachment avoidance did not mediate revictimization. In both models avoidance motives for sex partially mediated revictimization for women and men but this effect was stronger for men. These findings underscore the importance of conducting sexual revictimization research in mixed-gender samples. Our results suggest that rates of men's victimization may be higher than previously assumed, and evaluating gender differences with modeling techniques may help identify variables (i.e., attachment anxiety) that explain the greater prevalence of sexual assault in adulthood among women.

Attachment Orientations Moderate the Self-Amplifying Cycle of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Negative Cognitions—A Seven-Year Longitudinal Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 522-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafit Levin ◽  
Mario Mikulincer ◽  
Zahava Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
The Self ◽  
Negative Cognitions ◽  
Anxious Attachment ◽  
Yom Kippur War ◽  
Attachment Orientations ◽  
Ptsd Severity

Introduction: We examined whether attachment orientations moderated the self-amplifying cycle of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and negative cognitions, decades after the trauma ended. Method: We sampled Israeli veterans from the 1973 Yom Kippur War and assessed PTSD severity and cognitions about the self and the world, twice—35 (T1) and 42 (T2) years after the war. At T1, we assessed participants’ attachment orientations (anxiety, avoidance). Results: Findings provided support for a self-amplifying cycle of PTSD severity and negative cognitions about others’ benevolence during the seven-year study period. Findings also indicated that this self-amplifying cycle was significant only among veterans who scored relatively high on attachment anxiety but not among those who had less anxious attachment. Attachment avoidance also moderated the prospective contribution of negative cognitions about the self and others to PTSD severity seven years later. Discussion: The psychological mechanisms underlying the observed effects of attachment orientations were discussed.

scholarly journals Pengaruh Attachment terhadap Self-Disclosure pada Pria Dewasa Awal yang Berpacaran

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Helen Xaveria Pangestu ◽  
Jessica Ariela
Keyword(s):  
Close Relationships ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Experiences In Close Relationships

Berpacaran merupakan suatu tahapan bagi manusia untuk membangun attachment dengan lawan jenis yang umumnya dijalani saat berada di usia dewasa awal. Konflik tidak dapat dihindari dalam hubungan pacaran dan isu ini sering dikaitkan dengan masalah komunikasi. Self-disclosure dianggap menjadi salah satu cara untuk meminimalisir konflik. Individu yang merasa aman dalam membangun attachment memiliki kecenderungan untuk lebih banyak melakukan self-disclosure dan komunikasi secara langsung dibandingkan individu yang merasa tidak aman dalam membangun attachment. Studi ini bertujuan untuk meneliti apakah attachment yang terdiri dari dua dimensi, yaitu anxiety dan avoidance, memiliki pengaruh terhadap self-disclosure pada 72 pria dewasa awal yang sedang berpacaran. Penelitian dilakukan secara kuantitatif dengan menggunakan instrumen penelitian yaitu Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised dan Revised Self-Disclosure Scale. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh negatif yang signifikan antara attachment anxiety terhadap self-disclosure (R2=.09, F= 7.127, p<.05) dan attachment avoidance terhadap self-disclosure (R2=.22, F= 20.258, p<.05). Artinya, semakin tinggi tingkat attachment anxiety dan/atau attachment avoidance seseorang, maka semakin rendah tingkat self-disclosure seseorang, dan sebaliknya. Namun, saat diperhitungkan bersama sebagai sebuah konstruk, hanya attachment avoidance yang memiliki pengaruh signifikan terhadap self-disclosure. Penemuan lain yang berkaitan dengan attachment dan self-disclosure juga turut didiskusikan. Kata Kunci: attachment, self-disclosure, berpacaran, dewasa awal

Predictors of Victim–Perpetrator Relationship Stability Following a Sexual Assault: A Brief Report

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie M. Edwards ◽  
Megan C. Kearns ◽  
Christine A. Gidycz ◽  
Karen S. Calhoun
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Coercion ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Relationship Stability ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Perpetrator Blame ◽  
Trauma Symptomatology

The researchers assessed the predictors of victim–perpetrator relationship stability following a sexual assault. Participants included 254 women sexually assaulted by a friend, casual dating partner, or steady dating partner. Results suggested that most victim–perpetrator relationships (75%) continued following the sexual assault. Greater trauma symptomatology, less perpetrator blame, and nondisclosure of the assault by victims predicted relationship continuation with the perpetrator. Additionally, the odds of continuing the relationship were greater following acts of sexual coercion than following acts of completed rape. Close relationships (steady dating partner) were more likely to continue following the sexual assault than less close relationships (friends and casual dating partners). Unexpectedly, the odds of relationship stability were greater for women without histories of childhood sexual abuse than women with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.

scholarly journals Attachment (in)security and threat priming influence signal detection performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 889-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezgi Sakman ◽  
Nebi Sümer
Keyword(s):  
Signal Detection ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Self Report ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
Attachment Figure ◽  
Attachment Orientations ◽  
Attentional Performance

This study examined whether the subliminal priming of threat and attachment figure availability interfere with cognitive attentional performance in conditions of uncertainty among individuals with differing attachment orientations. University students ( N = 225) first completed a scale to identify names of their significant attachment figures (WHOTO) and self-report measures of attachment anxiety and avoidance and were then administered a computerized signal detection task assessing their cognitive attentional performance under conditions of threat and attachment figure availability priming. Findings revealed that both attachment anxiety and avoidance posed risk factors for cognitive performance but in different patterns. While attachment avoidance made individuals more prone to errors in missing a signal that was present, attachment anxiety increased the error rate for false alarms. These findings are discussed in relation to previous work in the field and their implications for potential cultural differences.

Attachment orientations and sleep patterns: The moderating role of exchanges with spouse

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 1282-1295
Author(s):  
Nurit Gur-Yaish ◽  
Dina Cohen ◽  
Tamar Shochat
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Model ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Sleep Patterns ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Attachment Orientations ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Theory Framework

The objective of the study was to investigate habitual nightly sleep patterns in the context of daily accounts of relationships with bed partners utilizing the attachment theory framework. Negative exchanges with a spouse are stressful and presumably activate the attachment system. This will differently affect individuals with high and low levels of attachment avoidance and anxiety orientations, affecting their sleep patterns. Seventy-seven teachers in committed romantic relationships (mean age = 42.53 years, 89.3% married) participated. They first completed the Experience in Close Relationships–Revised instrument, indicating their attachment avoidance and anxiety orientations, and then participated in a 4-day diary study, reporting daily levels of negative exchanges with a spouse. They also wore an actigraph (activity monitor) during the nighttime to assess their sleep patterns. Mixed-model analyses revealed that respondents high in attachment avoidance had later bedtimes and shorter sleep duration following days high in negative behavioral exchanges with their spouses. In addition, respondents high in attachment avoidance had longer sleep latency and more waking episodes during the night, regardless of levels of negative exchanges. Individuals high in attachment anxiety had more waking episodes during the night after negative emotional exchanges with a spouse; the opposite pattern emerged for individuals low in attachment anxiety. Findings demonstrate the relevance of attachment orientations and the moderating effects of negative exchanges with a spouse on sleep patterns.

scholarly journals Securely Attached, Strongly Committed? On the Influence of Attachment Orientations on Organizational Commitment

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Schusterschitz ◽  
Willi Geser ◽  
Elisabeth Nöhammer ◽  
Harald Stummer
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
Continuance Commitment ◽  
Attachment Orientations ◽  
Positive Correlations

The paper at hand is the first that explores the notion of attachment orientations, i.e. attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance, influencing individual attachment towards an organization, i.e. employees' affective, normative and continuance commitment. Findings of a questionnaire survey reveal positive correlations of attachment anxiety with affective, normative and continuance commitment. Attachment avoidance in contrast was found to contribute only to the prediction of affective commitment. Reconsidered, our results imply low affective, normative and continuance commitment for secure employees, i.e. for employees low in anxiety and low in avoidance. Implications of the findings, regarding the question of whether organizations should abstain from the employment of secure workers, are discussed.

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