scholarly journals Risk factors and the prevalence of anorexia nervosa among female students in Serbia

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jovana Lazarevic ◽  
Borjanka Batinic ◽  
Tatjana Vukosavljevic-Gvozden
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Eating Attitudes ◽  
Female Students ◽  
The Body ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment

Background/Aim. The widespread symptoms of anorexia nervosa (AN) in young women require to draw professional attention to this problem in Serbia. In previous research on AN, insecure attachment styles, perfectionism and concerns about body shape were identified as notable risk factors. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of AN among female students and assess the importance of these factors in its development. Methods. The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40), the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) were applied to a sample of 500 randomly selected female students of the University of Belgrade, the mean age of 22.44 years (min 18, max 35). In addition, Body Mass Index (BMI) was also calculated. Results. Although 38 (7.6%) female students displayed symptoms of AN (EAT > 30) and 13 (2.6%) had BMI indicating anorexia nervosa syndrome (BMI ? 17.50 kg/m2), only 1 (0.2%) student fulfilled both criteria. The majority of female students (60.4%) had some type of insecure attachment style. There is a significant influence of attachment styles on symptoms of AN: female students with insecure attachment styles have a significantly higher mean score on the EAT compared to those with secure attachment style (F = 7.873; p < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between scores on the EAT and FMPS (r = 0.217; p < 0.01), and scores on the EAT and BSQ (r = 0.388; p < 0.01). Conclusions. The obtained results show the prevalence of AN of 0.2% among female students and indicate the importance of insecure attachment styles, perfectionism and concern about body shape as risk factors. Activities for the prevention of AN in this subpopulation should include internet-based therapy and special counseling services with specific programs focusing on emotion-regulation skills through mindfulness, acceptance and commitment techniques, as well as specific cognitive-behavioral techniques.

The role of child maltreatment and attachment style in adolescent relationship violence

1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTINE WEKERLE ◽  
DAVID A. WOLFE
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Relationship Violence ◽  
School Students ◽  
Important Relationship

Utilizing attachment theory as a basis for conceptualizing close relationships among adolescents, this study investigated two important relationship risk factors (child maltreatment, and adolescent self-perceived insecure attachment style) as predictors of “offender” and “victim” experiences in youth relationships. In addition to considering the influence of these risk factors, we further considered their interaction in predicting conflict in close relationships. Of interest was the extent to which attachment styles may function as a moderator of the relationship between childhood abuse and current abuse in teen close relationships. High school students (N = 321) in grades 9 and 10 completed questionnaires tapping their histories of maltreatment, currently viewed styles of attachment, and conflict in close relationships over the past 6 months. Maltreatment alone emerged as the most consistent predictor, accounting for 13–18% of the variance in male's physically, sexually, and verbally abusive behaviors; in contrast, it was not highly predictive of female's abusive behaviors. Maltreatment was predictive of victimization experiences for both males and females. Attachment style did not substantially add to the prediction of relationship conflict beyond maltreatment; however, avoidant attachment style emerged repeatedly as a significant predictor of female abusiveness and victimization. Attachment self-ratings were found to function as a moderator of child maltreatment in predicting primarily male coercive behavior towards a relationship partner as well as predicting male's experience of coercion from a partner. Thus, the presence of childhood maltreatment and adolescent self-perceived insecure attachment style applies predominantly to male youth. The implication of these gender differences for understanding relationship violence is discussed.

scholarly journals Body composition as indicator of eating disorders in female students

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-150
Author(s):  
Olivera Pilipović-Spasojević ◽  
Nenad Ponorac ◽  
Mira Spremo
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Physical Appearance ◽  
Eating Attitudes ◽  
Female Students ◽  
The Body ◽  
Youden Index ◽  
Eat 26

Introduction. The transition to university education as a stressful period and the need to be likeable where physical appearance is concerned can be a trigger for a change in attitudes towards eating patterns. Body composition is an essential component of nutritional status and the most common parameter used as an indicator of physical appearance. An unobtrusive onset of eating disorder can easily lead to a preoccupation with eating and body weight. The aim of the paper is to determine whether the parameters of body composition can qualitatively detect respondents with eating disorders. Methods. The epidemiological observational and analytical study included a representative sample comprised of 408 healthy female students, aged 19-22 years. A short socio-demographic questionnaire, a standardized questionnaire for assessment of eating disorders-Eating Attitudes Test-26 were used in the study while Omron BF 510 was used for anthropometric measurements of body weight and BMI. Results. The sample consisted of female students: agedmean = 20.5 years, with average height 168.65 cm (SD = 6.01), body weight 63.09 kg (SD = 9.9) and BMI 22.1 (SD = 3.2). According to EAT-26 (Mean = 13.24 and SD = 7.97), 16.7% of respondents with risk factors for eating disorders were detected. Conclusion. The maximum value of the Youden index of 0.24 ROC analysis confirms that the body composition parameters are not reliable indicators of eating disorders and EAT-26 is not reliable and acceptable as an independent test for assessing risk factors by means of considering different attitudes and deviant eating behaviors. Therefore, in order to achieve detection, monitoring, and perform preventive action, it is necessary to conduct regular systematic examinations among the student population.

Evaluation of Body Shape, Eating Disorders and Weight Management Related Parameters in Black Female Students of Rural and Urban Origins

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjanne Senekal ◽  
Nelia Patricia Steyn ◽  
Teresa-Ann B Mashego ◽  
Johanna Helena Nel
Keyword(s):  
Weight Management ◽  
Weight Reduction ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Eating Attitudes ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Black Female ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Eat 26

This study examined body shape dissatisfaction, eating disorder and weight management-related parameters as well as assimilation of Western cultural norms regarding body shape in black female students of urban and rural origins. Subjects (n=180; 20 ± 4,4 years old) were weighed, their height was measured and they completed the Body Shape Questionnaire, EAT-26, Eating Inventory (restraint scale), Adolescent Self-Concept Scale and a questionnaire concerning weight management behaviours. Main findings include lower prevalences of overestimation of body weight and body shape dissatisfaction, similar prevalences for dieting and the use of Hazardous weight reduction methods, and higher prevalences for overweight, obesity, disordered eating attitudes and behaviours, and dietary restraint among subjects than among similar white groups. Furthermore, those with urban origins were more likely to be restrained eaters, to have attempted weight reduction, to aim for weight loss and to fear weight gain. These data indicate that there are signs of more realism concerning weight status among black female students. However, there are also signs of assimilation of Western cultural norms concerning body shape, eating attitudes and behaviours and weight management. This diversity in the black student population in South Africa needs to be recognized when planning interventions to address eating related problems.

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.

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 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.

Dismissive Attachment and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Securely and Insecurely Attached Belgian Security Workers

2009 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 889-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Bogaerts ◽  
Maarten J. J. Kunst ◽  
Frans W. Winkel
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Ptsd Symptom ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Grandiose Narcissism ◽  
Preoccupied Attachment

This study examined Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in relation to secure and insecure attachment styles based on data collected in a sample of 81 Belgian security workers. All had experienced one traumatic event in the previous year. The sample was divided into a securely attached and an insecurely attached group. The three PTSD symptom scales, Re-experiencing, Avoidance, and Hyperarousal, differentiated significantly between the two attachment groups; the dismissive attachment style was negatively related to PTSD. Individuals with a positive view of themselves and a negative view of others have less risk of developing PTSD than those with a fearful or preoccupied attachment style. A relationship between the dismissive attachment style with grandiose narcissism seems possible. Interest has been expressed in medical approaches; therefore, the importance of medical research on PTSD is emphasized.

Measure of Attachment Style

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naseem Ahmad ◽  
Azmat Jahan ◽  
Nasheed Imtiaz
Keyword(s):  
Construct Validity ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Mary Ainsworth

This paper describes the development and standardization of a measure of perceived attachment styles. The four attachment styles namely secure, avoidant insecure, ambivalent insecure, and disorganized insecure attachment proposed by Mary Ainsworth (1970), Main and Soloman 1986 (Disorganized- insecure attachment). The items are constructed on socio-cultural and educational circumstances of the individuals using mix strategy for construction of the scale by selecting the items from various attachment scales and by writing some original items. Hence the tool will be largely suitable for measuring the attachment styles among the adults and adolescents in India. The tool has good construct validity and reliability.

scholarly journals Insecure Attachment and Other Help-Seeking Barriers among Women Depressed Postpartum

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 3887
Author(s):  
Emily Cacciola ◽  
Elia Psouni
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Treatment Programs ◽  
Entire Family ◽  
Relational Experiences ◽  
Avoidant Attachment ◽  
Seeking Behavior

When untreated, postpartum depression (PPD) can severely, negatively affect maternal health, child development, and the wellbeing and functioning of the entire family. Yet, despite screening and treatment programs for PPD, many women who experience depression with onset in the postpartum year do not communicate their symptoms. Negative relational experiences early in life, such as not receiving sensitive help and support when needed, often result in so-called insecure attachment styles, and there is evidence that these may contribute to the development and maintenance of PPD. However, the role of insecure attachment styles in non-help-seeking is unknown for this group. Using mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology, we identified help-seeking barriers of women who experienced depression with onset in the postpartum year but who had not sought help for their depression (N = 37), and explored links to their attachment orientations as assessed through both self-reported attachment style and narrative based attachment script assessment. The sample was non-normative regarding attachment, with an over-representation of avoidant attachment styles. Help-seeking barriers varied systematically with the mother’s adult attachment style. Specifically, convictions of a strong self and lack of trust in healthcare professionals constituted a common barrier among women with avoidant attachment styles, while unrealistic expectations about motherhood constituted a barrier for women with secure attachment styles. This new knowledge on how barriers to communicating symptoms and seeking help when suffering from PPD vary systematically with attachment orientation can help formulate individualized, and therefore more efficient, approaches to addressing non-help-seeking behavior in women who suffer in silence.

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