Adult Attachments and Sexuality: Implications for Understanding Risk Behaviours for HIV Infection

1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith A. Feeney ◽  
Beverly Raphael
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Safe Sex ◽  
Sexual Relationships ◽  
Sexuality Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Heterosexual Couples ◽  
Aids Epidemic ◽  
Adult Attachment Styles ◽  
Sex Practices

In response to the AIDS epidemic, there has been an intensification of interest in human sexuality research in general and “safe sex” practices in particular. Most research models have been somewhat mechanistic in focus, however, with little recognition of the significance of affectional needs in the formation and maintenance of sexual relationships. In this paper we propose that relationship issues are central to an understanding of the expression of sexuality, and that attachment theory provides a useful perspective on human sexual bonds. It is suggested that future research could usefully extend the conceptualisation of adult attachment styles by exploring the meaning of attachment relationships for gay and heterosexual couples, and the implications of attachment style for the behaviours associated with sexual relationships, including the negotiation of safe sex practices. Such research would have direct relevance for prevention programs relevant to HIV/AIDS.

Effects of Attachment Styles on the Experience of Equity in Heterosexual Couples Relationships

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Grau ◽  
Jörg Doll
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Intimate Relationships ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Heterosexual Couples ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Equity Ratio

Abstract. Employing one correlational and two experimental studies, this paper examines the influence of attachment styles (secure, anxious, avoidant) on a person’s experience of equity in intimate relationships. While one experimental study employed a priming technique to stimulate the different attachment styles, the other involved vignettes describing fictitious characters with typical attachment styles. As the specific hypotheses about the single equity components have been developed on the basis of the attachment theory, the equity ratio itself and the four equity components (own outcome, own input, partner’s outcome, partner’s input) are analyzed as dependent variables. While partners with a secure attachment style tend to describe their relationship as equitable (i.e., they give and take extensively), partners who feel anxious about their relationship generally see themselves as being in an inequitable, disadvantaged position (i.e., they receive little from their partner). The hypothesis that avoidant partners would feel advantaged as they were less committed was only supported by the correlational study. Against expectations, the results of both experiments indicate that avoidant partners generally see themselves (or see avoidant vignettes) as being treated equitably, but that there is less emotional exchange than is the case with secure partners. Avoidant partners give and take less than secure ones.

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.

Childhood Trauma and Attachment

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-198
Author(s):  
Jennifer Toof ◽  
Justina Wong ◽  
James M. Devlin
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Childhood Trauma ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Family System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Treatment Interventions ◽  
Family Counselors ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
The Relationship

This article describes the relationship between trauma in early childhood and attachment style, with the goal that clinicians can more effectively tailor individualized interventions to their clients. Recognizing how and why trauma influences attachment styles will provide the clinician with a more thorough understanding of the client and the client’s family system and will allow the clinician to select the most appropriate treatment interventions. Implications are provided for marriage, relationship, and family counselors. Furthermore, recommendations for future research are provided.

“My Wife is Married and So is My Girlfriend”: Adaptations to the Threat of AIDS in an Arrestee Population

1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott H. Decker ◽  
Richard Rosenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Safe Sex ◽  
Sexual Relationships ◽  
Behavioral Adaptations ◽  
Modal Response ◽  
Sex Behaviors ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
High Level ◽  
Level Of Risk ◽  
Sex Practices

A study of behavioral adaptations by a sample of arrestees to the safe-sex campaign documents a high level of risk for HIV, even among those who practice safe sex. Subjects described their preferred safe-sex practices in confidential interviews. The modal response for both males and females was “none.” Large proportions of the sample reported adaptations of questionable effectiveness. Those reporting the officially prescribed safe-sex behaviors often practice a permissive form of safe sex. The results underscore the need for AIDS counseling for arrestees who believe that strict safe-sex practices place intolerable restraints on forming and sustaining sexual relationships.

The effects of attachment style and security priming on the perception of others’ pain

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yangu Pan ◽  
Dajun Zhang ◽  
Yanling Liu ◽  
Guangming Ran ◽  
Zhaojun Teng
Keyword(s):  
Pain Intensity ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Anxious Attachment ◽  
Priming Paradigm ◽  
Perceived Pain ◽  
Preoccupied Attachment

Abundant evidence has demonstrated a relationship between adult attachment and the experience of one’s own pain. However, few studies have investigated the associations between adult attachment and perception of others’ pain. The current studies examined the effects of attachment style and security priming on the perception of others’ pain. In Study 1, we explored the influence of avoidant and anxious attachment styles on the perception of pain in pictures representing pain or no pain. The results indicated that individuals high on anxiety and low on avoidance (i.e., preoccupied attachment style) reported more pain intensity and unpleasantness for painful pictures; individuals high on both anxiety and avoidance (i.e., fearful attachment style) reported less pain intensity for painful pictures. In Study 2, we examined the effects of security priming and attachment style on the perception of pain in pictures representing pain or no pain by adopting a security priming paradigm. The results suggested that security priming attenuated perceived pain intensity for painful pictures for individuals with high attachment anxiety. In Study 3, we used another well-validated security priming paradigm; results indicated that security priming reduced perceived pain intensity for pain pictures among individuals high on anxiety and low on avoidance (i.e., preoccupied attachment style) but increased perceived pain intensity for painful pictures among individuals high on both anxiety and avoidance (i.e., fearful attachment style). Directions for future research, clinical implications, and limitations of the present studies are discussed.

scholarly journals Attachment style and family presence preference during invasive nursing procedures

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-196
Author(s):  
Nurten Kaya ◽  
Nuray Turan
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Nursing Interventions ◽  
Medical Procedure ◽  
Medical Procedures ◽  
Family Presence ◽  
Adult Attachment Styles ◽  
Invasive Medical Procedures

Introduction: The attachment style and family presence preference are important during invasive medical procedures. We aimed to analyze the effects of adult attachment styles of the patients which prefer the presence of their family members during the invasive medical procedures in emergency departments. Methods: We included 76 randomly selected patients who received invasive medical procedures in the emergency department of the University hospital. The Patient Information Form and Relationship Scales Questionnaire were used to collect data. Results: About 57.9% of the patients said that they preferred their relatives to stand by them during invasive nursing procedures. 56.6% of participants stated that they favor their relatives to support them at the time of such interventions. Average scores of adult attachment styles were 3.02 ± 0.63 for fearful, 3.57 ±0.57 for dismissing, 2.87 ± 0.50 for preoccupied, and 2.79 ± 0.66 for secure attachment style. Adult attachment styles of participants were found to have no impact on preferring someone standing by them at the time of invasive nursing interventions (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Adult attachment styles do not affect the patients' need to have a family member stand beside them during an invasive medical procedure.

INFLUENCE OF ATTACHMENT STYLES ON MARITAL SATISFACTION AMONG MARRIED COUPLES

2021 ◽  
pp. 60-64
Author(s):  
Mitra Heidari ◽  
G. Venkatesh Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
Adult Attachment Styles ◽  
Happy Marriage

Researchers are interested in marital satisfaction since it is signicant for couples' psychological well-being. They have been studying the factors that lead to a happy marriage for a long time. Adult attachment styles, according to the prior study, serve an active role in forming an intimate relationship. The purpose of the current study was to examine the inuence of adult attachment styles (Secure, Fearful, Dismissive, and Preoccupied) on marital satisfaction among Indian married couples. 304 respondents (152 females & 152 males) from various cities across India participated in the study. To assess the participants' attachment styles and marital satisfaction, the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (Collins, 1996) and ENRICH-SF Marital Satisfaction Scale (Fowers, & Olson, 1993) were used respectively. The statistical analysis was determined using the Chisquare, Kruskal-Wallis One way ANOVAand Mann-Whitney U tests. Results showed that the respondents with secure and dismissive attachment styles had higher marital satisfaction than the respondents with preoccupied and fearful attachment styles. The study found that male and female subjects did not differ signicantly in their attachment styles and marital satisfaction. However, participants who were married for more than 20 years were more in number to have experienced a secure attachment style and they had higher marital satisfaction. Psychotherapists and counsellors in general, and couple therapists in particular, will benet from the current research. Further study will aid in a better understanding of this nding.

The Role of Psychological Attachment in Trust Violation and Repair

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Dangaltcheva
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Interpersonal Trust ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Willingness To Accept ◽  
Trust Development ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Share Information ◽  
Insight Into

Interpersonal trust is the willingness to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations about another person’s behaviour. A breach in trust occurs when these expectations are not met. Apologies are one way to restore trusting relations and encourage forgiveness. Because past relationships may affect both trust development and forgiveness, I draw on psychological attachment theory for insight into the nature of people’s past relationships. A person may develop one of three attachment styles: secure, anxious, or avoidant. A secure style represents a normal healthy relationship, whereas anxious individuals cling to others and fear rejection and avoidant individuals are self reliant and distance themselves from others. This laboratory experiment tests the extent to which individuals with different attachment styles develop trust with a stranger, change their emotions and reported trust levels after the trust has been violated, and respond to an apology designed to repair trust. To develop trust in the laboratory, participants share information about themselves and complete an obstacle course while blindfolded. Trust violation then occurs during a planned activity early in the experiment, after which half of the participants receive an apology and the other half do not. Questionnaires then assess levels of emotion and trust, which are compared between individuals in the apology and no‐apology conditions. This research may help establish a close relationship between attachment style and trust violation and repair. Future research may look into other ways to repair trust, particularly for insecure individuals who may not respond positively to an apology.

The Role Of Attachment Style And Marital Quality In Attachment Injury Couples

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-101
Author(s):  
Rizwana Begum ◽  
Dr. K.B. Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Marital Distress ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Heterosexual Couples ◽  
Enrichment Programs ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Specific Incident

The attachment system is thought to facilitate relationship goals by motivation seeking and bonding activities with significant others, particularly under times of stress (Bowlby, 1982). Attachment theory has also contributed to further understanding the marital relationship in terms of profound psychological and physiological interdependence. It is perhaps this interdependence that causes damage to the quality of the attachment relationship. Hence, attachment injury is defined as “a specific incident or event in which one partner is unresponsive and inaccessible when one partner cries out for help in extreme need” (Johnson & Makinen, 2001). Therefore, marital distress or breakup in couple’s relationships does not happen suddenly, so understanding of attachment injury in relation to individual’s marital quality and attachment style would help practitioners to be equipped for appropriate and effective inventions. Further, it would also help counselors and mental health professionals to be familiar with the complexities of the topic by dealing with consequences of an attachment injury ethically and competently, Therefore our study aimed at examining the prevalence and nature of attachment injury and its effect on marital quality, in a group of married heterosexual couples. It also attempted to associate attachment styles with and without attachment injury in couples. The study employed a cross-sectional exploratory design with a set of self-administered measures. The sample comprised of 400 married individuals from urban Bangalore. Statistical results showed those individuals who were experiencing attachment injury are associated with poor marital quality. It was also seen that attachment injury was found to be associated with gender and insecure attachment style. Therefore our findings suggest that poor marital quality with an insecure attachment style plays an important role in attachment injury over time. Based on the attachment style, further intervention strategies and effective programs should be designed for marital counseling. And marital enrichment programs may be useful to enhance marital quality to prevent marital distress or breakups.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document