scholarly journals Psychosocial development and attachment in late adolescence

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-30
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Lelek ◽  
Tamara Klikovac

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.

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S177-S178
Author(s):  
Alena Gizdic ◽  
Lidia Hinojosa-Marqués ◽  
Thomas R Kwapil ◽  
Neus Barrantes Vidal

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.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S15-S15
Author(s):  
Philippa Clery ◽  
Angela Rowe ◽  
Marcus Munafò ◽  
Liam Mahedy

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.


Author(s):  
Sanober Jamil ◽  
Dr. Hina Ayaz Habib ◽  
Laila Lodhia

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 358-384
Author(s):  
Gianluca Santoro ◽  
Laura Rosa Midolo ◽  
Antonino Costanzo ◽  
Adriano Schimmenti

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1495-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Wickham ◽  
K. Sitko ◽  
R. P. Bentall

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-75
Author(s):  
Sri Rahmadani ◽  
Nefi Darmayanti ◽  
Irna Minauli

The purpose this study was to determine the relationship between secure attachment with achievement motivation,  the relationship between autonomy with achievement motivation, and the relationship between secure attachment and autonomy with achievement motivation in adolescents students. The population of this research was students of class X, XI and XII Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) Tebing Tinggi. The sample was 103 students were take by stratified random sampling technique. This study used secure attachment scale, autonomy scale, and achievement motivation scale. Double regression analysis showed FCOUNT  33, 482 with  p = 0,000 (p0,005). The result indicate that there was significant correlation between secure attachment and autonomy with achievement. Patrially, there is a significant relationship secure attachment with achievement rxy = 0,365 with  p 0,01 and there is a significant relationship between autonomy with achievement motivation  rxy = 0,361 with  p 0,01. R2 square value was 0, 527 it means that secure attachment and autonomy simultaneously contribute 52,7% toward achievement motivation.


SAGE Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401988513
Author(s):  
Hatice Deveci Şirin

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.


Author(s):  
Anna Zdolska-Wawrzkiewicz ◽  
Magdalena Chrzan-Dętkoś ◽  
Daria Pizuńska ◽  
Mariola Bidzan

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between: (a) new mothers’ styles of attachment to their own mothers with their representation of self as a mother as well as with their representation of one’s mother as a mother, (b) new mothers’ representation of self as a mother with their representation of one’s own mother as a mother, and (c) their bonds with their children and their styles of attachment to their own mothers. (2) Methods: A total of 86 mothers were interviewed approximately six months postpartum. The Adjective Checklist, a modified version of the Experiences in Close Relationships, and the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire were used in the study. (3) Results: Analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between the new mothers’ styles of attachment to their own mothers and both their representation of self as a mother and their representation of one’s mother as a mother. The relationship between representation of self as a mother and representation of one’s mother as a mother was also statistically significant. No statistically significant relationship was observed between the style of attachment to one’s mother and the bond with one’s child six months postpartum. (4) Conclusions: A deeper understanding of the relationship between these variables may improve the help system directed at young mothers.


Author(s):  
Jane Hutton ◽  
Lyn Ellett ◽  
Katherine Berry

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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Smith ◽  
Emma Massey

Two studies are reported which explore romance as a means of terror management for participants with secure and insecure attachment styles. Mikulincer and Florian (2000) have shown that while mortality salience increases the desire for intimacy in securely attached individuals, the insecurely attached use cultural world views rather than close relationships to cope with fear of death. Study 1 used the romantic belief scale to compare the effects of attachment style and mortality salience on the cultural aspects of close relationships and showed that the only the insecurely attached were more romantic following mortality salience. Study 2 replicated this effect and demonstrated that this difference was not simply due to lower self-esteem in the insecurely attached. The additional inclusion of the Relationship assessment questionnaire failed to provide any evidence that the securely attached were affected by the mortality salience manipulation, even on a more interpersonal measure.


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