Boarding school syndrome: reconsidered in social context and through the lens of attachment theory

I argue the time has come to expand the now recognised clinical diagnosis of boarding school syndrome to take account of its invisible precursors in the avoidant attachment patterns of British upper-class culture. This elite, comprising less than 1% of the population, has sustained fee-paying boarding “public” schools, and is sustained by them, in a remarkably effective nexus of power and influence. I propose to call this avoidant culture with its severe affective limits and entitled assumptions, “British upper-class complex trauma condition”. Until we can recognise it and understand it as a form of group trauma, we will not be able to deal with its grave incapacity when it comes to empathy with the lives of others. Like Bowlby1, I advocate the abolition of early boarding as a key part of transforming the condition’s psychosocial limitations, which profoundly impact us all.

Atașamentul securizant ca resursă a competenței parentale

This study represents a system of experiments and data accompanied by scientifi c and methodological interpretations, of attachment patterns. Secure attachment is considered by many authors to be a source of parental competence. These quintessences express both, the conception of parental education and their attitude towards the typical child or the child with disabilities. Studies show that some parents adapt better than others to the child’s particularities. The family, specifi cally, off ers the child the climate of emotional security and is the fi rst social group in which the child practices social behaviors and discovers himself.

Attachment Insecurity and Social Media Fear of Missing Out: The Mediating Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty

Fear of missing out (FoMO) is an apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent. Online social networking sites (SNS) exacerbate FoMO because they frequently expose users to what is happening in other people’s lives, which is typically related to leisure activities, such as trips, vacations, and social events. Consequently, when disconnected from social media, users become plagued by a troublesome sense of missing important and exciting events. Recent research indicates that FoMO is associated with difficulties in interpersonal interactions and social relationships. Accordingly, the current study examined the association between individual differences in attachment patterns and FoMO. Participants (N=264) completed measures of adult attachment patterns, social media fear of missing out, as well as intolerance of uncertainty. Results indicated that high levels of attachment anxiety predict high levels of FoMO, and that this association is partially mediated by intolerance of uncertainty. These findings suggest that anxiously attached individuals may be more vulnerable to FoMO, as a result of their inability to tolerate uncertainty. Hence, stress the need for awareness and treatment when individual develop an excessive dependency on SNS.

What Happened to Children with Avoidant Attachment? A Study of Social Relations-Based Behaviours of Avoidant Children from the Age of 3 to 19

The purpose of this study is to assess the social relationship-based behaviors of 19-year-old children who are in the early stages of adulthood and had an avoidant attachment style at age 6 13 years ago. Based on criterion sampling, a purposive sampling method used in qualitative research, the study group of this research was selected from children whose attachment security had been previously identified. The study was conducted with 5 girls and 5 boys with avoidant attachment styles selected from the 26 available children who participated in the 2006 study that identified the attachment patterns of 110 children. The data collection instruments of the study are the IDFSS attachment scale used in 2006 and a semi-structured interview form and a student data form used in 2019. The study concludes that children who exhibited avoidant attachment at age 6 maintained their attachment patterns. They were found to fail in perceiving academic achievement, coping with emotional problems, relationships with parents and others, and trust in others.

A Lifespan Development Theory of Insecure Attachment and Internalizing Symptoms: Integrating Meta-Analytic Evidence via a Testable Evolutionary Mis/Match Hypothesis

Attachment scholars have long argued that insecure attachment patterns are associated with vulnerability to internalizing symptoms, such as depression and anxiety symptoms. However, accumulating evidence from the past four decades, summarized in four large meta-analyses evaluating the link between insecure attachment subtypes and internalizing symptoms, provide divergent evidence for this claim. This divergent evidence may be accounted for, at least in part, by the developmental period under examination. Specifically, children with histories of deactivating (i.e., insecure/avoidant) but not hyperactivating (i.e., insecure/resistant) attachment patterns in infancy and early childhood showed elevated internalizing symptoms. In contrast, adolescents and adults with hyperactivating (i.e., insecure/preoccupied) but not deactivating (i.e., insecure/dismissing) attachment classifications showed elevated internalizing symptoms. In this paper, we summarize findings from four large meta-analyses and highlight the divergent meta-analytic findings that emerge across different developmental periods. We first present several potential methodological issues that may have contributed to these divergent findings. Then, we leverage clinical, developmental, and evolutionary perspectives to propose a testable lifespan development theory of attachment and internalizing symptoms that integrates findings across meta-analyses. According to this theory, subtypes of insecure attachment patterns may be differentially linked to internalizing symptoms depending on their mis/match with the developmentally appropriate orientation tendency toward caregivers (in childhood) or away from them (i.e., toward greater independence in post-childhood). Lastly, we offer future research directions to test this theory.

Explore the Motifs of Attachment and Social Intelligence in Visually Impaired Adolescents

Objective: This present study was aimed to explore the attachment patterns on the social Intelligence scale in visually and non-visually impaired adolescents. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study which was conducted in different private and government schools of special education and mainstream from Lahore. Results and Conclusion: During the two years of study, total contributors were122 in which Visually Impaired participants were 56 and Non-Visually Impaired were 66 with the maturity era of 14 to 19 years. Two scales were used; Social Intelligence Scale (SIS), and the Attachment Questionnaire for Children (AQC). In this study, results indicated that there was no significant difference found between the level of Social Intelligence on different attachment patterns between visual and non visually Impaired adolescents. There was no difference between the three types of attachment patterns on the social intelligence level of Visually Impaired and non Visually Impaired adolescents. On the other hand, Non-Visual Impaired adolescents had shown more secure attachment while Visual Impaired adolescents showed more ambivalent attachment patterns. Key Words: Visual Impairment, Non-Visual Impairment, Social Intelligence, Attachment Patterns

The association between attachment pattern and depression severity in Thai depressed patients

Objective We aimed to study attachment patterns and their association with depression severity in Thai depressed patients. Method We conducted a descriptive study of depressed participants at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from November 2013 to April 2014. The Thai Short Version of Revised Experience of Close Relationships Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) were administered to all participants. We assessed BDI-II scores, classified by attachment patterns, using one-way analyses of variance. The associated factors and predictors of depression severity were analysed by chi-square and logistic regression analyses, respectively. Results A total of 180 participants (75% female; mean age = 45.2 ± 14.3 years) were recruited. Dismissing attachment was the most common pattern in Thai depressed patients (36.1%). Depressed patients with preoccupied attachment demonstrated the highest BDI-II scores. The best predictor of moderate to severe depression severity was preoccupied/fearful attachment (odds ratio = 3.68; 95% confidence interval = 2.05–7.30). Conclusions Anxious attachment was found to be associated with higher depression severity. Preoccupied/fearful attachment was the predictor of moderate to severe depression severity.

A Lifespan Development Theory of Insecure Attachment and Internalizing Symptoms: Integrating Meta-Analytic Evidence via a Testable Evolutionary Mis/Match Hypothesis

Attachment scholars have long argued that insecure attachment patterns are associated with vulnerability to internalizing symptoms such as depression and anxiety symptoms. However, accumulating evidence from the past four decades, summarized in four large meta-analyses evaluating the link between insecure attachment subtypes and internalizing symptoms provide divergent evidence for this claim. This divergent evidence may be accounted for, at least in part, by the developmental period under examination. Specifically, children with histories of deactivating (i.e., insecure-avoidant) but not hyperactivating (i.e., insecure-resistant) attachment patterns in infancy and early childhood showed elevated internalizing symptoms. In contrast, adolescents and adults with hyperactivating (i.e., insecure-preoccupied) but not deactivating (i.e., insecure-dismissing) attachment classifications showed elevated internalizing symptoms. In this paper, we summarize findings from four large meta-analyses and highlight the divergent meta-analytic findings that emerge across different developmental periods. We first present several potential methodological issues that may have contributed to these divergent findings. Then, we leverage clinical, developmental, and evolutionary perspectives to propose a testable lifespan development theory of attachment and internalizing symptoms that integrates findings across meta-analyses. According to this theory, subtypes of insecure attachment patterns may be differentially linked to internalizing symptoms depending on their mis/match with the developmentally appropriate orientation tendency toward caregivers (in childhood) or away from them (i.e., toward greater independence in post-childhood). Lastly, we offer future research directions to test this theory.