Adult attachment dimensions and recollections of childhood family context: associations with dispositional optimism and pessimism

The present study tested the theoretically inferred but not yet empirically tested association between dispositional optimism–pessimism and attachment security among 423 Finnish women and men. A second‐order latent variable representing a generalized representation of attachment insecurity in close relationships that included two latent constructs, the one representing romantic adult attachment dimensions and the other representing recollections of attachment‐related childhood family relationship, was associated with greater pessimism; the adult attachment dimension of high anxiety had unique and additional explanatory power, not accounted for by the generalized representation of attachment‐related insecurity. The model explained 48% of the variance in pessimism. The results clearly emphasize that additional studies are needed to clarify the role of interpersonal processes in dispositional optimism–pessimism. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

恋爱中大学生依恋焦虑与心理健康的关系：恋爱关系质量的中介和调节作用

依恋焦虑与个体心理健康存在密切关联,恋爱关系质量可能在二者关系中发挥着重要作用。本文以595名处于恋爱关系中的大学生为被试,探讨了恋爱关系质量在大学生依恋焦虑与心理健康关系中的作用。结果表明,恋爱关系质量在大学生依恋焦虑与心理健康的关系中既发挥着中介作用,也发挥着调节作用。一方面,依恋焦虑能够通过影响恋爱关系质量对心理健康造成影响,另一方面,高质量的恋爱关系能够缓解依恋焦虑对心理健康的消极影响。     

Understanding the impact of attachment insecurity on PTSD symptoms among male Veterans and military personnel

ABSTRACT

Attachment insecurity (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) has been found to contribute to PTSD symptom severity in Veterans. However, little is known of the unique contribution of attachment insecurity on individual PTSD symptom clusters. In a community sample of 106 combat-deployed Veterans, active duty service members, and reservists, this study examined: (1) the relationships between childhood family experience, combat experience, attachment insecurity, and PTSD symptom clusters, and (2) the influence of attachment insecurity on PTSD symptom clusters. Results revealed significant correlations between attachment anxiety and all PTSD symptom clusters (rs = .22 –.43) and attachment avoidance and PTSD symptom clusters, except the avoidance cluster (rs = .21 ?.36). Four multiple regression analyses were employed to address the second study aim. Childhood family experiences predicted negative alterations in cognitions and mood (β = –.30) and alterations in arousal and reactivity (β = –.20). Further, combat experience significantly predicted each symptom cluster of PTSD (βs = .03 –.44). In the second step, attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were added to each model. Attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance predicted negative alterations in cognitions and mood (βs = .22 and .35) and alterations in arousal and reactivity (βs = .27 and .17). Inconsistent with previous research, attachment insecurity did not predict symptoms of avoidance. These results highlight the impact of attachment among a diverse sample of trauma exposed individuals and may provide insights for clinical implications and therapeutic approaches when working with Veterans and military personnel high in attachment insecurity.     

硕士生压力知觉、状态-特质焦虑、完美主义与睡眠质量的关系

对581名硕士生进行问卷调查,探索压力知觉、状态-特质焦虑、完美主义和睡眠质量之间的关系及作用机制。结果表明：（1）压力知觉可通过状态焦虑间接影响睡眠质量,但以直接影响为主。（2）特质焦虑通过压力知觉和状态焦虑间接影响睡眠质量。（3）非适应性完美主义可直接影响睡眠质量,适应性完美主义对睡眠质量没有直接影响,两者均通过特质焦虑、压力知觉和状态焦虑形成链状中介间接影响睡眠质量。     

The Effect of Attachment Insecurity in the Development of Eating Disturbances across Gender: The Role of Body Dissatisfaction

The present study examined the effects of insecure attachment on the development of negative body image as a contributing factor to the development of disturbed-eating patterns in male and female university students. Participants were nonclinical male (n = 100) and female (n = 381) university students. Administering self-report questionnaires, the authors assessed demographic information (gender, age), anthropometric data (Body Mass Index [BMI], age), romantic attachment (ECRS-R; R. C. Fraley, N. G. Waller, & K. A. Brennan, 2000), body dissatisfaction (BSQ), and disturbed eating (EAT-26). The authors found body dissatisfaction to fully mediate the relationship between attachment anxiety and disordered eating in women. Body dissatisfaction mediated anxious attachment and dieting in men. In addition, attachment avoidance had a direct impact on eating behaviors for both genders, without the mediation of any variables measured in this study. The findings of the present study suggest that the anxiety and avoidance dimensions of attachment insecurity affect eating behaviors differently, and the effects are different across genders. The authors discuss results in the context of therapeutic interventions design.     

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence in a Clinical Sample of Men: The Mediating Roles of Adult Attachment and Anger Management

This study examined the association between men’s experience of childhood sexual abuse and later perpetration of intimate partner violence, considering the roles of attachment insecurity and poor anger regulation. The sample was 302 Canadian men undergoing counseling for relationship difficulties or aggression. They completed questionnaires assessing childhood sexual abuse, the two dimensions of attachment insecurity (anxiety and avoidance), anger regulation processes, physical and psychological aggression, and social desirability bias. Path analyses showed that men who experienced childhood sexual abuse scored higher on attachment anxiety, which in turn was associated with aggressive behaviors directly and through four anger-related variables (trait anger, anger-in, anger-out, and low anger control). Attachment-related avoidance predicted psychological aggression, but not physical aggression, through men’s trait anger and anger-in.     

Attachment, attention, and cognitive control: Attachment style and performance on general attention tasks

Three studies examined the effects of attachment style on performance in non-attachment-related attention tasks; one study also assessed the effect of priming memories of experiences of attachment security or insecurity on attentional performance in a flanker task. In Study 1, participants performed a psychological refractory period (PRP) task assessing their ability to switch attention rapidly from one decision to another; in Studies 2 and 3 they performed a flanker task assessing their ability to resist distracters. Avoidant attachment predicted better performance on both tasks, and the effects remained even after controlling for neuroticism, general anxiety, and BIS/BAS scores. Study 3 showed that thinking in detail about a past experience of insecurity eliminated avoidant participants’ superior performance. In sum, avoidant people are generally skilled at regulating their attention, even on non-attachment-related tasks, but their performance is hampered by reminders of experiences of insecurity.     

The role of illness perceptions in the attachment-related process of affect regulation

Abstract

Based on the predictions of the attachment theory and the Common Sense Model of illness perceptions, the current study focused on the role played by illness perceptions in explaining the path linking attachment orientations to negative affect during recovery from cardiac illness. We predicted two putative mechanisms: (1) illness perceptions would mediate the direct association between attachment-related insecurity (especially attachment anxiety) and levels of distress at follow-up and (2) illness perceptions would interact with attachment orientations (attachment avoidance in particular) in explaining patients' distress. The sample consisted of 111 male patients admitted to the Cardiac Care Unit of the Meir Medical Center, located in the central region of Israel. Patients completed a measure of attachment orientations during hospitalization (baseline). One month later, patients' illness perceptions were measured. Patients' depression and anxiety symptoms were measured at baseline and at the six-month follow-up. The associations between attachment-related anxiety and anxiety symptoms at follow-up were fully mediated by illness perceptions. Attachment-related avoidance was found to interact with illness perceptions in the prediction of depressive symptoms at follow-up. The findings shed light on the possible dynamics among personality, cognitive appraisals, and affect regulation efforts when coping with illness.     

The apple does not fall far from the tree: attachment styles and personality vulnerabilities to depression in three generations of women

The intergenerational transmission of attachment insecurity was examined in a community sample of 300 participants consisting of 100 three-generation triads of women. It was hypothesized that personality vulnerabilities mediate the association between attachment insecurity and depression within each generation. Findings show significant intergenerational congruence of trait vulnerabilities and attachment styles. Moreover, the second generation's attachment dimensions and personality vulnerabilities were found to mediate the association between first- and third-generation scores on attachment and vulnerability variables. Findings supported the following hypothesized within- and between-generation paths: Within generations, self-criticism was found to mediate the association between attachment insecurity and depression; between generations, depression, but not self-criticism, mediated the association between assessments of attachment insecurity in mothers and their daughters. This study constitutes a first approach to the delineation of the role played by self-criticism in the association between negative models of the self and depression across generations.     

Attachment in individuals with social anxiety disorder: the relationship among adult attachment styles,social anxiety,and depression

Despite their apparent implications for social functioning, adult attachment styles have never been specifically explored among persons with social anxiety disorder. In the current study, a cluster analysis of the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (N. L. Collins, 1996) revealed that 118 patients with social anxiety were best represented by anxious and secure attachment style clusters. Members of the anxious attachment cluster exhibited more severe social anxiety and avoidance, greater depression, greater impairment, and lower life satisfaction than members of the secure attachment cluster. This pattern was replicated in a separate sample of 56 patients and compared with the pattern found in 36 control participants. Social anxiety mediated the association between attachment insecurity and depression. Findings are discussed in the context of their relevance to the etiology, maintenance, and cognitive-behavioral treatment of social anxiety disorder.     

Attachment Insecurity and Perceived Partner Suffering as Predictors of Personal Distress

This study examined the extent to which perceptions of partner suffering mediate the association between attachment insecurity (anxiety and avoidance) and personal distress among spouses of older adults with osteoarthritis. Fifty-three spouses watched two videos of targets (their partner and an opposite sex stranger) perform a pain-eliciting household task, and spouses were asked to rate their own distress and perceptions of the targets' pain. Spouses also completed self-report measures of trait attachment. Results revealed that attachment anxiety was associated with greater personal distress in reaction to the partner's suffering, and heightened perceptions of partner pain mediated this association. Avoidant attachment was associated with less distress in reaction to the partner's suffering, but not with less perceived pain. The results of this study identify an important mechanism linking attachment insecurity and heightened distress responses when observing the suffering of a significant other.     

“I can’t get no satisfaction”: Insecure attachment,inhibited sexual communication,and sexual dissatisfaction

An Internet survey was conducted to extend the investigation of attachment style to the domains of sexual communication and sexual satisfaction. We hypothesized that insecure attachment would be associated with sexual dissatisfaction, mediated by inhibited communication of sexual needs. Further, the association of attachment with inhibited communication was expected to be mediated by attachment‐related tendencies toward deference to partners’ needs, concern with the relationship implications of sexual choices, general anxiety regarding sex, and feelings for one’s partner. Somewhat different mediational pathways were predicted for each of the 2 dimensions of attachment insecurity: anxiety and avoidance. Respondents (N= 1,989, around half of them involved in a sexual relationship at the time of the study and half not involved but with previous sexual relationship experience) completed measures of attachment‐related anxiety and avoidance, neuroticism (a possible confound), and sexual communication and satisfaction. Results generally supported the hypotheses and provided additional evidence regarding the associations between attachment style, sexual communication, and sexual satisfaction.     

Pandémie de COVID-19 : attachement,anxiété, régulation émotionnelle et stratégies de coping chez les enfants d’âge scolaire

IntroductionAn impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emotions and behaviors of children has been found in several studies. However, this impact is not found in all studies. Attachment could be linked to different reactions and levels of anxiety.ObjectiveThe main aim of this study was to analyze the links between children's insecure attachment and variables related to anxiety, emotional and behavioral management of children during the pandemic.MethodStudy participants (n = 83 parents and their child aged 6 to 12) completed anonymously online questionnaires assessing attachment insecurity, state-anxiety, coping strategies and emotional regulation. They also answered socio-demographic questions related to their context of life and experience of the pandemic.ResultsState-anxiety is significantly related to children's emotional dysregulation but not to emotion-oriented coping strategy. Significant links were observed between attachment insecurity on the one hand, and children's state-anxiety, emotion-oriented coping strategy and children's emotional dysregulation on the other hand. Emotional dysregulation mediates the link between disorganized attachment and state anxiety.ConclusionThe links between attachment insecurity and children's state-anxiety on the one hand, and the emotion-oriented coping strategy on the other hand highlight the importance of taking individual and interactional factors into account in children's socio-emotional manifestations during the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Attachment,caregiving, and volunteering: Placing volunteerism in an attachment‐theoretical framework

Recent studies based on attachment theory demonstrate that dispositional and experimentally manipulated attachment security facilitate cognitive openness and empathy, strengthen self‐transcendent values, and foster tolerance of out‐group members, suggesting an effect of one behavioral system, attachment, on another, caregiving. Here we report 2 studies conducted in 3 different countries (Israel, the Netherlands, and the United States) to determine whether the 2 dimensions of attachment insecurity—anxiety and avoidance—are related to real‐world altruistic volunteering. In both studies and across the 3 locations, avoidant attachment was related to volunteering less and having less altruistic and exploration‐oriented motives for volunteering. Anxious attachment was related to self‐enhancing motives for volunteering. Additional results suggested that volunteering ameliorates the interpersonal problems of individuals high in anxiety and that volunteering has more beneficial effects if it is done for altruistic reasons. Future directions for experimental research on this topic are outlined.     

Physical, emotional, and behavioral reactions to breaking up: the roles of gender, age, emotional involvement, and attachment style

Associations between gender, age, emotional involvement, and attachment style and reactions to romantic relationship dissolution were studied in a survey of more than 5,000 Internet respondents. It was hypothesized that individual reactions to breakups would be congruent with characteristic attachment behaviors and affect-regulation strategies generally associated with attachment style. Attachment-related anxiety was associated with greater preoccupation with the lost partner, greater perseveration over the loss, more extreme physical and emotional distress, exaggerated attempts to reestablish the relationship, partner-related sexual motivation, angry and vengeful behavior, interference with exploratory activities, dysfunctional coping strategies, and disordered resolution. Attachment-related avoidance was weakly and negatively associated with most distress/proximity-seeking reactions to breakups and strongly and positively associated with avoidant and self-reliant coping strategies. Security (low scores on the anxiety and avoidance dimensions) was associated with social coping strategies (e.g., using friends and family as "safe havens"). Attachment insecurity, particularly anxiety, was associated with using drugs and alcohol to cope with loss.     

Relationships Between Physical Symptoms,Emotional Distress,and Pain Appraisal in Fibromyalgia: The Moderator Effect of Alexithymia

Alexithymia is a personality construct that is frequently identified in fibromyalgia (FM). Previous studies have explored the relationship between alexithymia and emotional distress in this disease. Yet, the additional link with factors of pain appraisal is unknown. This study examined the moderating effect of alexithymia in the relationship between emotional distress and pain appraisal in 97 FM women. A control group of 100 healthy women also participated in the study. All participants completed several self-reports about pain experience, sleep quality, impairment, emotional distress, pain appraisal, and alexithymia. FM women showed significantly more difficulty in identifying and describing feelings, but less externally oriented thinking than healthy women. In the clinical group, difficulty in identifying feelings and difficulty in describing feelings significantly correlated with lower sleep quality, higher anxiety and depression, and increased pain catastrophizing and fear of pain. Difficulty in describing feelings significantly correlated with higher pain experience and vigilance to pain. Externally oriented thinking was not correlated with any of the clinical variables. Difficulty in identifying feelings moderated the relationship between anxiety and pain catastrophizing, and difficulty in describing feelings moderated the relationship between anxiety and fear of pain. Implications of the findings for the optimization of care of FM patients are discussed.     

Is middle childhood attachment related to social functioning in young adulthood?

The aim of the present study (N = 69) was to examine whether middle childhood attachment, measured using the Separation Anxiety Test (Slough, Goyette & Greenberg, 1988), predicts aspects of social functioning (social initiative, prosocial orientation, social anxiety, loneliness) in young adulthood. Insecurity‐avoidance at age 8.5 years was, as expected, negatively related to social initiative and prosocial orientation, and was also positively related to social anxiety and loneliness at age 21 years. In addition, insecurity‐avoidance contributed to developmental change in social anxiety from middle childhood to young adulthood. Contrary to our expectations, the two security scales were generally unrelated to future social functioning. Taken together, these results extend previous research by showing that insecurity‐avoidance is related to social functioning also beyond childhood and adolescence, and that it contributes to developmental change in social functioning over time. The scarcity of prospective links for the attachment security scales points to the need for future studies addressing when and why attachment does not contribute to future social functioning.     

Attachment style, excessive reassurance seeking, relationship processes, and depression

The authors examined the association between excessive reassurance seeking (ERS) in couple relationships and depression, hypothesizing that this association can be explained by attachment anxiety. In Study 1, 72 couples completed questionnaires about ERS, depression, attachment style, and relationship quality. In Study 2, 61 couples completed the same measures in addition to completing daily diary assessments for 14 days. In both studies, ERS was related to depression, but only because of its association with attachment anxiety. The association between attachment anxiety and depression was not mediated by either partner's relationship quality, even though partners noticed each other's ERS. Instead, relationship quality was related primarily to avoidant attachment. These findings were replicated at a daily level of analysis, where interesting details of the underlying processes were revealed. At least in young unmarried couples, depression is associated with attachment anxiety--and one of its facets, ERS--mostly for intrapsychic reasons.     

TO BE FEMALE, MIDDLE CLASS, ANXIOUS, AND BLACK

Women of color theorists have suggested that the double minority status of gender and ethnicity places African American women at higher risk for anxiety. However, little information is available about anxiety disorders among African American women. The existing literature subsumes Black women under the general category of African Americans and focuses on low-income samples. In this study, we examine the manifestation of panic disorder in a sample of 15 predominantly middle-class African American women. We then compare these women to a group of 35 predominantly middle-class African American women without panic disorder on several factors, including presence of isolated sleep paralysis, presence of other anxiety disorders, help-seeking behavior, and victimization. Results indicate that African American women with panic disorder experienced isolated sleep paralysis, and that both groups had high levels of sexual victimization. Help-seeking among women with panic and other anxiety disorders was limited to relationship difficulties, sexual assault, and bereavement.     

Effects of sleep deprivation on Color-Word, Emotional, and Specific Stroop interference and on self-reported anxiety

The aim of this study was principally to assess the impact of sleep deprivation on interference performance in short Stroop tasks (Color-Word, Emotional, and Specific) and on subjective anxiety. Subjective sleepiness and performance on a psychomotor sustained attention task were also investigated to validate our protocol of sleep deprivation. Twelve healthy young subjects were tested at four-hourly intervals through a 36-h period of wakefulness under a constant routine protocol. Analyses of variance for repeated measurements revealed that self-assessment of sleepiness on a visual analogue scale as well as mean reaction time performance on the sustained attention task, both for the first minute and for 10 min of testing, were worsened by sleep deprivation. Analyses revealed an increase in self-reported anxiety scores on the STAI questionnaire but did not reveal any significant effect after sleep deprivation either on indexes of interference or on accuracy in Stroop tasks. However, analyses showed sensitivity to circadian effect on verbal reaction times in the threat-related (Emotional) and sleep-related (Specific) Stroop tasks. We concluded that 36 h of prolonged wakefulness affect self-reported anxiety and Emotional Stroop task resulting in a cognitive slowing. Moreover, total sleep deprivation does not affect interference control in any of the three short Stroop tasks.