Dispositional Attachment Orientations,Contextual Variations in Attachment Security,and Compassion Fatigue Among Volunteers Working With Traumatized Individuals

In the present article, we report a series of studies examining the links between attachment orientations and compassion fatigue among volunteers working with traumatized individuals. Participants were volunteers in several trauma‐related organizations, ranging in age from 18 to 69 years. In Study 1 (N = 148), we examined associations between self‐reports of attachment insecurities and compassion fatigue. In Study 2 (N = 54), we used a diary design to assess attachment‐related differences in emotional reactions to actual helping encounters over a 2‐month period. In Study 3 (N = 108), we examined the effects of the experimental enhancement of attachment security (security priming) on reactions to a hypothetical helping encounter. As expected, attachment insecurities, either anxiety or avoidance, were associated with heightened compassion fatigue. Moreover, security priming reduced compassion fatigue in response to a hypothetical helping encounter. These findings underscore the relevance of attachment theory for understanding and preventing compassion fatigue.     

Intrusiveness from an attachment theory perspective: A dyadic diary study

This 14-day dyadic diary study of 60 heterosexual couples examines links between attachment insecurities, intrusiveness, and relationship dissatisfaction by exploring the effects of attachment insecurities on intrusiveness and examining the daily interplay between intrusiveness and relationship dissatisfaction. We assessed attachment orientations, daily self-reported intrusive behavior, and daily relationship satisfaction of members of each couple. Results indicated that self-reported intrusiveness was associated with actor’s attachment anxiety and with their partner’s attachment avoidance. Unexpectedly, partner’s previous-day intrusiveness was positively associated with actor’s next-day relationship satisfaction. This association was driven mainly by women scoring high on avoidance. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

The affective component of the secure base schema: affective priming with representations of attachment security

Using an affective priming procedure (S. T. Murphy & R. B. Zajonc, 1993), 7 studies examined the effects of the contextual activation of representations of attachment security (secure base schema) on the evaluation of neutral stimuli under either neutral or stressful contexts. In all the studies, participants also reported on their attachment style. Results indicated that the subliminal priming of secure base representations led to more positive affective reactions to neutral stimuli than did the subliminal priming of neutral or no pictures under both neutral and stressful contexts. Although the subliminal priming of positively valued, attachment-unrelated representations heightened positive evaluations under neutral contexts, it failed to elicit positive affect under stressful contexts. The results also revealed interesting effects of attachment style. The discussion focuses on the affective component of the secure base schema.     

The association between spouses' self-reports of attachment styles and representations of family dynamics

The current research assesses the association between spouses' self-reports of attachment style and their perceptions of family dynamics. The sample included 93 Israeli married couples with young children. Both husbands and wives completed the adult attachment style scale and the perceived and ideal versions of FACES III. Findings showed that spouses whose self-reports endorsed the secure style perceived relatively high levels of family cohesion and adaptability; persons who endorsed the anxious-ambivalent style reported high levels of family cohesion but low levels of adaptability; and persons who endorsed the avoidant style reported relatively low levels of both family dimensions. In addition, significant associations were found between reports of attachment styles, on the one hand, and ideal representations of family dynamics, the marital partner's representations of family dynamics, and spouses' discrepancies in these representations, on the other. Findings are discussed in terms of attachment theory.     

Effects of social support and battle intensity on loneliness and breakdown during combat

A sample of 382 Israeli soldiers who developed combat stress reactions (CSR) during the 1982 Israel-Lebanon War were compared with groups of carefully matched controls who did not develop CSR. Lack of social support from officers was found to be related to greater feelings of loneliness and greater likelihood of CSR in soldiers. Lack of social support from buddies was found to be related to greater loneliness. Intensity of battle was also found to be related to greater feelings of loneliness and increased likelihood of CSR. A path model was tested and supported. The model suggests that battle intensity and officer support lead to CSR directly and indirectly by causing increased feelings of loneliness. Possible cognitive and psychodynamic explanations for the findings are offered. The limitations of making causal statements from retrospective perceptions is discussed.     

An attributional analysis of social-comparison jealousy

Five studies tested Weiner's attributional theory (Weiner, 1985) in relation to the arousal of social-comparison jealousy. Studies 1 and 2 assessed the association between causal attribution and the arousal of jealousy in social comparison episodes via a critical incident technique. Studies 3 and 4 assessed the arousal of jealousy as a function of the causal structure of a social-comparison episode. Study 5 assessed that relationship in interaction with another antecedent of jealousy (i.e., self-relevance of the domain). Results showed that the attribution of personal failure to internal factors promoted more jealousy than an external attribution. The findings also indicated that both causal attribution and jealousy were associated with the threat to self-esteem people experienced in the comparison episode. Finally, the findings showed that internal attribution affected jealousy independently from the self-relevance of the domain. Results are discussed in terms of Weiner's attributional theory and Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model.     

Adult Attachment Style and Cognitive Reactions to Positive Affect: A Test of Mental Categorization and Creative Problem Solving

Three studies examined the moderating effect of attachment style on cognitive reactions to positive affect inductions. In Study 1 (N = 110), participants completed attachment style scales, were asked to retrieve a happy or a neutral memory, and, then, performed a categorization task. Study 2 (N = 120) used the same affect induction, while examining creative problem solving in the Remote Associates Test. Study 3 (N = 120) replicated Study 2, while using another affect induction (watching a comedy film) and controlling for trait anxiety scores. Overall, securely attached persons reacted to positive affect with broader categorization and better performance in creative problem-solving tasks. Anxious–ambivalent persons showed an opposite pattern of cognitive reactions to positive affect, and avoidant persons showed no difference in their cognitive reactions to positive and neutral affect inductions. The discussion emphasizes the role that attachment-related strategies of affect regulation may play in episodes of positive affect.     

The subjective experience of problem irresolvability and suicidal behavior: dynamics and measurement.

This article presents the dynamics and measurement of a relatively unstudied concept in children's and adolescents' suicidal behavior: the subjective experience of problem irresolvability (SEPI). This concept relates to the youngsters' sense of lack of control due to being pressured to resolve irresolvable problems within the family circle. The first study describes the construction and factor analysis of the SEPI scale as well as its relationship to suicidal tendencies, perceived parental care, and self-esteem. The second study presents a repeated factor analysis and the association between the SEPI scale and suicidal tendencies, hopelessness, depression, anxiety, and commitment to parents. The results suggest that the scale has a 4-factor structure with sound psychometric properties that distinguish successfully between suicidal adolescents on the one hand, and psychiatric and normal adolescents on the other. The SEPI was also found to be associated with the various studied variables.