Attachment Theory

Attachment and Coping as Facilitators of Posttraumatic Growth in Turkish University Students Experiencing Traumatic Events

by Gizem Arikan

Arikan, G. & Karanci, N. (2012).  Attachment and Coping as
Facilitators of Posttraumatic Growth in Turkish University Students Experiencing Traumatic Events, Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 13:2, 209-225.

This study was designed to explore the role of attachment and
coping as facilitators of posttraumatic growth... more This study was designed to explore the role of attachment and
coping as facilitators of posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a sample
of Turkish university students who experienced traumatic life
events. Participants who reported a traumatic event from a list
were asked to choose the most distressing one; to answer questions related to the impact of the trauma; and to fill out measures of attachment styles, ways of coping, and PTG. PTG was regressed on gender, trauma-related factors, attachment styles, and coping styles in order to examine the associations with PTG. Felt helplessness and horror, fatalistic coping, and optimistic coping were significant predictors of PTG. Fatalistic coping partially mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and PTG.
KEYWORDS posttraumatic growth, attachment styles, coping
styles

Colic: A Culture-Bound Syndrome

by Bridget McGann

This paper discusses the evolutionary, physiological, and cultural dimensions of the long-evolved infant communication... more This paper discusses the evolutionary, physiological, and cultural dimensions of the long-evolved infant communication system, in particularly with regards to the tendency of Western infants towards excessive crying. Is there some kind of reason that millions of parents must lose so much sleep during their childbearing years? It draws on the work of Ronald Barr of the University of British Columbia, James McKenna of the University of Notre Dame, Sarah Hrdy of UC Davis and others to discuss how the development of the bipedal pelvis and the increasing size of the cranium resulted in a human infant that is uniquely vulnerable among mammals, and the adaptations that it developed in order to survive.  I explore the finely-tuned communication system wherein the infant regulates it's internal state by making noise (crying) to attract the attention of caregivers.  This particular adaptation has come into conflict with the Western lifestyle, manifesting itself as colic, which I believe to be not a pathological condition as it is considered by Western biomedicine, but a culture-bound system unique to that culture. Understanding infant behavior from an evolutionary perspective and applying more biologically appropriate caregiving strategies may be therapeutic for infants who are diagnosed with colic.  This research has implications in the field of Applied Anthropology, in the clinical practice of pediatricians and, possibly most importantly, aiding in the prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

'Sense of presence' experiences in bereavement and their relationship to mental health: A critical examination of a continuing controversy

by Edith Steffen

A book chapter co-authored with Adrian Coyle. Published in 2012 in C. Murray (Ed.). Mental Health and Anomalous Experience. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, pp. 33-56.

ABSTRACT

The experience of sensing the presence of the deceased is a common occurrence following... more ABSTRACT

The experience of sensing the presence of the deceased is a common occurrence following bereavement. Although this experience tends to be reported as positive and meaningful by perceivers, for most of the twentieth century it has been described in pathologising terms in the bereavement literature. Recent decades have seen the publication of numerous studies that point to the normality of this experience and its potential benefits for the bereaved perceivers’ wellbeing. However, there is an ongoing debate within bereavement scholarship regarding the nature and healthiness of this experience. This chapter critically examines the extant literature concerning ‘sense of presence’ experiences and draws attention to the diversity of definitions and conceptualisations within which this experience can be interpreted. Research from a variety of perspectives, including attachment theory and the continuing bonds perspective, is discussed and emerging evidence is reported which suggests that those who can make sense of their experience within culturally-sanctioned (spiritual) conceptual frameworks enjoy greater benefits as a result. The discussion then focuses on meaning-making concerns with regard to this phenomenon and concludes with relevant practice recommendations.

Reflections on mentalization and a future of psychoanalysis

by Simon Boag

Boag, S. (2009). Reflections on mentalization and a future for psychoanalysis [Review of the book Mind to mind: Infant research, neuroscience, and psychoanalysis]. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 54 (14).

Neuroscience of Human Social Interactions and Adult Attachment Style

by Pascal Vrticka

Review; Under revision; Co-authored with Patrik Vuilleumier

Neglected Areas in Bereavement Research- Sorrow and Solace .pdf

by Dennis Klass

An abbreviated version of this paper is now in press in Death Studies titled  Sorrow and Solace: Neglected Areas in Bereavement Research. This version includes material edited out of the DS version. I welcome comments and suggestions about how the paper could be developed further, and about other material that might illuminate the topic

The paper argues that in its focus on finding positive outcomes, bereavement research has neglected or denigrated... more The paper argues that in its focus on finding positive outcomes, bereavement research has neglected or denigrated central phenomena in intense and long-term grief: sorrow and solace. Indeed sorrow is the defining characteristic of grief and consolation historically has been its amelioration. We now seldom describe grief as sorrow.  Inconsolable, the traditional word describing difficult grief, has fallen into disuse. Sorrow has two elements: yearning for the dead person and grief’s depression. The first is best understood within attachment theory, the second is about the human condition and, thus, beyond attachment theory. When we focus on grief’s depression, we attend to grief’s thoughts that can be, as William James said, the “openers of our eyes to the deepest levels of truth.” To be consoled is to be comforted or soothed. Consolation comes into sorrow, but does not remove it. The bereaved can be consoled in human relationships and from inner resources. Solace is found within the sense of being connected to trustable realities outside the self. The paper argues that our research would be more complete were we to include solace that comes into sorrow as one of the outcomes we can help foster.

Caring for sharing: How attachment styles modulate communal cues of physical warmth

by Hans IJzerman

Co-authored with Johan Karremans, Lotte Thomsen, and Thomas Schubert. This article has been accepted for publication in Social Psychology, Special Issue on the Fundamental Dimensions of Social Perception. This paper has not yet been published; this copy may thus not reflect the final published copy of the article.

Does physical warmth lead to caring and sharing? Research suggests that it does; physically warm versus cold... more Does physical warmth lead to caring and sharing? Research suggests that it does; physically warm versus cold conditions induce pro-social behaviors and cognitions. Importantly, earlier research has not traced the developmental origins of the association between physical warmth and affection. The association between physical warmth and sharing may be captured in specific cognitive models of close social relations, often referred to as attachment styles. In line with this notion and using a dictator game set-up, the current study demonstrates that children who relate to their friends in the manner of a secure attachment style are more generous toward their peers in warm as compared to cold conditions. This effect was absent for children who relate to friends in the manner of an insecure attachment style, but, notably, these children not just always shared less: They allocated more stickers to a friend than to a stranger. These findings provide an important first step to understand how fundamental embodied relations develop early in life. We discuss broader implications for grounded cognition and person perception.

BOOK RELEASE

by Katie Thomas

Predicting Atheism: A Test of the Defective Father Hypothesis

by Joseph Langston

Post-hoc controls for age, race, and gender do not render the analysis results significant or substantial.

OBJECTIVE:  To examine relationship between presence/absence of father in childhood or male figure in adolescence... more OBJECTIVE:  To examine relationship between presence/absence of father in childhood or male figure in adolescence and belief/non-belief in God.  Variable of image of God as masculine/feminine was added to assess its potential as a moderator.  Those with absent fathers were hypothesized to evince greater rate of non-belief.

METHODS:  Using secondary data analysis, a path analysis was employed, constituted by two linear regression analyses, to examine data from the 2008 GSS Cross-Section version 2 (N = 2,023).

RESULTS:  Hypothesis was unconfirmed.  No relationships were found to have significance at the .001 level.  Neither linear regression analysis met a .30 threshold for association (LRA 1, R = .09; LRA 2, R = .06) or .001 threshold for significance.  Results were nevertheless generalizable from sample to population due to the large number of cases.

DISCUSSION:  Future research should seek to obtain samples where believers and non-believers are more equally represented.  Inclusion of attachment scales, dynamic religiosity measures, and control and additional variables are recommended.  Results are discussed in light of attachment theory.

Th e Prediction of Gender and Attachment Styles on Shame, Guilt, and Loneliness

by Halil Eksi

Müge AKBAĞ, Seval ERDEN İMAMOĞLU
Educational Sciences: Th eory & Practice
10 (2) • Spring 2010 • 669-682

Th e purpose of this study is to examine the predictive power of attachment styles and gender
on negative social... more Th e purpose of this study is to examine the predictive power of attachment styles and gender
on negative social emotions such as shame, guilt, and loneliness. Th e sample consists
of 360 (183 female, 177 male) students attending to diff erent departments of Marmara
University. Th e Relationships Questionnaire, Guilt-Shame Scale, and UCLA Loneliness
Scale were used as instruments. Results obtained from hierarchical regression analysis
showed that gender has a predictive power on shame, solely. When the predictivity of
attachment styles on negative social emotions was examined, the results revealed that shame
was predicted by secure and dismissing attachment style, whereas guilt was predicted
by only dismissing attachment. Furthermore, all attachment styles played a determining
role on loneliness.

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

by Omri Gillath

Attachment, authenticity, and honesty: Dispositional and experimentally induced security can reduce self- and other-deception.

by Omri Gillath

Comparing old and young adults as they cope with life transitions: The links between social network management skills and attachment style to depression.

by Omri Gillath

Attachment, breakup strategies, and associated outcomes: The effects

by Omri Gillath

Using the Szondi Test and the Relationship Style Questionnaire to study Adult Attachment

by Rita W Meneses

[I am now quite critical about the structure and writing style of this paper; but its findings are interesting, and its conclusions clear and informative.]

Abstract: Hermann’s observations of mother-infants Rhesus monkeys’ relationships influenced the works of Bowlby... more Abstract: Hermann’s observations of mother-infants Rhesus monkeys’ relationships influenced the works of Bowlby (attachment theory) and Szondi (contact vector, factors m and d). This paper describes how these theories were empirically related, and could inform one another. Between August 2001 and March 2002, forty-nine Portuguese working participants, with an average of 30.3 years old, and mainly females, were assessed via two measures: an attachment style survey (Questionário de Estilo Relacional, a Portuguese adaptation of Bartholomew & Horowitz’s Relationship Style Questionnaire); and Szondi’s personality projective test (five applications). The Szondian mean profile was S++ P0-Sch-+. Participants with long romantic relationship had a significantly higher frequency of s+/- , and m0; and a lower frequency of m+/- As for the relationship between the two measures, Szondi’s factors s, h, p, k, and m were those that generally influenced the most participants’ factorial saturations for their attachment measure. In particular, s +/- was positively associated with the 'negative other' factor, and negatively with the 'comfort and competence with proximity' factor; it is thus more frequent in participants with avoidant characteristics. Factor m seems to enable the distinction between high and low anxiety attachment styles. This means that, for example, the exacerbated tendency to cling (m+!) seems to describe well the fear of loss of the attachment figure associated with anxious attachment styles. In conclusion, the two measures complemented each other. It would be beneficial to increase the sample size for a replication study; and to associate Szondian vectors, rather than factors, with attachment styles.

Adaptation of the Incomplete Stories with Doll Family Scale to Turkish Children

by Halil Eksi

Serdal SEVEN, Abide GÜNGÖR AYTAR
Educational Sciences: Th eory & Practice
10 (1) • Winter 2010 • 503-513

In this study, information was given about the adaptation studies of the “Incomplete Stories
with Doll Family... more In this study, information was given about the adaptation studies of the “Incomplete Stories
with Doll Family Scale” which was developed for determining attachment at the age
of six in terms of social and emotional development. 60 students from preschool departments
of primary schools in Muş Province participated in the study. As a result of exploratory
factor analysis, the variance of one factor was computed as 55.92%. Confirmatory
factor analysis results confirmed that tested data fit well with the data. Cronbach alpha
coeff icient (.83) and Spearman Brown split-half correlation (.83) were computed. As a
result of these analyses, it is concluded that the scale is accepted to be reliable, valid, and
suitable for Turkish children.

Links among antenatal attachment representations, postnatal mind-mindedness, and infant attachment security: A preliminary study of mothers and fathers

by Bronia Arnott

Neurobiology in the Consulting Room: An Interview with Margaret Wilkinson

by Daniela Sieff

ISDP Attachment Sex Differences

by David Schmitt

ISDP Romantic Attachment

by David Schmitt

As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, a total of 17,804 participants from 62 cultural regions... more As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, a total of 17,804 participants from 62 cultural regions completed the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), a self-reportmeasure of adult romantic attachment. Correlational analyses within each culture suggested that the Model of Self and the Model of Other scales of the RQ were psychometrically valid within most cultures. Contrary to expectations, the Model of Self and
Model of Other dimensions of the RQ did not underlie the four-category model of attachment in the same way across all cultures. Analyses of specific attachment styles revealed that secure romantic attachment was normative in 79% of cultures and that preoccupied romantic attachment was particularly prevalent in East Asian cultures. Finally, the romantic attachment profiles of individual nations were correlated with
sociocultural indicators in ways that supported evolutionary theories of romantic attachment and basic human mating strategies.