Adult attachment assessed via the ASA and AAI: Empirical convergence and links with autonomic physiological responding during attachment assessments.

This study examined the empirical convergence of Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous scripts with conceptually corresponding attachment patterns assessed via the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and the significance of ASA dimensions for autonomic physiological reactivity during adult attachment assessments. Young adults' (50% male; Mage = 19 years; 80% White/European American) ASA deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous content were significantly associated with AAI dismissing (r = .26-.38), preoccupied (r = .31-.35), and unresolved (r = .37) states of mind, respectively. ASA hyperactivation and anomalous content were associated with heightened RSA reactivity to the AAI and ASA, aligning with expectations that these attachment patterns capture the tendency to heighten expressions of negative, traumatic experiences. ASA deactivation was associated with smaller increases in electrodermal activity to the ASA-indicative of less sympathetic arousal-converging with the tendency of individuals higher in deactivation to avoid discussing attachment themes in the ASA.

The Attachment Script Assessment: Introduction of a coding system to evaluate deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous content.

Although research on adult attachment has yielded insight into the legacy of attachment for functioning in adulthood, methodological challenges persist in the assessment of adult attachment. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) offers a rich assessment of secure, insecure, and unresolved states of mind. However, it is resource intensive to administer and code. Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) offers a resource-effective alternative to the AAI. However, the ASA coding system only yields a single, security-like dimension: secure base script knowledge. Here, we introduce a complementary coding system for the ASA to assess attachment deactivation (i.e. script characterized by limited interpersonal connection and minimization of attachment problems/emotions), hyperactivation (i.e. script in which attachment-relevant problems and negative emotions are heightened), and anomalous content (i.e. script in which attachment problems contain elements of fear and/or disorientation); and we discuss the conceptual convergence of these scripts with corresponding patterns of attachment insecurity and disorganization.

Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment between Incarcerated Mothers and Their Co-residing Children. / Tutuklu/Hükümlü Anneler ve Yanlarinda Kalan Çocuklari Arasindaki Baglanmanin Nesiller Arasi Aktarimi.

OBJECTIVE: Maternal attachment representations and children's attachment to their mothers have been shown to be related while this association varies according to socioeconomic risk factors that these mother-child dyads are experiencing. In this regard, this study aims to investigate the intergenerational transmission of attachment between highly disadvantaged incarcerated mothers and their co-residing children and the mediating role of maternal sensitivity in the relationship between maternal and children's attachment representations. METHOD: The study sample consists of 84 incarcerated mothers and their co-residing children. The maternal attachment was evaluated using the Doll Story Completion Task. Children's attachment and maternal sensitivity were assessed based on a 45-minute semi-structured mother-child interaction observation and rated through structured coding instruments. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that mothers' anxious and avoidant attachment positively predicted children's disorganized attachment behaviors. Moreover, analyses showed that maternal sensitivity did not mediate the relationship between maternal and child attachment representations. CONCLUSION: Findings partially supported the discussion emphasizing that attachment transmission, as well as the mediating role of maternal sensitivity on this transmission, appeared to be weaker for disadvantaged mother-child dyads. Implications for future intervention programs aiming to support the attachment security and reduce the disorganization of children co-residing with their incarcerated mothers are discussed.

Emotional Availability in Mother-Child and Father-Child Interactions as Predictors of Child's Attachment Representations in Adoptive Families.

Emotional availability (EA) in parent-child interactions is associated with positive child outcomes, including attachment security. However, little is known about EA in adoptive families. This study investigated the associations between secure representations of attachment in adopted children and the adoptive parents' EA. The participants (n = 75) included 26 mothers, 23 fathers, and 26 children who were aged 3 to 9 years. Children completed the Attachment Story Completion Task. Adult-child dyadic relationships were assessed using the EA® System. The results showed that the children's and parents' EA, age when adopted, and time elapsed since adoption were associated with more secure children's attachment representations. Implications for family support and public policy are discussed.

What's Happened to Italian Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Preliminary Study on Symptoms, Problematic Social Media Usage, and Attachment: Relationships and Differences With Pre-pandemic Peers.

Italian adolescents were confined at home for 3 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed them to feelings of fear, uncertainty, and loneliness that may have increased their vulnerability to emotional-behavioral symptoms (e.g., anxiety) and binge-eating attitudes. Potential risk factors for these psychopathological symptoms are problematic social media usage and attachment insecurity. Therefore, this study aimed: (1) to assess emotional-behavioral symptoms, binge eating, problematic social media usage, and attachment representations of adolescents during the pandemic, comparing them with prepandemic similar samples; (2) to investigate relationships among variables, exploring the role of problematic social media usage and insecure attachment as risk factors for more psychopathological symptoms. Participants were 62 community adolescents aged 12-17 years, enrolled through schools, and assessed online through the following measures: Youth Self-Report for emotional-behavioral problems, Binge-Eating Scale for binge eating, Social Media Disorder Scale for problematic social media usage, and the Friends and Family Interview for attachment. The main results were: (1) 9.4% of adolescents showed clinical rates of emotional-behavioral symptoms and 4.8% of binge eating attitudes. The comparison with pre-pandemic samples revealed that pandemic teenagers showed lower internalizing, but higher other problems (e.g., binge drinking, self-destructive behaviors) and more problematic social media usage than pre-pandemic peers. No differences in binge-eating attitudes and attachment were revealed (76% secure classifications). (2) Problematic social media usage was related to more binge eating and emotional-behavioral problems, predicting 5.4% of both delinquent and attention problems. Attachment disorganization predicted 16.5% of internalizing problems, somatic complaints, and social and identity-related problems. In conclusion, confinement did not increase adolescents' internalizing symptoms -i.e., vulnerability to mood disorders of an anxious-depressive type- which even decreased. However, teenagers may have expressed their discomfort through other problems and symptoms of social media disorder. Further studies should explore the role of adolescents' problematic social media usage and attachment insecurity as risk factors for additional psychopathological symptoms.

Increasing secure base script knowledge among parents with Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up.

This study evaluated whether Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), a parenting intervention, altered the attachment representations of parents (average age of 34.2 years) who had been referred to Child Protective Services (CPS) due to risk for child maltreatment when their children were infants. Approximately 7 years after completing the intervention, parents who had been randomized to receive ABC (n = 43) exhibited greater secure base script knowledge than parents who had been randomized to receive a control intervention (n = 51). Low-risk parents (n = 79) exhibited greater secure base script knowledge than CPS-referred parents who had received a control intervention. However, levels of secure base script knowledge did not differ between low-risk parents and CPS-referred parents who had received the ABC intervention. In addition, secure base script knowledge was positively associated with parental sensitivity during interactions with their 8-year-old children among low-risk and CPS-referred parents. Mediational analyses supported the idea that the ABC intervention enhanced parents' sensitivity 7 years later indirectly via increases in parents' secure base script knowledge.

Attachment representations to parents and emotional-behavioral problems: A comparison between children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and healthy children in middle childhood.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is one of the most demanding chronic diseases for children and their families, since controlling diabetes involves a process of co-regulation with attachment figures. However, there is insufficient evidence in middle childhood on psychological mechanisms involved that might complicate the adaptation of these children. Therefore, 106 children (N = 31 with T1D and N = 75 as matched healthy group [HG]) aged 8 to 13 were assessed using the Child Attachment Interview, the Child Behavior Checklist, and the measure of glycated hemoglobin. Results showed that insecure T1D children did not have worse diabetes control than the secure ones. However, T1D children differed from HG for higher levels of idealization to father and withdrawn/depressed problems. Moreover, T1D children with insecure attachment to mother scored significantly higher in anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, attention problems, and rule-breaking behavior, while T1D children with insecure attachment to father scored significantly higher only in the withdrawn/depressed scale compared to the remaining children. Therefore, diabetes does not in itself determine a psychological vulnerability in middle childhood, but the presence of an insecure attachment, especially to the mother, worsens the psychological adaptation of T1D children. Psychological support should be provided for these young patients and their families.

Attachment quality assessed from children's family drawings links to child conduct problems and callous-unemotional behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, there has been considerable research on the origins of childhood conduct problems (CP) and callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors. This study examined associations between children's attachment representations and CP and CU behaviors during middle childhood. METHOD: At 1st grade, 1,292 children (57% European American, 42.5% African American, 0.5% other race; 50.9% girls) completed a drawing of their family, which was coded by trained raters to assess attachment representations. Primary caregivers reported on children's CP and CU behaviors. RESULTS: Children with disorganized representations showed more CP and CU behaviors than children with secure and resistant representations. They were also more likely than those with secure representations to show elevated CP without CU behaviors, CU behaviors only, and co-occurring CP and CU behaviors. CONCLUSION: These findings provide support for attachment disorganization as a correlate of CP and CU behaviors and suggest that attachment representations are likely important proximal influences on children's behavior.

Foster children's attachment representations: the role of type of maltreatment and the relationship with birth family.

Children in foster care are at risk of developing insecure and disorganized attachment, which is problematic for establishing new relationships in foster families. However, most previous studies have focused on attachment behaviors in young children rather than on attachment representations. We compared foster children's attachment representations with those of a community group, analyzing also the contribution made by different factors to foster children's attachment representations. We assessed the attachment representations of 109 children aged between 4 and 9 years (51 children in non-kin foster care and 58 community children) in southern Spain, using a narrative story stem measure. Case records information were collected for adversity and child protection variables. Foster children had fewer security and more avoidance indicators than their community counterparts, with those who had suffered more severe maltreatment scoring lower for security and higher for disorganization. Exposure to physical and emotional abuse and birth parents' opposition to the foster placement predicted more disorganized attachment representations. Interventions with foster children should consider their heterogeneity in terms of attachment outcomes, and foster caregivers of abused children may need guidance in order to provide therapeutic caregiving.

Representations of attachment security, attachment avoidance, and gender in Ugandan children.

Researchers returned to the home of Mary Ainsworth's original attachment study to explore the contributions of Ugandan children's representations of attachment interactions with their caregivers to their perceptions about gender. Researchers administered the Attachment Story-Completion Task (ASCT) and applied three attachment narrative coding systems and a gender stereotypes typology to the ASCT stories of 51 Ugandan children ages 5-7. Nine attachment narrative variables were applied to the children's responses to a series of five attachment story stems told using a family of dolls. The narratives emerging from the children's responses to these story stems were also coded independently for 14 masculine and 14 feminine gender stereotypes. Empathic relations among the dolls and narrative coherence were positively correlated with counterstereotypical gender representations only in girls. Attachment representations of a rejecting father were positively correlated with stereotypical gender representations only in boys. Representations of attachment avoidance were negatively correlated with counterstereotypical gender representations in both boys and girls. The findings suggested two different trajectories for the development of gender representation flexibility in boys and girls. This study contextualizes these findings against the backdrop of a country with rigid sex roles and a fast-growing child population.

Attachment disorder and attachment theory - Two sides of one medal or two different coins?

INTRODUCTION: Currently, attachment quality and attachment disorder exist in parallel, but the mutual association is still insufficiently clarified. For policy makers and clinical experts, it can be difficult to differentiate between these constructs, but the distinction is crucial to develop mental-health services and effective treatment concepts. We aimed to investigate the association between attachment representations (AR) and attachment disorders (AD), including Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED) in children aged between 5 and 9. METHODS: A total of 135 children aged between 5 and 9 years (M=7.17 years, SD=1.40, 63% male) and their primary caregivers participated in the study. Children were interviewed with the story stem method to assess AR, and the primary caregiver completed diagnostic interviews and questionnaires on mental disorders, AD, emotional and behavioral problems, and intelligence and development. RESULTS: The prevalence of AR in children with AD was 28.6% for the 'secure' form of AR, 17.1% for the 'insecure-avoidant' form, 25.7% for the 'insecure-ambivalent' form, and 28.6% for the 'disorganized' form. Prevalences of the various AR forms did not differ statistically significantly, indicating that AR is conceptionally distinct from AD. Children with disorganized attachment scored significantly lower on language and intelligence skills than children with secure attachment. AD was significantly associated with a higher number of comorbidities, emotional and behavioral problems, and lower language skills. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal studies using standardized assessment instruments are needed to systematically provide comparable and reliable empirical findings to improve current understanding of AR and AD as well as their etiological models.

Preschoolers' secure base script representations predict teachers' ratings of social competence in two independent samples.

Associations between attachment security, assessed as a secure base script (SBS), and teachers' social competence ratings were examined in two samples (one from the Midwest region and the other from the Southern region of the United States). Consistent with previous reports, significant associations between domains were obtained in both samples and after combining the two samples, r = .33, p < .001. The associations remained significant when child sex, age, and verbal intelligence were controlled. Findings are discussed with reference to relations between SBS scores and the covariates. Regarding sex differences, an existing literature suggests that girls, compared with boys, may be advantaged with respect to skills that could support higher scores on the task used to assess secure base scripts. In both samples, teachers rated girls as somewhat higher on scales of social competence and controlling for sex reduced the magnitude of associations between SBS and social competence, but the results remained significant in all tests.

Assessing and quantifying the secure base script from narratives produced by preschool age children: justification and validation tests.

Building on aframework presented by Bretherton and associates, Waters and associates argued that interaction sequences relevant to children's access to and use of asecure base for exploration during infancy/toddlerhood become internalized as script-like representations. For adults, these scripted representations are readily assessed using word-prompt lists d to elicit attachment relevant narratives. However, this method is not appropriate during early childhood. Waters and associates used stories from Bretherton's Attachment Story Completion Task for this purpose. However, the method they used to score secure base script use is not efficient for larger samples (e.g. over 50), and new approaches for scoring have been designed. We describe two approaches to story selection and scoring for access to and use of the secure base script. The two scoring methods show substantial and significant overlap and also have significant associations with other methods of measuring attachment security during early childhood.

Late-adopted children grown up: a long-term longitudinal study on attachment patterns of adolescent adoptees and their adoptive mothers.

This paper reports on a long-term follow-up of a longitudinal study conducted in Italy that assessed attachment patterns of late-adopted children (placed between 4 and 8 years old) and their adoptive mothers, in three phases: T1, at placement; T2, in childhood (7-8 months after adoption); and T3, in adolescence (current study). The following hypotheses were tested: 1) children' IWMs will shift from insecurity towards security in a long-term follow-up; and 2) there will be a significant association between adoptees' and adoptive mothers' IWMs in adolescence. Participants were 22 late-adopted adolescents (aged 11-16) and their adoptive mothers, all assessed in previous phases. Participants completed several measures of attachment, including the Separation-Reunion Procedure (T1, T2), Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (T2), Friends and Family Interview (T3), and Adult Attachment Interview (T1, T3). Late-adopted adolescents showed both an increase in attachment security and a decrease in disorganized attachment from childhood to adolescence. Adoptive mothers' (T3) secure states of mind were associated significantly to their adopted children attachment security in adolescence. These findings reinforce the importance of taking attachment into account for adoptive families from the beginning of adoption.

Making Sense of Adopted Children's Internal Reality Using Narrative Story Stem Techniques: A Mixed-Methods Synthesis.

Background: Extant research on adopted children has consistently shown that early adverse experiences confer vulnerability to myriad developmental problems, which may be mitigated by the "natural intervention" of adoption itself and/or by treatment efforts. Narrative Story Stems Techniques (NSSTs) have been used in research and clinical practice to assess adopted children's developmental profiles in middle childhood. However, no study to date has systematically reviewed this body of literature. Objectives: This paper presents a systematic review of research using NSSTs to make sense of adopted children's internal reality (i.e., perceptions, experiences, and representations), in terms of exploring theoretical perspectives as well as critically synthesizing findings and discussing implications. Methods: State-of-the-art PRISMA guidelines were followed throughout, resulting in the identification of 18 records, comprising six qualitative, 10 quantitative, and two mixed-methods primary papers, reporting on seven unique studies. All records were assessed with regard to methodological quality. Data were extracted and synthesized narratively using an integrated design for mixed-methods synthesis. Results: The findings suggest that, although NSST research with adopted children is still in its infancy, there is relatively robust evidence supporting the use of these techniques to assess and track developmental change in adopted children's attachment representations. In this regard, the non-verbal (aside from the verbal) approach to children's complex internal reality, as well as a more fine-grained (aside from a categorical or dimensional) perspective on children's NSST responses, are highlighted as particularly valuable in tailoring treatment to a particular child's needs and vulnerabilities. Moreover, several promising avenues for future research and clinical application of NSSTs, including the extension to affect-regulatory and mentalizing perspectives, may further our knowledge and understanding of, and thus treatment efforts toward, these often vulnerable children. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution, due to the limited number of studies characterized by considerable methodological heterogeneity. Conclusions: In light of the findings of the present review, we strongly advocate future studies using NSSTs in theoretically and empirically consistent ways, in order to gain a better understanding of adopted children's internal reality in terms of attachment representations, affect-regulatory strategies, and mentalizing processes, and to track changes therein.

The role of emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between attachment representations and depressive and anxiety symptoms in the postpartum period.

BACKGROUND: Insecure attachment representations have been established as a vulnerability factor for postpartum depressive symptoms. However, there is a lack of studies on the effects of attachment (in)security on postpartum anxiety symptoms, and on the mechanisms through which attachment representations may affect women's postpartum adjustment, namely, emotion regulation difficulties. METHODS: The sample included 450 women in the postpartum period (up to 12 months postpartum), who were recruited both online (advertisements on social media) and in person (study was presented by the researchers during the women's postpartum hospitalization). RESULTS: Approximately one third of the women with clinically significant symptoms (33.3%) presented comorbid symptoms of anxiety and depression, and these women presented more insecure attachment representations and more emotion regulation difficulties (p < .001) than did women without comorbid symptoms (p < .001). The relationship between more insecure attachment representations and depressive and anxiety symptoms occurred both directly and indirectly through emotional regulation difficulties. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional nature of the study, the use of self-report questionnaires that do not allow the establishment of clinical diagnosis and the self-selected bias in recruitment were study limitations. CONCLUSIONS: The results underline the need for attention to anxiety symptomatology, which is a condition that co-occurs frequently in this period. Interventions that focus on promoting adaptive strategies of emotional regulation are relevant rather than more intensive interventions to change attachment representations.

Mothers' and fathers' attachment and caregiving representations during transition to parenthood: an actor-partner approach.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effect of one's attachment representations on one's and the partner's caregiving representations. BACKGROUND: According to attachment theory, individual differences in parenting and caregiving behaviours may be a function of parents' caregiving representations of the self as caregiver, and of others as worthy of care, which are rooted on parents' attachment representations. Furthermore, the care-seeking and caregiving interactions that occur within the couple relationship may also shape individuals' caregiving representations. METHODS: The sample comprised 286 cohabiting couples who were assessed during pregnancy (attachment representations) and one month post-birth (caregiving representations). Path analyses were used to examine effects among variables. RESULTS: Results showed that for mothers and fathers, their own more insecure attachment representations predicted their less positive caregiving representations of the self as caregiver and of others as worthy of help and more self-focused motivations for caregiving. Moreover, fathers' attachment representations were found to predict mothers' caregiving representations of themselves as caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: Secure attachment representations of both members of the couple seem to be an inner resource promoting parents' positive representations of caregiving, and should be assessed and fostered during the transition to parenthood in both members of the couple.

Is Mindful Parenting Associated with Adolescents' Well-being in Early and Middle/Late Adolescence? The Mediating Role of Adolescents' Attachment Representations, Self-Compassion and Mindfulness.

There is some evidence that mindful parenting, a parenting approach that involves the practice of bringing mindful awareness to the parent-child relationship, is associated with several positive psychosocial outcomes in adolescents. However, only a few studies have investigated the mechanisms that may underlie that association. This study explores whether the link between mindful parenting and adolescents' well-being is mediated by adolescents' attachment representations, self-compassion and mindfulness skills. The sample comprised 563 parent-child dyads (95.6% mothers). Adolescents (61.5% girls) had a mean age of 14.26 years (SD = 1.66, range = 12-20). Parents completed a measure of mindful parenting, and adolescents completed measures of attachment representations, self-compassion, mindfulness, and well-being. Mindful parenting was indirectly associated with adolescents' self-compassion and mindfulness through a more secure perception of the relationship with the parents, and was indirectly associated with adolescents' well-being through perceived attachment security, self-compassion and mindfulness. The path model was invariant across stages of adolescence but some relations in the model varied across gender. Self-compassion and mindfulness seem to develop within a parent-child relationship characterized by affection, self-regulation, and mindful awareness. These two resources, along with mindful parenting and positive representations of the parent-child relationship, are associated with adolescents' well-being.