Mind‐Mindedness as a Multidimensional Construct: Appropriate and Nonattuned Mind‐Related Comments Independently Predict Infant–Mother Attachment in a Socially Diverse Sample

In a socially diverse sample of 206 infant–mother pairs, we investigated predictors of infants’ attachment security at 15 months, with a particular emphasis on mothers’ tendency to comment appropriately or in a non‐attuned manner on their 8‐month‐olds’ internal states (so‐called mind‐mindedness). Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that higher scores for appropriate mind‐related comments and lower scores for non‐attuned mind‐related comments distinguished secure‐group mothers from their counterparts in the insecure‐avoidant, insecure‐resistant, and insecure‐disorganized groups. Higher scores for appropriate mind‐related comments and lower scores for non‐attuned mind‐related comments also independently predicted dichotomous organized/disorganized attachment. General maternal sensitivity predicted neither attachment security nor organization, although sensitivity was found to relate to dichotomous secure/insecure attachment specifically in the context of low socioeconomic status. The findings highlight how appropriate and non‐attuned mind‐related comments make independent contributions to attachment and suggest that mind‐mindedness is best characterized as a multidimensional construct.     

Relationships between maternal adult attachment security, child perceptions of maternal support, and maternal perceptions of child responses to sexual abuse

This study assessed the relationships between maternal adult attachment style, children's perceptions of maternal support following disclosure of sexual abuse, and maternal perceptions of children's behavioral and emotional responses to sexual abuse among African-American child sexual abuse victims aged 4 to 12 (n=96) and a comparison group of non-abused subjects (n=100). Mothers with insecure attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of internalizing behaviors in their sexually abused children than did securely attached mothers. Among mothers of non-abused children, those with insecure adult attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of externalizing behaviors shown by their children in comparison with mothers with a secure adult attachment style. Mothers with insecure adult attachment styles also reported higher rates of overall behavior problems in their non-abused children that approached statistical significance. Sexually abused children's perceptions of maternal support were not related to maternal attachment style nor to child functioning. Contrary to our prediction, mothers of sexually abused children did not show lower rates of secure attachments when compared to mothers of non-sexually abused children. Our findings indicate that fostering parent- child attachment is important in order to decrease the risk for behavior problems and symptomatology in sexually abused children.     

Meaning and attachment in mothers and toddlers

This research explored if a mother's view of her attachment experience with her own mother was associated with sensitivity to her toddler's attachment related signals. Thirty mother-child dyads were videotaped and maternal sensitivity to toddler signals was coded. Mothers were interviwed and completed questionnaires regarding their experiences with their own mothers. Based on the subjects' responses to the questionnaires and the content and organization of their interview narrations, subjects were divided into two groups based on the security of their internal working model of attachment with their own mothers. Mothers with a secure working model of attachment were significantly more sensitive to toddler signals than those mothers with an insecure working model of attachment (p=.028) and differed in their style of narrating their lifespan attachment experiences.This study was completed as partial requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Institute for Clinical Social Work, Chicago, Illinois.     

Understanding Attachment Transitions Through the Lived Experiences of Young Black Gay and Bisexual Men

We conducted a mixed-methods study to identify factors that influence transitions in attachment style between childhood and adulthood among 28 young Black gay and bisexual men (YBGBM) in the United States. We used a phenomenological approach to data integration, with the major component to the results being garnered from the qualitative interviews. We organized our results by four attachment transition groups: stable secure (secure attachment in childhood and young adulthood), stable insecure (insecure attachment in childhood and young adulthood), secure to insecure (secure in childhood and insecure in adulthood) and insecure to secure (insecure in childhood and secure in adulthood). Within each of the typologies, two major themes emerged: social support and religion. Generally, transitions from secure to insecure attachment were related to experiences of perceived rejection by a parental figure during adolescence that corresponded with sexual orientation disclosure. Transitions from insecure to secure attachment appeared to be related to the absence of an attachment figure early in life, but with the acquisition of an attachment figure during early to late adolescence. The findings from our study suggest a need for attachment-based approaches to social support interventions, as well as for an increased understanding of social and cultural factors that impact attachment changes among practitioners who use attachment-based therapy models for YBGBM.     

Building a Secure Base: Treatment of a Child with Disorganized Attachment

Treatment strategies for children with disorganized attachments are not well established. This population exhibits a large array of difficulties in social relationships and self-regulation, as well as numerous other co-morbid conditions. As such, treatment of children with attachment problems is complex and requires a multi-faceted approach. This paper explores current research and theories about disorganized attachment and then examines how that research helped shape the treatment of an 8 year-old boy.     

Children adopted from China: Attachment security two years later

Background

This study continues the examination of the process of attachment formation of mothers and their adopted Chinese daughters two years postadoption.

Method

30 children adopted from China (mean age = 13.6 months at adoption) were assessed and followed two years following adoption. They were compared to 31 nonadopted Canadian girls of similar age and family background. In earlier reported longitudinal studies of the adopted children, maternal reports of attachment security were employed. In the current study the Strange Situation Procedure was used.

Results

Adopted children show signs of having a secure attachment with their mothers two years following adoption. There was some evidence that disorganized attachment characterized these children more so than for children in the comparison group.

Conclusions

The moderate degree of emotional deprivation experienced by Chinese adoptees does not hinder their ability to form a new attachment with adoptive mothers. Attachment appears open to change, even after a time when children should have already formed an attachment relationship and the change is maintained.     

The Association Between Social Competence in Adolescents and Mothers’ Parenting Style: A Cross Sectional Study on Iranian Girls

This study is to determine the association between parenting style of mothers and the social competence of their adolescent daughters in effective communication, problem solving skills and use of basic social skills dimensions. The data were gathered for the mean age of 11–15 years on 737 Iranian adolescent girls in a cross sectional study design. The parenting style of mothers was based on their demand and responsiveness. These scales classified mothers into four parenting styles as follows: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, or neglectful. The social competence was also categorized into effective relationship, problem solving skills, use of basic social skills dimensions. The mean scores of the adolescents’ social competence whose mothers had permissive and authoritative parenting style was higher than that for the two other groups for all the dimensions (p < 0.05). The results showed that with the expectation of controlling roles, the supportive role of mothers can be more effective in providing opportunities for social competence performance.     

The Child in the Family of a Drug-Using Father: Attachment Styles and Family Characteristics

SUMMARY

The study examined the impact of family characteristics and parental attachment styles on the children of drug-using (DU) fathers in fifty-six families (n = 168) in Israel. Of the DU fathers, 60.7% were characterized by avoidant attachment style. Among the non-DU mothers, 53.6% were characterized by secure attachment style, 42.9% by avoidant style, and 3.6% by anxious/ambivalent style. Surprisingly, family cohesion and adaptability scores were similar to the Israeli norm, perhaps because the DUs had completed detoxification treatment and participated in rehabilitation programs. Of the children, 61.8% were characterized by secure attachment style, 21.8% by avoidant style, and 16.4% by anxious/ambivalent style. Stepwise regression to predict children's attachment styles revealed that maternal security of attachment and paternal anxious/ambivalent style predict similar attachment styles among the children. The important combined effects of spousal attachment styles on the children are discussed.     

Childhood risks and protective factors in social exclusion

Combating social exclusion is a dominant theme in the current policy agenda. Yet the term social exclusion is of relatively recent origin. It was promoted originally in France in policy debates surrounding disability (Evans, 2000) and through theoretical developments in sociology and political science about the increasing detachment of certain individuals and groups from the state in late modernity (Beck and others, 1994). A quite different and more long‐standing research tradition is to be found in developmental psychology—respectively in the sub‐fields of ‘developmental psychopathology’ (Rutter, 1993) and ‘life course theory and lifespan developmental psychology’ (Elder and others 1993, 1998a&b; Lerner,1998; Lerner and others, 2000). The two themes come together in the idea of risk: Which children are most vulnerable to adult psychiatric disorders or criminality? Which children are likely to become socially excluded as adults? A dialogue between risk and social exclusion is likely to be fruitful in bringing together large and diverse research literatures combining both explanatory and intervention studies to bear on a central problem of modern society. The purpose of this paper is to begin such a task, but selectively, focusing on the main themes of research, as illuminated by key findings. The paper concludes with a consideration of recent policy initiatives to combat social exclusion, in which the ideas of risk and protection have a central place. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Infants' Behavioral Strategies for Emotion Regulation With Fathers and Mothers: Associations With Emotional Expressions and Attachment Quality

This study examined 12‐ and 13‐month‐old infants' behavioral strategies for emotion regulation, emotional expressions, regulatory styles, and attachment quality with fathers and mothers. Eighty‐five infants participated in the Strange Situation procedure to assess attachment quality with mothers and fathers. Infants' behavioral strategies for emotion regulation were examined with each parent during a competing demands task. Emotion regulation styles were meaningfully related to infant‐father attachment quality. Although expressions of distress and positive affect were not consistent across mothers and fathers, there was consistency in infant strategy use, emotion regulation style, and attachment quality with mothers and fathers. Furthermore, infants who were securely attached to both parents showed greater consistency in parent‐oriented strategies than infants who were insecurely attached to one or both parents. Limitations of this study include the constrained laboratory setting, potential carryover effects, and a homogeneous, middle‐class sample.     

Representations of Attachment to Father in the Narratives of Preschool Girls in Post-Divorce Families: Implications for Family Relationships and Social Development

This study used the Attachment Story Completion Task-Revised (ASCT-R) (Bretherton, Ridgeway, & Cassidy, 1990), a representational measure of attachment security, to examine characteristics of preschool-aged girls' narratives associated with portrayals of attachment to the father. The children's (n = 27) parents had been divorced or legally separated for at least 2 years, and they lived in the primary custody of their mothers. We had previously discovered that girls' responses to the ASCT-R differed from those of boys in unexpected ways. Whereas boys' representations of child-father attachment varied positively with teacher ratings of social behavior in child-care settings, the opposite was the case for girls. Girls who portrayed children's attachment to the father more frequently were rated lower in social competence, contrary to expectations. A more detailed analysis of responses to the ASCT-R suggests that girls' representational attachment behavior toward the father was associated with narrative representations of both parents as unavailable, family instability, and concerns for the father's well-being.     

The Impact of Family Therapists’ Adult Attachment Styles on Their Career Choice and Approach to Therapy: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

Attachment theorists have highlighted the role of the therapist in providing a ‘secure base’ for therapy. This raises the question of how therapists with insecure as well as secure attachment styles manage the integration of their personal experience and their therapeutic work. This study explored the relationship between family therapists’ adult attachment styles, influences on their career choice and their approach to therapy. Participants’ (n = 11) attachment styles were previously assessed using the self-report Experiences in Close Relationship questionnaire. Three participants were assessed as having a ‘secure’ attachment style; three were ‘preoccupied’, three ‘fearful’ and two ‘dismissing’. They were interviewed about their practice and the impact of past or current relationships on their development as therapists. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the verbatim accounts into cluster of master themes and subthemes. The analysis identified two master themes: understanding one’s self and the impact of family of origin experiences, and the integration between personal experiences and therapeutic work. There were differences in responses relating to the therapists’ attachment styles. Therapists with ‘secure’ adult attachment styles were aware of their challenges and able to utilise their experiences in their practice and respond sensitively to their clients. Conversely, those with ‘insecure’ styles have difficulties in mentalisation and in using counter-transference responses in their practice. We suggest that family therapists, social workers and others engaged in therapeutic work with families should undertake an exploration of the ‘self’ of the therapist in the context of their own family relationships and adult attachment styles as part of their training and continuing professional development.     

Individual Differences in Infants’ Joint Attention Behaviors With Mother and a New Social Partner

Relations between infant–mother attachment security at 15 months and infants’ (N = 206) joint attention behaviors (a) with an experimenter at 8 and 15 months, and (b) with their mothers at 15 months were investigated. No concurrent or longitudinal relations were observed between attachment security and infants’ tendency to respond to an experimenter’s bids for joint attention. Higher levels of initiating joint attention with an experimenter at 15 months were associated with insecure‐avoidant attachment. Insecure‐avoidant attachment was also associated with lower scores for initiating high‐level joint attention behaviors (pointing, showing, and giving) with the mother at age 15 months. The fact that security‐related differences in initiating joint attention with an experimenter were observed only once the attachment relationship was consolidated suggests that (a) attachment security may influence infants’ active engagement with new social partners, and (b) insecure‐avoidant infants may compensate for reduced social contact with the caregiver by initiating more interaction with other social partners.     

Attachment and Self‐Efficacy in Career Search Activities: A Structural Model

The author integrated attachment theory with social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to examine how attachment styles influence the career search self‐efficacy activities of interviewing, networking, job searching, and personal exploration. Using an undergraduate sample (N = 275, 81% women), the author tested a structural model. Results indicated that anxious attachment style was negatively related to interviewing self‐efficacy, whereas avoidant attachment style was negatively related to networking, job searching, and personal exploration self‐efficacy. Theoretical implications based on these findings provide support for an integrative model of attachment theory with SCCT. Career counselors are encouraged to consider clients’ attachment styles when working with individuals who are searching for employment. To help address the limitations of the study, future researchers could test the applicability of the current model with a more diverse sample.     

Fathering Involvement to Engagement: A Phenomenological Qualitative Roadmap

This phenomenological research examines the narratives of fathers and mothers about the lived experience of “fathering” to find themes to form dimensions of measuring father engagement. Qualitative responses from a mixed method cross-sectional sample of 191 father and mother participants were analyzed for phenomenological themes related to the lived experience of the fathering experience. Mothers (n?=?24) and fathers (n?=?34) provided narratives related to fathering roles and expectations, including enjoyment, fulfillment and gratitude, a relational and environmental context, the value of fathering, fathering involvement and activities, and emotional bonds and attachment. Themes from these narratives included both cognitive and affective dimensions of father involvement experience. The essence of this experience presents the intersection between the value of involvement within a contextual environment, attachment and the fulfillment and joy of the experience of parenting. Measures of attachment as well as fulfillment in parenting are necessary for future direction of research evaluation.     

A Description of Attachment in Adoptive Parents and Adoptees in Romania During Early Adolescence

This study is an assessment of different components of attachment for a sample of Romanian adoptees and their parents, both who participated in the project (n = 63). Results suggest that various aspects of the parent–child relationship in early adolescence is quite positive from both the adoptee and adoptive parent perspective. However, almost half (46 %) of the adoptees were assessed as having insecure attachment. There are differences between all components of parental attachment and adoptee attachment security. Also, insecure attachment is more likely to occur with less optimal parenting style. Implications for social work practice and research are discussed.     

Disorganized Attachment: A Compass for Navigating the Confusing Behavior of the “Difficult-to-Treat” Patient

The concept of disorganized attachment gives a framework with which to understand patients who present a confusing pattern of relatedness. The therapist may experience feeling connected with the patient only to see a sudden retreat, expressed by silence, argumentativeness, or missed sessions. After presenting a theoretical summary of disorganized attachment, I give two clinical examples. The first illustrates the theoretical material that is presented and gives the reader an idea of what a disorganized attachment pattern looks like in the clinical setting, while the second briefly shows how use of this framework increased my comfort level.     

What’s the Confusion About Fusion?—Differentiating Positive and Negative Closeness in Lesbian Relationships

This study differentiated between closeness and fusion in lesbian relationships, and examined whether age, adult attachment style, social support, outness, and relationship satisfaction were associated with these variables. Participants consisted of 77 women in long-term, lesbian relationships. Overall, women who reported showing greater closeness toward their partners were more satisfied in their relationships. Age and attachment style were better predictors of closeness and fusion than were social support and outness. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. Findings highlight the need for therapists to distinguish between positive and negative types of closeness in lesbian relationships, and avoid pathologizing high levels of closeness in lesbian relationships simply because they may deviate from a heterosexual norm.     

The essence of being connected: the lived experience of mothers with young children in newer residential areas

Parenthood is a significant life transition and a time of increased social support need. In newer residential areas, a lag in social infrastructure and family relocation can influence potential isolation of families with young children. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of being connected to local communities for mothers with children aged 0–5 years. Family insights were obtained through in-depth interviews with 12 mothers who were primary caregivers, homeowners and living in newer residential areas in outer suburban Perth, Western Australia. For mothers with young children, being connected to the local community appears to be shaped from their past and present lived experience as well as future aspirations. Connectedness evolves and may develop more slowly in newer communities where social relationships and networks are often recently formed. ‘Interaction’, ‘knowing what's going on’ and ‘help is nearby if you need it’ were identified as the essential themes of connectedness for mothers and families in this study. Belonging was identified as an incidental theme as not all mothers who felt connected felt like they belonged. The findings provide insight for professionals and agencies working with families with young children as well as planners of newer residential areas.     

Using a capabilities approach to understand poverty and social exclusion of psychiatric survivors

The purpose of this project is to better understand poverty and social exclusion of psychiatric survivors using a capabilities approach to social justice as part of a larger mixed-methods longitudinal study (N=380) in Ontario, Canada. Using thematic coding, four themes emerged: poverty, ‘You just try to survive’; stigma, ‘People treat you like trash’; belonging, ‘You feel like you don’t belong’; and shared concern and advocacy, ‘Everyone deserves housing’. This analysis provides a deeper understanding of poverty and other social determinants of experiences of psychiatric survivors, including the synergism of poverty and social exclusion.