Browsing by Subject "attachment"
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Item Adult attachment and self-construal: a cross-cultural analysis(2009-06-02) Friedman, Michael DavidA cross-cultural survey study examined the impact of adult attachment and self-construal on relationship and mental health outcomes in Hong Kong, Mexico, and the United States. Approximately 200 university students (each currently involved in a romantic relationship) from each culture were recruited to participate. Participants completed self-report measures of adult attachment style, self-construal and several questionnaires about their romantic relationships. The dependent measures examined were relationship satisfaction, commitment, and perceived social support, along with the mental health variable of depressive symptoms. Both universal and culture-specific patterns of adult attachment were observed. Attachment insecurity was negatively related to relationship and mental health outcomes in all cultures under study, providing support for a universal interpretation of attachment theory. However, the negative effects of avoidant attachment on relationship outcomes were found to be stronger in Hong Kong and in Mexico. These findings provide support for a degree of cultural specificity to attachment processes. Additional findings centered on self-construal, and showed that independent self-construal was particularly detrimental to relationship outcomes in Hong Kong. Implications for attachment theory and self-construal research are discussed.Item Aggressive children's memory for attachment relevant information(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Collie, Claire FutamaseThis study examined a measure of children's memory for information from a story about a hypothetical mother and child, the Story Task, as a potential tool to delineate subtypes of aggressive children based on the pattern of information processing revealed through their Story Task performance. The Story Task scores of 263 second and third grade aggressive children were subjected to a cluster analytic procedure. Although four apparently distinct subgroups emerged from the cluster analysis (negative recall, low recall, defensive processing, and positive projection), validation analyses of these clusters against external variables failed to reveal significant group differences. Potential exaplanations for the failure to find meaningful subgroups of aggressive children and general limitations of the study are discussed.Item Changes in Marital Satisfaction Across the Transition to Parenthood: The Role of Adult Attachment Orientations(2012-07-16) Rentfro, Jamie LeighFor parents, the birth of their first child sparks rapid change for each partner and for their romantic relationship. With the stress of the transition to parenthood, many couples experience declining marital satisfaction. However, previous studies have reported wide variation in the magnitude and time course of this decline. The present study sought to determine the trajectory of marital satisfaction across the first 2 years of parenthood. The study also examined the role of anxious and avoidant attachment, as well as relationship dynamics that prevent or augment declines in satisfaction for anxious and avoidant individuals. Data were collected from couples in five assessment waves: 6 weeks before the birth of the first child, and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months postbirth. Both partners completed self-report measures of attachment orientations and relevant situational stressors. It was hypothesized that, for insecurely attached partners, declines in marital satisfaction would be associated with the inability to pursue attachment-related goals. Thus, satisfaction should decline when: 1) anxious individuals are unable to increase proximity to their partners; and 2) avoidant individuals are unable to increase distance from their partners. Growth curve models examined changes in satisfaction over time, moderated by gender, attachment orientation (anxiety or avoidance), and situational stressors. Results yielded three key findings, which largely supported the hypotheses. First, for highly anxious individuals, satisfaction was lower or declined when they perceived their partners as less supportive and more negative toward them, and when they felt their babies interfered more in their romantic relationship. Second, for highly avoidant individuals, satisfaction was lower or declined when they felt their babies interfered more in leisure activities, and when they perceived more work-family conflict and more demands from their families. Third, an interesting pattern of gender differences emerged, such that satisfaction often declined more steeply in insecure men than women. Exploratory analyses revealed additional moderators of the attachment-satisfaction relationship. These are discussed as they relate to the goals of insecurely attached individuals. Findings suggest that attachment insecurities predict dissatisfaction in new parents primarily when situational stressors block the pursuit of secondary attachment goals.Item Does attachment style influence intimacy following high- and low- risk interactions: an application of the APIM model(Texas A&M University, 2005-02-17) Joseph, Jana IleneThis study examined the relation between attachment characteristics and intimacy experienced after one?s attachment style is activated. Attachment theory states that when an individual feels threatened by an attachment figure, attachment style is activated and dictates how that individual relates to his or her partner in that situation. This study tests this theory. Data were collected on 110 committed romantic couples from the community. Each individual completed a series of questionnaires, including the Adult Attachment Questionnaire. Couples then engaged in a series of four videotaped interactions in which both partners had an opportunity to discuss times in which their feelings were hurt by someone other than their partner and times in which their feelings were hurt by their partner. These interactions were regarded as low- and high-risk, respectively. The high-risk interaction was specifically targeted to activate attachment style and elicit attachment behaviors. Analyses were conducted using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). This model takes into account the interdependence of observations between partners. As a function of this model, both actor effects (the effect one?s own attachment style has on one?s own experiences of intimacy) and partner effects (the effect one?s own attachment style has on one?s partner?s experiences of intimacy) were examined. Intimacy was conceptualized in two different manners: state (post-interaction intimacy) and trait (overall intimacy in the relationship). It was hypothesized that individuals with insecure attachment characteristics would report lower feelings of both state and trait intimacy compared to securely attached individuals. It was also predicted that the partners of individuals with insecure attachment characteristics would report lower state and trait intimacy following the high-risk interaction compared to partners of secure individuals. The results of this study supported these hypotheses. Models testing the effect of the attachment characteristics avoidance, ambivalence, and avoidance-x-ambivalence found a relation between the presence of insecure attachment characteristics and lower levels of both state and trait intimacy. Implications of these results and future directions of study are discussed.Item Relationship of attachment to abuse in incarcerated women(Texas A&M University, 2004-11-15) Davis, Brandon LeeFour adult attachment styles that have been extensively reported in the literature have been labeled secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful. Unfortunately, there are no existing published studies that measure attachment styles of incarcerated women. This study used responses from 158 women incarcerated at a federal prison on the Relationship Questionnaire, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III), and Record of Maltreatment Experiences to examine several facets of the association of attachment styles with childhood abuse and scales on the MCMI-III. The inmates who survived abuse endorsed the fearful and preoccupied attachment styles more, and the secure style less, than did the women who did not acknowledge a history of abuse. There was no statistically significant finding among attachment styles based on physical or sexual abuse. Inmates who were abused by a family member were more likely to endorse the fearful attachment style. The depressive, sadistic, and dependent MCMI-III scales were determined to be more highly associated with fearful or preoccupied attachment styles than with dismissing or secure styles. Finally, the inmates endorsed the anxious/ambivalent (fearful and preoccupied) attachment style more, and the secure style less, than non-incarcerated individuals as reported in the literature.Item The effects of childhood sexual abuse on adult male attachments in close relationships(Texas A&M University, 2006-10-30) Altman, Daniel RaynerOver the past two decades society has become more aware of the prevalence and impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). While society has become more aware of this problem, there is still much that remains unknown. This is evident especially in regard to the effects of CSA on adult males. There are several reasons for this; one such reason is that males who come to therapy are rarely asked about sexual abuse histories. However, the effects of CSA are often quite severe for males. One area particularly affected is adult close relationships. Attachment theory offers a way to conceptualize how people interact in close relationships. In this study, the influence of CSA on adult male relationships was examined. Seven hypotheses examined were that males who were abused by a male, males who were abused for a longer period of time, males who were abused at an earlier age, males who perceived little support from their family with regards to the abuse, males who were abused by a family member, males who were abused more frequently, and males who were abuse more severely would be more likely to have an insecure attachment than other males. These CSA characteristics were measured by the Childhood Sexual Experiences Questionnaire and the Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ). Although limitations to this study make it difficult to reject the null hypothesis and to make statements that these results reflect the population, findings generally confirm the stated hypotheses.Item The effects of demographics and pet ownership on attachment towards and opinion about owned and unowned free-roaming cats(2009-05-15) Ramon, Melanie ElaineA telephone questionnaire was developed to collect information on pet owners, cat ownership patterns, and people's opinions about homeless pets. A 7-day observation log was also developed to gather information about free-roaming cats in Caldwell, TX. The objectives of this research were: (1) to evaluate the reliability of the telephone questionnaire, (2) to assess general cat ownership patterns, (3) to evaluate attachment level of pet owners to their pets, (4) to determine general opinions about free-roaming cats, (5) to determine if demographics were associated with opinions about free-roaming cat and dog problems and (6) to investigate free-roaming cat activity in a community. Telephone questionnaire information collected from 100 subjects was tested for reliability. Reliability was fair to good for cat level questions (sex, age, breed, length of time owned, indoor/outdoor status, litter, number of vet visits, vaccinated). Reliability was good for questions concerning subjects' knowledge of cat and dog behavior and levels of attachment to their pets. Reliability was excellent for all household level (demographic) variables. Reliability was moderate for questions regarding subjects' opinions about homeless animals. Telephone questionnaire responses collected from 441 subjects were checked for associations using exploratory logistic and linear regression models. A cat's role as a pet, vaccination status, and the length of time owned were associated with a cat's sterilization status. A cat's role as a pet was associated with the cat's indoor/outdoor status. Household size, education level and ethnicity of the owner were associated with cat ownership. Having children was associated with a negative opinion about homeless cats. Education level was associated with subjects' knowledge about dog and cat behavior. Gender, household size, and knowledge score were associated with subjects' attachment to their pets. Descriptive information on free-roaming cat activity was collected from 21 subjects using the 7-day observation log. Subjects made 382 cat sightings during the study period. Slightly more cat sightings were made during the morning than in the evening and afternoon. Most cats were spotted in neighborhoods and were resting or eating. Most of these cats that were eating were seen during the morning or evening hours.Item The role of male-male relationships in partner violence treatment groups: the effects of improving same sex relationships on attachment(2009-05-15) Barnes, Ashley D.The current study focused on the challenging task of providing treatment to male batterers and the various factors that may positively affect the outcome of treatment. Group treatment has been shown to be a successful modality to working with partner abusers, due to the unique environment that is created where males interact with and establish relationships with other males. This male-male socialization may have potential positive effects on the course and outcome of therapy. This study sought to provide support for Jennings and Murphy?s theory of domestic violence that malefemale disrupted relationships have roots in disrupted male-male relationships and male identity issues and rigid gender role ideals. This study predicted that over the course of a 15-week court mandated domestic violence group, improving male-male relationships would be correlated with improvements in male identity issues and rigid sex role attitudes and improvements in male-female relationship issues. These expectations were supported by the research data. Additionally, it was expected that an improvement in same sex relationships would be related to an overall dimensional change in their attachment system. This hypothesis was not supported by the data. Moreover, process variables such as group climate and working alliance were also examined throughout the course of the group to shed light on any changes that were found. The results showed steadily increasing reports of positive working alliance ratings by counselors and clients, and increasing levels of group cohesion among the group members. The discussion and conclusions focus on the clinical significance of the study?s findings and include specific examples from the groups in this study. Implications for treatment with this population, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are also addressed.