The Evolution and Function of Adult Attachment: A Comparative and Phylogenetic Analysis.

Although the evolutionary functions of attachment in infant-caregiver relationships are undisputed, it is unclear what functions--if any--attachment serves in adult romantic relationships. The objective of this research was to examine the evolution and function of adult attachment (i.e., pair bonding) by applying comparative and phylogenetic methods to archival data collected on 2 diverse samples of mammalian species. The authors found that species exhibiting adult attachment were more likely than others to be characterized by paternal care, developmental immaturity or neoteny, small social groups, and small body sizes. The authors also used phylogenetic techniques to reconstruct the evolution of adult attachment and test alternative evolutionary models of the comparative correlates of pair bonding. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that the relationship between paternal care and adult attachment may be a functional one (i.e., due to convergent evolution) but that the relationship between neoteny and adult attachment may be due to homology (i.e., shared ancestry). Discussion focuses on the potential of comparative and phylogenetic methods for advancing the science of social and personality psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The secure-base hypothesis: Global attachment, attachment to counselor, and session exploration in psychotherapy.

This study explored J. Bowlby's (1988) secure-base hypothesis, which predicts that a client's secure attachment to the therapist, as well as the client's and the therapist's global attachment security, will facilitate in-session exploration. Volunteer clients (N = 59) and trainee counselors (N = 59) in short-term therapy completed the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (K. A. Brennan, C. L. Clark, & P. R. Shaver, 1998) as a measure of adult global romantic and peer attachment orientations; the Client Attachment to Therapist Scale (B. Mallinckrodt, D. L. Gantt, & H. M. Coble, 1995) as a measure of attachment to counselor; the Working Alliance Inventory (A. O. Horvath & L. Greenberg, 1989) as a measure of working alliance; and the Session Evaluation Questionnaire-Depth Subscale (W. B. Stiles & J. S. Snow, 1984) as a measure of session depth. In line with Bowlby's hypothesis, the findings suggest that session depth is related to the client's experience of attachment security with the counselor and that counselor global attachment moderates the relationship between client global attachment and session exploration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment.

Self-report measures of adult attachment are typically scored in ways (e.g., averaging or summing items) that can lead to erroneous inferences about important theoretical issues, such as the degree of continuity in attachment security and the differential stability of insecure attachment patterns. To determine whether existing attachment scales suffer from scaling problems, the authors conducted an item response theory (IRT) analysis of 4 commonly used self-report inventories: Experiences in Close Relationships scales (K. A. Brennan, C. L. Clark, & P. R. Shaver, 1998), Adult Attachment Scales (N. L. Collins & S. J. Read, 1990), Relationship Styles Questionnaire (D. W. Griffin & K. Bartholomew, 1994) and J. Simpson's (1990) attachment scales. Data from 1,085 individuals were analyzed using F. Samejima's (1969) graded response model. The authors' findings indicate that commonly used attachment scales can be improved in a number of important ways. Accordingly, the authors show how IRT techniques can be used to develop new attachment scales with desirable psychometric properties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Plasticity, person-context relations, and cognitive training in the aged years: A developmental contextual perspective.

Developmental contextualism focuses on changes in fused relations between developing people and their changing contexts. The presence of these relations means that human development is characterized by the potential for systematic change—for plasticity—across life. Research on training cognitive functioning in the aged years provides evidence about plasticity because such investigations attempt to alter developmental trajectories by introducing a revised regimen of person–context relations into people's lives. Moreover, when research is conducted with people in their advanced adult years, it is often interpreted as constituting a conservative test of plasticity. J. I. Campbell and N. Charness (see record 1991-06940-001), P. Gratzinger et al (see record 1991-07064-001), R. Kliegl et al (see record 1991-06962-001), and S. L. Willis and C. S. Nesselroade (see record 1991-07074-001), in the 4 studies reported in this special section, provide evidence that supports developmental contextual ideas about plasticity and about procedures and policies that might create conditions promoting enhancement of cognitive functioning among the aged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation of rigidity across relationships with symptoms and functioning: An investigation with the revised Central Relationship Questionnaire.

The belief that rigidity across relationships is related to greater symptoms and poorer functioning commonly informs the practice of many psychodynamic and interpersonal therapists. Using a profile correlation approach, the authors tested this hypothesis in a sample of 250 clients and 90 undergraduate control participants. Symptoms and functioning were assessed with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; L. M. Horowitz, L. E. Alden, J. S. Wiggins, A. L. Pincus, 2000), Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), and Brief Symptom Inventory (L. R. Derogatis, & N. Melisaratos, 1983). A revised version of the empirically derived Central Relationship Questionnaire (CRQ; J. P. Barber, C. Foltz, & R. M. Weinryb, 1998) was used to measure interpersonal patterns. Revisions were made to the CRQ to increase the interpersonal dimensions it captured, reduce its length, and model a higher order factor structure. The psychometric properties of the revised CRQ were found to be adequate. Rigidity, as measured with the CRQ, was not related to rigidity measured with the IIP (amplitude) and did not differ significantly among individuals with different interpersonal problems or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) diagnoses. Contrary to theory, however, greater rigidity across relationships was related to fewer symptoms and interpersonal problems. These relations did not appear due to the valence or the extremeness of the interpersonal patterns used in the estimation of rigidity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What are the differences between dimensional and categorical models of individual differences in attachment? Reply to Cassidy (2003), Cummings (2003), Sroufe (2003), and Waters and Beauchaine (2003).

The authors address commentaries by J. Cassidy (2003), E. M. Cummings (2003). L. A. Sroufe (2003). and E. Waters and T. P. Beauchaine (2003) on their taxometric analysis of Strange Situation behavior (R. C. Fraley & S. J. Spieker, 2003) by discussing four questions: Has the categorical model of attachment facilitated theoretical and empirical innovations in the field? How does a continuum of security fit into the two-dimensional model? What is the role of types and dimensions in understanding the function and organization of behavior? and Is dimensionality a null hypothesis in taxometric research? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The experiences in close relationships—Relationship Structures Questionnaire: A method for assessing attachment orientations across relationships.

Most research on adult attachment is based on the assumption that working models are relatively general and trait-like. Recent research, however, suggests that people develop attachment representations that are relationship-specific, leading people to hold distinct working models in different relationships. The authors report a measure, the Relationship Structures questionnaire of the Experiences in Close Relationships—Revised (ECR-RS; R. C. Fraley, N. G. Waller, & K. A. Brennan, 2000), that is designed to assess attachment dimensions in multiple contexts. Based on a sample of over 21,000 individuals studied online, it is shown that ECR-RS scores are reliable and have a structure similar to those produced by other measures. In Study 2 (N = 388), it is shown that relationship-specific measures of attachment generally predict intra- and interpersonal outcomes better than broader attachment measures but that broader measures predict personality traits better than relationship-specific measures. Moreover, it is demonstrated that differentiation in working models is not related to psychological outcomes independently of mean levels of security. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences between Taiwanese and U.S. cultural beliefs about ideal adult attachment.

Some researchers believe that important tenets of attachment theory are culturally universal, whereas others claim that key constructs are rooted in Western values and should not be generalized further. To explore possible cultural differences in adults, undergraduates from Taiwan (n = 280) and the United States (n = 268) were asked in the present study to complete a self-report measure of adult attachment, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (K. A. Brennan, C. L. Clark, & P. R. Shaver, 1998), as they believed "an ideally emotionally and psychologically healthy person of your own gender in your culture" would respond. Findings suggested significant differences by cultural group, gender, and Gender x Culture interactions. Taiwanese women and men endorsed more avoidance in beliefs about ideal adult attachment than their U.S. counterparts, and Taiwanese men endorsed more anxiety than U.S. men. These cultural differences were not explained by group differences in independent and interdependent self-construal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing secure base behavior in adulthood: Development of a measure, links to adult attachment representations and relations to couples' communication and reports of relationships.

A focus on the secure base phenomenon creates a framework for exploring the function of the attachment system in adulthood. Engaged couples (N=157) were videotaped in a problem-solving interaction and assessed using the Secure Base Scoring System (SBSS), a system based on Ainsworth's analyses of infant-parent secure base use and support. Study 1 showed behavior was significantly related to representations assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview (M. Main and R. Goldwyn, 1994). In Study 2, the interactions were independently scored with the Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System (RMICS; R. E. Heyman and D. Vivian, 1993), a communication-based system. The SBSS predicted relationship variables beyond the RMICS, especially for women. Results indicate that the secure base phenomenon provides a cogent perspective on adult attachment behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of intestinal transit in the pathogenesis of gallbladder stones

The aim of the study was to compare the occurrence and levels of A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, and P. intermedia in the subgingival plaque from sites with and without early periodontitis in adolescents using an ELISA. 47, 15- to 16-year-old adolescents (39 Indo-Pakistani, 8 white Caucasian) were examined for clinical attachment level, probing depth, supragingival plaque, subgingival calculus and bleeding on probing on the mesio-buccal and disto-buccal aspects of the 1st molars and the incisors. Based on the clinical data, 2 sites per subject were selected for subgingival plaque sampling 3 weeks later: in 32 subjects with loss of attachment > or = 1 mm, a diseased site (D) and a healthy comparison control site (C) were sampled; in 15 subjects in whom loss of attachment had not yet developed, 1 of the upper molar sites was selected, called the at-risk site (R), together with a C site. The presence and levels of A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, and P. intermedia were determined using an ELISA. The loss of attachment subgroup had significantly more pockets > or = 4 mm, subgingival calculus and bleeding on probing (p < 0.05). Significantly more of the D than C sites had P. gingivalis both at detectable and at measurable levels (p < 0.05). In subjects who had no loss in clinical attachment levels, fewer sampled sites harboured any of the suspected periodontopathogens investigated, and no significant differences were found between the R or C sites (p > 0.05). Although there was a significantly higher prevalence and extent of loss of attachment > or = 1 mm in the Indo-Pakistani subjects compared with the Caucasians (p < 0.05), no differences could be identified in the distribution of the bacteria. It is concluded that monitoring of the subgingival plaque may be useful in studies of early periodontitis in adolescents, and the role of P. gingivalis needs to be elucidated in prospective longitudinal investigations.     

Inhibition in the processing of garden-path sentences.

The Hartman and Hasher (1991) garden-path sentence completion task has been used in several studies to assess the efficiency of the deletion function of inhibition (e.g., L. Hasher, R. Zacks, & C. P. May, 1999), with results suggesting that younger adults are efficient at suppressing once relevant but no longer appropriate information, whereas older adults generally are not (e.g., M. Hartman & L. Hasher, 1991; L. Hasher, M. B. Quig, & C. P. May, 1997; C. P. May & L. Hasher, 1998). An alternative interpretation of patterns of access to relevant and no-longer-relevant sentence endings focuses on the difficulty of selecting final words for sentence frames and on integration effects in implicit memory (M. Hartman, 1995). This alternative is considered and found wanting on the basis of both new and old empirical data. On the basis of present data and related findings, it is concluded that the task does measure inhibitory efficiency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment categories as reflections of multiple dimensions: Comment on Fraley and Spieker (2003).

Ainsworth's system of classifying patterns of attachment behavior has served the field well and will not be easily displaced--not because of a commitment by attachment researchers to the taxonomic status of these categories but rather because of difficulties lying in the way of a dimensional approach. Foremost among these is the large number of dimensions used in making classifications and the need to develop reliable scales to tap them. Other problems include the need to capture how behavior changes across age and across the episodes of the Strange Situation. Others will debate R. C. Fraley and S. J. Spieker's (2003) arguments concerning taxonomic status. However, whether taxa or not, Ainsworth's categories at the least have represented well the multidimensional space underlying attachment behavior in conditions of mild stress. Only when an alternative approach is demonstrated to predict (with equal power, in practice) the vast range of outcomes associated with Ainsworth's categories will it be a candidate for substitution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reinforcing, subjective, and performance effects of lorazepam and diphenhydramine in humans.

The reinforcing. subjective. and performance effects of 400 mg diphenhydramine (D), 4 mg lorazepam (L), and placebo (P) were compared across repeated administrations in 12 healthy, adult male participants with histories of recreational sedative abuse. P, L, and D were administered orally in a block, random sequence 4 times each. L and D increased scores on participants liking of the drug, desire to take the drug again, and monetary value of the drug relative to placebo. D increased ratings on scales of unpleasant somatic side effects. When the choice was between D and P or between L and P, choice between D and L was greater than chance, and choice of P was less than chance. When the choice was between D and L, both drugs were chosen an equal number of times. L and D effects were consistent across repeated administrations. Correlational analysis showed that some subjective measures were positively correlated, whereas other measures were negatively correlated with measures of drug reinforcement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment disorganization and the controlling strategies: An illustration of the contributions of attachment theory to developmental psychopathology and to psychotherapy integration.

Attachment theory may be instrumental in providing a framework for psychotherapy integration, but to cope with the complexities of clinical realities it should be considered within an overall evolutionary approach to the basis of human interpersonal behavior and also in the perspective of developmental psychopathology. To illustrate these premises with materials that can be of immediate interest to practicing psychotherapists, this article focuses on the example of the clinical applications of research findings on attachment disorganization and its developmental sequels. The controlling strategies that usually follow in the preschool years infant disorganized attachment illustrate the relevance of considering the dialectics and the dynamic tensions between attachment motives and other evolved motives such as caregiving and dominance–submission. The role played by the disorganized-controlling strategies in psychopathological developments and in the relational dilemmas that often characterize the psychotherapy of difficult patients is discussed and exemplified through two clinical vignettes. It is argued that the model based on attachment disorganization and controlling strategies relies on concepts that are understandable and potentially acceptable to psychotherapists of different orientations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on attachment and psychopathology: Part 1.

Research derived from attachment theory has generated a rich and rapidly growing body of findings on the importance of early caregiving experience in the development of psychopathology and in the promotion of adaptation. This special section presents research and scholarship on the relation of attachment status to psychiatric classifications and diagnosis in child, adolescent, and adult populations. Included as well are articles that explore the cross-generational transmission of attachment patterns and investigate the relation of attachment status to response to psychotherapy. These articles are representative of the notable impact that attachment theory and research are making in the field of developmental psychopathology. The special section is intended to help bridge the gap between thinking about attachment and clinical research and intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament as a predictor of behavior during initial dental examination in children

Temperament refers to children's behavioral style, or the manner in which they interact with their environment. Temperament has been quantified into nine temperament categories and five temperament constellations by Thomas and Chess. Temperament categories and constellations of children can be measured using one of several parental questionnaires, each of which focuses on age-appropriate behavior. For this study the Behavioral Style Questionnaire (BSQ) was administered to the parents of 50 healthy children (mean age 48.8 months) receiving initial dental examinations. The examinations were videotaped and The Ohio State Behavior Rating Scale (OSUBRS) was used to rate each child's behavior into one of four behavioral categories: 1) quiet; 2) crying only; 3) disruptive movement only; and 4) crying and disruptive movement. For data analysis the percentage duration of each behavioral category was calculated. Using one-way ANOVA, significant differences between constellations were found for quiet (P = 0.03) and combination behavior (P = 0.03). Using a stepwise linear regression, the temperament category of approach/withdrawal was found to predict the percentage of quiet (multiple R = 0.42357, R2 = 0.17941, and P = 0.002), crying (multiple R = 0.42124, R2 = 0.17744, and P = 0.002), and combination behaviors (multiple R = 0.30008, R2 = 0.09005, and P = 0.03). Additionally, significant regressions were found with temperament categories predicting behavioral categories depending on the child's age. The results of this pilot study suggest that the BSQ temperament constellations and categories appear to be modest predictors of a child's specific behaviors in the dental environment. Knowledge of a child's temperament may prepare the clinician to predict patient behaviors in the dental environment.     

Mutations in the Delta7-sterol reductase gene in patients with the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome

The Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an inborn disorder of sterol metabolism with characteristic congenital malformations and dysmorphias. All patients suffer from mental retardation. Here we identify the SLOS gene as a Delta7-sterol reductase (DHCR7, EC 1.3.1. 21) required for the de novo biosynthesis of cholesterol. The human and murine genes were characterized and assigned to syntenic regions on chromosomes 11q13 and 7F5 by fluorescense in situ hybridization. Among the mutations found in patients with the SLOS, are missense (P51S, T93M, L99P, L157P, A247V, V326L, R352W, C380S, R404C, and G410S), nonsense (W151X), and splice site (IVS8-1G>C) mutations as well as an out of frame deletion (720-735 del). The missense mutations L99P, V326L, R352W, R404C, and G410S reduced heterologous protein expression by >90%. Our results strongly suggest that defects in the DHCR7 gene cause the SLOS.     

Re-expression of functional P-selectin molecules on the endothelial cell surface by repeated stimulation with thrombin

This study used three separate methods to evaluate sexual behavior in boars previously classified as having high (H), intermediate (INT), or low (L) levels of sexual behavior. Boars were initially evaluated for sexual behavior at 9.6 to 10.6 mo of age with a tethered female for 5 min. Boars were subsequently evaluated with a tethered female for 10 min (TF), a group of females for 10 min (FG), or continuously in a cohabitation environment for 113 h (C). When boars were evaluated with the TF procedure they mounted the female in less time (P < .01) and copulated sooner (P < .01) than when evaluated with the FG procedure. Regardless of whether the TF or FG procedure was used, L boars cumulated less time (P < .01) nosing the sides of females and took longer (P < .01) to first mount than H or INT boars. Proportion of successful matings was not different between the TF and FG procedure; however, the proportion of successful matings by H (91.7%), INT (79.2%), and L (45.8%) boars did differ (P < .001). With the C procedure, sexual behavior classification affected (P < .01) average number of successful matings (H, 4.7; INT, 2.3; and L, .33). This study indicates that sexual behavior traits expressed by a boar are similar when evaluated with a tethered female, a group of females, or a cohabitation environment.