Working alliance, attachment memories, and social competencies of women in brief therapy.

Current social competencies and memories of attachment bonds with each parent were examined as they related to influences on formation of the working alliance. Female clients (N?=?76) at 4 university and community agencies completed surveys containing the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Self-Efficacy Scale, the Adult Attachment Scale, and the Working Alliance Inventory. Results indicated that parental bonds, especially with fathers, were significantly associated with social competencies. Multiple regression analyses indicated that social competencies (self-efficacy and adult attachment) accounted for 14% of the variance in client working alliance ratings, whereas recalled parental bonds accounted for 23% of the variance. Working alliance was negatively associated with father bonds, positively associated with mother bonds, and (among social competencies) significantly associated with capacity for adult attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working models of attachment and reactions to different forms of caregiving from romantic partners.

Inspired by attachment theory, the authors tested a series of theoretically derived predictions about connections between attachment working models (attachment to one's parents assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview; M. Main & R. Goldwyn, 1994) and the effectiveness of specific types of caregiving spontaneously displayed by dating partners during a stressful conflict-resolution discussion. Each partner first completed the Adult Attachment Interview. One week later, each couple was videotaped while they tried to resolve a current problem in their relationship. Trained observers then rated each interaction for the degree to which (a) emotional, instrumental, and physical caregiving behaviors were displayed; (b) care recipients appeared calmed by their partners' caregiving attempts; and (c) each partner appeared distressed during the discussion. Individuals who had more secure representations of their parents were rated as being more calmed if/when their partners provided greater emotional care, especially if they were rated as more distressed. Conversely, individuals who had more insecure (dismissive) representations of their parents reacted more favorably to instrumental caregiving behaviors from their partners, especially if they were more distressed. The broader theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working models of attachment: implications for explanation, emotion and behavior

Two studies examined attachment style differences in social perception. In Study 1, participants wrote open-ended explanations for hypothetical relationship events and described how they would feel and behave in response to each event. Compared with secure participants, preoccupied participants explained events in more negative ways; they also reported more emotional distress and behaviors that were likely to lead to conflict. Avoidant participants also provided negative explanations, but did not report emotional distress. Path analysis indicated that attachment style differences in behavior were mediated by explanation patterns and emotional distress. Study 2 was designed to replicate Study 1 and test the relative importance of attachment style and relationship quality to predicting each outcome. Results indicated that both variables were significant predictors of explanations, but only attachment style predicted emotional responses. These findings are consistent with the idea that adults with different working models of attachment are predisposed to think, feel, and behave differently in their relationships.     

Global and specific relational models in the experience of social interactions.

Two studies demonstrated that global and relationship-specific models of self and other are correlated but not redundant constructs. Relationship-specific models were operationalized in terms of significant role relationships (Study 1) and salient relationships (i.e., frequent interactions; Study 2). Longitudinal analyses (Study 1) suggested that specific models generalized to global ones over time and that global models had a small but significant effect in shaping specific models over time. Through an event-sampling method, Study 2 assessed the quality and intimacy of daily interactions, over a 7-day period. In hierarchical linear modeling analyses, both global and specific relational models explained the experience of daily interactions within relationships. This research highlighted that relational or attachment models can be considered global and specific representational structures, reflecting relational and individual differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working models of attachment to parents and partners: Implications for emotional behavior between partners.

This study examined whether working models of attachment are associated with observed positive emotion, sadness, and anger during marital conflict. Individuals (n = 176) from a longitudinal study of families participated in the current cross-sectional study. Narrative interviews assessed the unique and combined contribution of attachment representations based on parents (adult attachment) and partner (couple attachment). The influence of partner’s attachment, depression symptoms, and sex of participant was also examined. Hierarchical linear models demonstrated that one’s couple attachment security predicts one’s observed positive emotion, whereas the partner’s couple attachment security predicts one’s observed negative emotion. Partner’s depression symptoms moderated the effects of partner’s couple attachment. Adult attachment was not related to observed emotional behavior between partners. These findings have important clinical implications for individual, couple, and family therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dyadic social interactions.

Kraemer and Jacklin (1979) proposed a method of analysis of univariate dyadic social interactions or relational data, and Mendoza and Graziano (1982) extended this method to multivariate relations. Their approach is based on an analysis-of-variance-type model that contains parameters characterizing the behavior of actors and partners and their interactions on each relation. The techniques presented in this article offer an alternative approach to the multivariate analysis of social interactions by realizing that many relations yield discrete-valued data and thus are better modeled by using methods designed for categorical data. This alternative approach is also more general because it allows more types of models to be fit. We illustrate, using the same data analyzed by the earlier methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of ecological momentary assessment to the study of marital adjustment and social interactions during daily life.

The authors examined the utility of ecological momentary assessment for assessing spousal interactions in the natural environment among 245 healthy, married, older adults. Convergent validity for this method was demonstrated by (a) a positive association between marital adjustment (MA) and average diary ratings of agreeableness during spousal interactions and (b) an inverse association between MA and average diary ratings of conflict during spousal interactions. When agreeableness and conflict were examined simultaneously for spousal interactions, only agreeableness independently predicted MA. By contrast, when nonspousal interactions were examined, only conflict during nonspousal interactions was an independent predictor of MA. Results underscore the merit of obtaining representative measures of social interactions during daily life for understanding influences on and consequences of MA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The generalization of attachment representations to new social situations: Predicting behavior during initial interactions with strangers.

The idea that attachment representations are generalized to new social situations and guide behavior with unfamiliar others is central to attachment theory. However, research regarding this important theoretical postulate has been lacking in adolescence and adulthood, as most research has focused on establishing the influence of attachment representations on close relationship dynamics. Thus, the goal of this investigation was to examine the extent to which attachment representations are predictive of adolescents' initial behavior when meeting and interacting with new peers. High school adolescents (N = 135) participated with unfamiliar peers from another school in 2 social support interactions that were videotaped and coded by independent observers. Results indicated that attachment representations (assessed through interview and self-report measures) were predictive of behaviors exhibited during the discussions. Theoretical implications of the results and contributions to the existing literature are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual models of social behavior.

Presents a technique that extracts individual models of social behavior. Such models reflect each individual's ideas about what social behaviors are interrelated, and what aspects of social situations are linked to different levels of probability that particular patterns of social behavior will occur. The method was used in 2 studies, one with bicultural Ss (1 American, 6 Latin Americans, 2 Hong Kong Chinese, and 1 Greek) and the other with 22 monocultural Mexican and Chinese Ss and 8 of the bilinguals from the 1st study. For each S, factor analysis of the judgments concerning the probability of occurrence of specific social behaviors in specific social situations provided information of how the S linked social behaviors. ANOVA on the factor scores provided information about the S's beliefs concerning how attributes of social situations are linked to social behaviors. Inspection of the individual models of social behavior indicated that some common elements across models are probably linked to culture. The technique has wide applicability for social and personality psychology because it permits idiographic comparison of models of social behavior across individuals who share some attribute. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working alliance as a mediator of client attachment dimensions and psychotherapy outcome.

Studies that employ multidimensional attachment measures to explore the impact of attachment style on psychotherapy process and outcome are virtually absent in the literature. Further, the role of the working (therapeutic) alliance as a mediator of the influence of attachment on treatment outcome has not been formally investigated. In order to address these gaps in the research, archival data from 66 psychotherapy clients treated at a university graduate program training clinic were used to examine the influence of three adult attachment dimensions (Comfort with Closeness, Comfort Depending on Others, and Rejection Anxiety) on the therapeutic alliance and outcome, as well as to assess whether the alliance mediates the relationship between attachment and therapy outcome. Both Comfort with Closeness and Comfort Depending on Others were significantly related to alliance and outcome, whereas Rejection Anxiety was not significantly related to either variable. Alliance was a significant partial mediator of the effect of Comfort with Closeness on outcome. The results suggest that multidimensional measures of attachment capture important influences on alliance and psychotherapy and that Comfort with Closeness promotes successful outcome by virtue of its influence on alliance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Three-way analysis of dyadic social interactions.

Proposes a method for analyzing data from dyadic social interactions across 3 dichotomous variables. By accounting for the likely interdependency between 2 scores from a dyad, problems incurred with traditional analyses are circumvented. The analysis is demonstrated by an examination of data from 4 groups of 41 parent–child dyads: mother–daughter, mother–son, father–daughter, and father–son. The effects of sex-of-S, sex-of-partner, familial relationship between S and partner, and the interaction of these factors were tested. Results are compared to results derived from a repeated-measures ANOVA. It is shown that the latter analysis may mask important features of the data. (1 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working memory capacity in generalized social phobia.

Research suggests that understanding complex social cues depends on the availability of cognitive resources (e.g., Phillips, Channon, Tunstall, Hedenstrom, & Lyons, 2008). In spite of evidence suggesting that executive control functioning may impact anxiety (e.g., Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007), relatively few studies have examined working memory in individuals with generalized social phobia. Moreover, few studies have examined the role of threat-relevant content in working memory performance in clinically anxious populations. To this end, the present study assessed working memory capacity (WMC) in individuals with generalized social phobia and nonanxious controls using an operation span task with threat-relevant and neutral stimuli. Results revealed that nonanxious individuals demonstrated better WMC than individuals with generalized social phobia for neutral words but not for social threat words. Individuals with generalized social phobia demonstrated better WMC performance for threat words relative to neutral words. These results suggest that individuals with generalized social phobia may have relatively enhanced working memory performance for salient, socially relevant information. This enhanced working memory capacity for threat-relevant information may be the result of practice with this information in generalized social phobia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love

The purpose of this paper is to review existing behavioral and neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Both love and social attachments function to facilitate reproduction, provide a sense of safety, and reduce anxiety or stress. Because social attachment is an essential component of love, understanding attachment formation is an important step toward identifying the neurobiological substrates of love. Studies of pair bonding in monogamous rodents, such as prairie voles, and maternal attachment in precocial ungulates offer the most accessible animal models for the study of mechanisms underlying selective social attachments and the propensity to develop social bonds. Parental behavior and sexual behavior, even in the absence of selective social behaviors, are associated with the concept of love; the analysis of reproductive behaviors, which is far more extensive than our understanding of social attachment, also suggests neuroendocrine substrates for love. A review of these literatures reveals a recurrent association between high levels of activity in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and the subsequent expression of social behaviors and attachments. Positive social behaviors, including social bonds, may reduce HPA axis activity, while in some cases negative social interactions can have the opposite effect. Central neuropeptides, and especially oxytocin and vasopressin have been implicated both in social bonding and in the central control of the HPA axis. In prairie voles, which show clear evidence of pair bonds, oxytocin is capable of increasing positive social behaviors and both oxytocin and social interactions reduce activity in the HPA axis. Social interactions and attachment involve endocrine systems capable of decreasing HPA reactivity and modulating the autonomic nervous system, perhaps accounting for health benefits that are attributed to loving relationships.     

Age segregation in children's social interactions.

436 children, aged 1–12 yrs, were observed at home or outdoors in a middle-income neighborhood. Across all age groups, strict age segregation was less common than was expected. Ss were with same-age peers in only 6% of the observations, with child companions who differed from them in age by at least 1 yr in 55% of the observations, with adult companions in 28% of the observations (including observations in which child companions were also present), and alone 26% of the time. Companionship with same-age peers increased with age, whereas contact with children within 2 yrs of the S's age did not vary significantly between age groups. Companionship with children more than 2 yrs younger or older than S increased until ages 7–8 yrs and then declined. Contact with adults decreased across age groups. Contrary to expectation, information obtained from adult-organized summer programs did not show more segregation by age than did that from children's spontaneous groups. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood social interactions and young adult bad conduct.

Case history data of former patients at 2 child guidance clinics that had been subsequently discharged from service because of bad conduct were examined. A major and significant trend was found reflecting an inverse relationship between peer group adjustment and evidence of bad conduct. The adult "bad conduct" group seemed to be characterized as children who had antagonized their peers to an unusual degree. The results demonstrated the predictive value of adjustment in childhood and behavior in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marginal and mindful: Deviants in social interactions.

Master status people's behavior, physical appearance, or life circumstance is statistically unusual and centrally defining (e.g., the physically attractive, the obese, the intellectually gifted, the facially scarred, the talented, the athletic, Blacks, gays, the wealthy, rape and incest victims). These individuals were paired with people without such conditions. Each pair was left alone on a pretext and covertly videotaped. Pairs were then separated; each member spontaneously recalled information about her partner and the experimental room and provided a record of her thoughts and feelings during the interaction. As hypothesized, all master status Ss were particularly likely to be mindful in social interactions; they recalled detailed information about the situation and often took their partner's perspective during the interaction. The positive or negative connotations of the master status conditions were irrelevant in predicting Ss cognitions (mindfulness) but were critical in determining Ss behaviors (interaction strategies). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental models of attachment and coping with abortion

This study explored the relationships between mental models of attachment and adjustment to abortion in 408 women undergoing a 1st-trimester abortion at a large free-standing abortion clinic. As expected, mental models of attachment were related to postabortion distress and positive well-being. These relationships were mediated by feelings of self-efficacy for coping with abortion, perceived support from a woman's male partner, and perceived conflict from this same source. Model of self and model of others interacted only in predicting perceived conflict and positive well-being. Model of self was more strongly related to the mediator and outcome variables than was model of others. The effects of model of self, however, were largely a reflection of the overlap between model of self and self-esteem.     

Relationship-specific and global perceptions of social support: Associations with well-being and attachment.

Is one's global sense of social support largely a summation of the support perceived to exist within current social relationships, or is it a traitlike construct independent of current support levels? To address this issue, 183 college students completed measures of global support, support from four different social domains, attachment style, and several measures of well-being. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that for two well-being measures (global and social loneliness), both global and domain support displayed significant unique associations; for emotional loneliness, only domain support had a significant unique influence. For the well-being measure reflecting generalized negative affect, only global support displayed such a unique association. Thus, global and domain support appear to be, to a considerable degree, independent constructs, each with its own sphere of influence in affecting well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)