Attachment organization, emotion regulation, and expectations of support in a clinical sample of women with childhood abuse histories

Abstract

Despite the consistent documentation of an association between compromised attachment and clinical disorders, there are few empirical studies exploring factors that may mediate this relationship. This study evaluated the potential roles of emotion regulation and social support expectations in linking adult attachment classification and psychiatric impairment in 109 women with a history of childhood abuse and a variety of diagnosed psychiatric disorders. Path analysis confirmed that insecure attachment was associated with psychiatric impairment through the pathways of poor emotion regulation capacities and diminished expectations of support. Results suggest the relevance of attachment theory in understanding the myriad psychiatric outcomes associated with childhood maltreatment and in particular, the focal roles that emotion regulation and interpersonal expectations may play.

Maternal versus paternal physical and emotional abuse, affect regulation and risk for depression from adolescence to early adulthood

“…Consistent with these views, numerous studies have shown that childhood abuse has been associated with emotion dysregulation (e.g., Camras, Sachs-Alter, & Ribordy, 1996;Cloitre, Stovall-McClough, Zorbas, & Charuvastra, 2008;Kim & Cicchetti, 2010;Riggs, 2010;Romens & Pollak, 2012).…”

Psychological Well-being and Coping: the Predictive Value of Adult Attachment, Dispositional Mindfulness, and Emotion Regulation

“…With repeated positive experiences, individuals internalize these emotion regulation strategies and develop confidence in the helpfulness of others. More specifically, effective adaptation in the context of secure attachment can be attributed to emotion regulation capacities, including turning to others for support when threats exceed the individual's capacity to cope alone (Cloitre et al 2008).…”

The Impact of Early Losses, Attachment, Temperament-Character Traits and Affect Regulation on the Development of Psychopathology

“…Bu bulgu da, psikopatoloji ile güvensiz bağlanma arasındaki ilişkiyi araştıran pek çok çalışma ile tutarlılık göstermektedir (MacDonald ve ark. 2008;Cloitte ve ark. 2008;Venta ve ark.…”