Childhood attachment and behavioral inhibition: Predicting intolerance of uncertainty in adulthood

Abstract

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), the tendency to react negatively to uncertain situations, has been identified as an important cognitive component of anxiety disorders, yet little is known about its etiology. Links to temperament, particularly behavioral inhibition (BI), and insecure attachment have been proposed in the development of IU, but no prospective empirical investigation has been performed thus far. In the current study, attachment to caregiver and BI of 60 children were assessed at age 6, using observational measures. Mother's anxiety symptoms were assessed when participants were 14 years old. IU was reported by participants when they were 21 years old, as was neuroticism. Two types of insecure attachment (ambivalent and disorganized-controlling) and BI were positively related to IU over a 15-year span, even after controlling for participants' neuroticism and maternal anxiety. Attachment and BI had no significant interacting effect on the development of IU. Maternal anxiety was positively related to child BI and insecure attachment, but not IU. This study is the first to provide empirical support for a link between ambivalent and disorganized-controlling attachment and BI in preschool children to the development of IU in adulthood. Results have etiological and preventative implications not only for anxiety disorders but also for all disorders related to IU.

Adult attachment, worry and reassurance seeking: Investigating the role of intolerance of uncertainty

“…In the only longitudinal examination of attachment and IU of which we are aware, Zdebik, Moss, and Bureau (2018) reported the results of a study in which childhood attachment security was assessed in 60 children at age six, with IU measured after a 15‐year period. The study found that insecure attachment orientations at age six (specifically ambivalent and disorganised controlling type) predicated greater IU in adulthood relative to secure attachment, even after controlling for variables such as maternal anxiety.…”

Childhood behavioral inhibition and attachment: Links to generalized anxiety disorder in young adulthood

“…IU is thus a central precursor in the theoretical model of GAD, as it acts as a filter in ambiguous situations, leading to negative interpretations (Dugas and Robichaud, 2007 ; Robichaud et al, 2019 ). Few studies have investigated childhood risk factors contributing to IU in adulthood (for exceptions see: Tan et al, 2010 ; Zdebik et al, 2018 ) and only one has done so prospectively, linking insecure attachment and behavioral inhibition at age 6 to IU in emerging adulthood at age 21 (Zdebik et al, 2018 ). Since IU is highly associated with GAD, such work supports the assumptions of theoretical and developmental models of GAD that insecure attachment, as well as increased physiological responsiveness to novelty such as seen in behavioral inhibition, could pose significant risk for later GAD.…”

“…In doing so, their avoidant behaviors are reinforced, decreasing the opportunity to habituate to these situations which puts them at risk of developing an anxiety disorder (Manassis and Bradley, 1994 ; Lonigan and Phillips, 2001 ). Recent research has also linked inhibited child behaviors (i.e., low sociability and shyness) and IU in adolescence (Hawes et al, 2021 ) and in adulthood (Zdebik et al, 2018 ). Behavioral inhibition has also been associated with anxiety disorders and GAD in children and adolescence (Hudson and Dodd, 2012 ; Stumper et al, 2017 ; Sandstrom et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The objective of the current study is to expand on our previous work examining longitudinal prediction of IU in emerging adulthood (Zdebik et al, 2018 ). Specifically, we want to examine if childhood behavioral inhibition and attachment at age 6 and IU at 21 years of age directly contribute to GAD in young adulthood (at age 23), while controlling for maternal anxiety, and whether the associations between behavioral inhibition and attachment and GAD are mediated by IU.…”

La intolerancia a la incertidumbre, la tendencia a experimentar preocupaciones y el pesimismo como factores intervinientes en la relación entre la dependencia emocional y la violencia

“…Además, las situaciones inciertas e inesperadas, como es el caso de un posible abandono de la pareja, les agota y les perturba y creen que pueden evitarlo (Rodríguez de Behrends y Brenlla, 2015). Por su parte, la teoría del apego podría explicar la relación entre la intolerancia a la incertidumbre y la permanencia en relaciones de pareja violentas ya que el estilo de apego ansioso-ambivalente establecido en la infancia, característico en las personas que permanecen en relaciones violentas, actúa como predictor de la intolerancia a la incertidumbre en el futuro (Zdebik et al, 2018). Otra explicación, podría basarse en que la intolerancia a la incertidumbre se ha asociado fuertemente a la ansiedad generalizada (Gillett et al, 2018) y se ha mencionado que las personas con niveles más altos de internalización de síntomas como la ansiedad pueden ser más vulnerables a establecer o permanecer en relaciones violentas (Novak y Furman, 2016).…”