The transmission of attachment across generations: The state of art and new theoretical perspectives

Sette, Giovanna; Coppola, Gabrielle; Cassibba, Rosalinda

doi:10.1111/sjop.12212

Cited by 27 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 98 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In three studies, Unresolved parental AAI status, as identified before the birth of the first child and thus indicative of a representational state present before any possible influence of this or another child, was found predictive of infant Disorganized attachment (mothers and infants: Fonagy, Steele, & Steele, 1991 ; Ward & Carlson, 1995 ; fathers and infants: Steele, Steele, & Fonagy, 1996 ). Similar results replicating the link between Unresolved and Disorganized attachment status across multiple studies have been found in a recent meta-analysis focusing largely on non-English-speaking countries (Settee, Coppola, & Cassibba, 2015 ). Finally, in the most recent and most comprehensive meta-analysis conducted to date ( N = 4819; Verhage et al, 2016 ), Unresolved versus non-Unresolved classifications continued to yield significant effect sizes predicting infant Disorganized attachment status for both published and unpublished data (though weaker in the latter case).…”

supporting

confidence: 86%

Parental loss of family members within two years of offspring birth predicts elevated absorption scores in college

Bahm

Duschinsky

Hesse

2016

Attachment & Human Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Liotti proposed that interactions during infancy with a parent suffering unresolved loss could lead to vulnerabilities to altered states of consciousness. Hesse and van IJzendoorn provided initial support for Liotti’s hypothesis, finding elevated scores on Tellegen’s Absorption Scale - a normative form of dissociation - for undergraduates reporting that their parents had experienced the loss of family members within two years of their birth. Here, we replicated the above findings in a large undergraduate sample (N = 927). Additionally, we investigated mother’s and father’s losses separately. Perinatal losses, including miscarriage, were also considered. Participants reporting that the mother or both parents had experienced loss within two years of their birth scored significantly higher on absorption than those reporting only perinatal, only father, or no losses. While not applicable to the assessment of individuals, the brief loss questionnaire utilized here could provide a useful addition to selected large-scale studies.

show abstract

supporting

confidence: 86%

Parental loss of family members within two years of offspring birth predicts elevated absorption scores in college

Bahm

Duschinsky

Hesse

2016

Attachment & Human Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A central issue in attachment theory is the intergenerational transmission of attachment styles. Both attachment and clinical sources support the style transmission from a generation to the next ( Bowlby, 1969/1982 , 1973 , 1980 ; Guidano and Liotti, 1983 ; Guidano, 1987 , 1991 ; Bretherton, 1993 ; Van Ijzendoorn, 1995 ; Bernier et al, 2014 ; Sette et al, 2015 ; Verhage et al, 2016 ; Van Ijzendoorn and Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2019 ). According to this phenomenon, a child will most likely acquire the style of their main caregiver.…”

Section: Attachment Theory: Three Major Problems Concerning Personalitymentioning

confidence: 98%

How Our Caregivers Shape Who We Are: The Seven Dimensions of Attachment at the Core of Personality

Gagliardi

2021

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Psychology defines personality as the stable traits of an individual, and cognitive research suggests that a set of core beliefs is at the root of these traits. From this perspective, two major questions remain unanswered: (1) What are the core beliefs that make up personality? (2) How are they acquired? An interesting answer is provided by attachment theory, according to which attachment is at the basis of personality. The current theoretical formulation, however, does not sufficiently clarify the relationship between the two. Adopting a cognitive-clinical approach, we put forward a novel version of attachment theory, arguing that it can better account for the relationship between attachment and personality, thereby providing more convincing answers to questions (1) and (2). In particular, we propose that: (A) attachment information is acquired over seven dimensions; (B) the acquisition of each dimension is induced by a specific caregiving feature and (C) realized through a specific acquisition mechanism – imprinting. In a nutshell, we propose an Attachment-Personality Model (APM) according to which seven attachment dimensions constitute the knowledge core of personality. We finally discuss the significant implications of the model, especially its clinical application in terms of conception, assessment, and treatment of mental disorders. The model can be empirically tested, and we suggest three ways to do that.

show abstract

“…Given that the attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance are stable personality aspects (Waters et al, 2000), these dimensions should be accurately assessed in interventions aiming to reduce recidivism. Also, attachment dimensions are thought to be transgenerational in nature (Sette et al, 2015) as is the tendency to perpetrate IPV (Capaldi et al, 2012). Considering that IPV-related treatment interventions are frequently brief, group-based, largely psychoeducational in their orientation and the evidence for their effectiveness is weak, research is needed to improve the response to male perpetrators of IPV (Tarzia et al, 2020).…”

Section: Future Research Directionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relation of Anxiety and Avoidance Dimensions of Attachment to Intimate Partner Violence: A Meta-Analysis About Perpetrators

Velotti

Rogier

Zobel

et al. 2020

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: The attachment theory is a useful framework for interpreting the phenomenon of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Although several studies have examined the relationship between attachment and IPV perpetration, a meta-analysis of these results has yet to be conducted. Method: After a search on five databases (PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed) and a screening of 3,852 records recruited, 52 studies comprising 13,653 individuals met the inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. Results: Results showed a significant effect size for both the anxiety and avoidance dimensions of attachment. However, while the effect sizes for anxiety were consistent ( r = .19–.35) for all types of violence considered, the effect size for avoidance was not significant for generic violence ( r = .07), low for physical ( r = .12) and psychological violence ( r = .14), and medium for sexual violence ( r = .20). Only a few of the examined moderators were significant. Conclusions: The findings highlight some differences in the roles of the two attachment dimensions in IPV. The results underscore the need for additional research to explore the role of other potential moderating and mediating variables in the relationship between attachment and IPV perpetration in order to better support the development of prevention and treatment interventions.

show abstract

The transmission of attachment across generations: The state of art and new theoretical perspectives

Cited by 27 publications

References 98 publications

Parental loss of family members within two years of offspring birth predicts elevated absorption scores in college

Parental loss of family members within two years of offspring birth predicts elevated absorption scores in college

How Our Caregivers Shape Who We Are: The Seven Dimensions of Attachment at the Core of Personality

The Relation of Anxiety and Avoidance Dimensions of Attachment to Intimate Partner Violence: A Meta-Analysis About Perpetrators

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About