The results supported the relevance of both attachment style and maladaptive schemas to individuals with mental health difficulties. Importantly, several aspects of the individuals' symptoms and difficulties and their schemas were meaningfully related to their adult attachment style. Limitations included the small number of dismissing individuals identified, the problems of self-report in this area, and the absence of information about the quality of participants' current relationships.

Bowlby's attachment theory has had considerable impact on research in developmental psychology. Despite this, its relation to other literature and application to clinical practice have been poorly exploited. This paper seeks to outline the current conceptualization of adult attachment styles, and explore the evidence for a link between attachment style and psychopathology in adulthood. The paper also provides a review of the cognitive research on the beliefs people hold in relation to their attachment style. Furthermore, the importance of building on this theoretical and empirical base to examine the connections between adult attachment style and schemas is highlighted. The last part of the review explores how attending to both the concepts of attachment style and schema may contribute to developing clinical practice.

This study provides some support to the hypothesis that reduced serotonin function contributes to high trait impulsiveness and is not restricted to behaviourally extreme populations.

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