An evaluation of the construct of earned security in adolescents: Evidence from an inpatient sample

Abstract

In adult attachment research, a group of individuals who convey secure attachments despite recalling difficult early caregiver relationships has been identified. The term earned security refers to individuals in this group, whereas continuous security refers to individuals who convey secure attachments and describe caring early relationships. Evidence on the validity of earned security in adults is mixed--with one longitudinal study showing that earned secure adults, despite contrary recollections, are actually more likely to have experienced positive caregiving than continuous secure adults. There is currently no evidence of earned security in adolescence, and exploring it in this age group may help shed light on the overall problem of the validity of this construct. Therefore, the broad aim of this study was to examine the construct of earned security in a group of inpatient adolescents. First, the authors aimed to identify a group of adolescents with secure attachments and memories of difficult caregiver relationships (i.e., proposed earned secure group) in a sample of 240 inpatient adolescents. Next, to explore external validity, the authors examined whether this group differed from others with regard to internalizing distress and emotion regulation. Findings indicated that a subset of secure adolescents recall difficult caregiving, as has been noted in adults, and that they differ from others with regard to emotion regulation. Despite this preliminary evidence that earned security can be identified in adolescents, the authors conclude with a discussion of the caveats of applying this construct in adolescents as well as adults.

The Child Attachment Interview: A Narrative Review

“…On the contrary, they argued that attachment insecurity may be only one pathway among several to psychopathology and that it is not a necessary precondition to psychopathology, although it is quite a common occurrence. Regarding this issue, a fascinating study (Venta et al, 2015b) investigated the construct of earned attachment security (Pearson et al, 1994) in a sample of 240 inpatient adolescents. They found that 19 (8%) adolescents who were assigned to the secure CAI classification reported negative experiences with their mothers on the care subscale of the Parental Bonding Inventory (PBI; Parker et al, 1979).…”

Peran Attachment terhadap Self-Esteem pada Dewasa Muda Diselingkuhi

“…Sedangkan, attachment related -anxiety, sebenarnya memiliki keinginan yang besar untuk membangun sebuah hubungan dan sebenarnya membutuhkan suatu bentuk hubungan yang memberikan kedekatan dan perlindungan, tetapi dalam konteks ini hal tersebut memiliki kekhawatiran dalam kehadiran pasangannya. (Venta, Sharp, Shmueli-Goetz, & Newlin, 2015). Individu akan menjalani pemulihan attachment ketika pengalaman memiliki insecure attachment dilihat sebagai suatu hal yang koheren, yaitu suatu bagian dari kehidupannya.…”

“…Individu akan menjalani pemulihan attachment ketika pengalaman memiliki insecure attachment dilihat sebagai suatu hal yang koheren, yaitu suatu bagian dari kehidupannya. Hal tersebut juga didukung dengan jangka waktu pemulihan dan sosok signifikan lain yang membantu proses individu dalam memeroleh secure attachment (Venta, Sharp, Shmueli-Goetz, & Newlin, 2015).…”

Mentalization, emotional dysregulation and attachment to alternative attachment figures in retrospectively defined earned secure adults

“…After this publication, researchers lost interest in earning security, and recently it has been discussed only in case studies ( Guina, 2016 ) or qualitative research ( Dansby Olufowote et al, 2020 ). However, Venta et al (2015) noted that the non-longitudinal nature of changes in attachment should not put the study of the earned secure group to an end. Defining our focus is crucial: is it external reality, where childhood neglect might not have occurred, or mental reality, where an individual recalls inadequate care, impacting their functioning, regardless of facts?…”

“…A particular internal reorganization most likely occurred and allowed an individual to benefit from a good internal relationship despite negative evaluation of care early in life. Understanding how this group differs from those with consistent subjective experiences (e.g., low childhood care and insecure adult attachment, or optimal childhood care and secure adult attachment) is important, given the widespread nature of this inconsistency (8-20% of the general population; see Roisman et al, 2002 ; Saunders et al, 2011 ; Venta et al, 2015 ). Addressing these concerns, Venta et al (2015) proposed replacing “earned secure” with “negative recall subtype of secure attachment”, which does not imply change over a lifetime.…”