Attachment and treatment response among adults in inpatient treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Abstract

In this study, the authors investigated changes in attachment orientation after treatment in an inpatient program for adults with posttraumatic stress disorder. The authors also examined the association between these changes and symptom reduction. Results indicated that secure attachment increased significantly over treatment in comparison to a wait list group, and this change was maintained over the 6 months after discharge. Positive changes were also noted in the underlying attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance. Furthermore, positive changes in attachment were found to be associated with symptom reduction during treatment and maintenance of these reductions after discharge. These results have potential implications for the goals of psychotherapeutic intervention in general and for the utility of specialized inpatient trauma treatment specifically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Attachment as a Mediator between Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Symptomatology

“…Since the program emphasized reestablishing a sense of personal security through corrective emotional experiences in a group environment, the authors argued that enhancing levels of attachment security in the context of trusting relationships with therapists and other group members can be a critical component in the process of recovery from trauma (see also Herman 1992). Alongside the Muller and Rosenkranz (2009) findings, the results of the current study affirm the central role attachment appears to play as a mediator on the path to both symptomatology and to recovery among individuals with histories of trauma. Mediation ratio and the ratio of the indirect effect to direct effect are based on unstandardized path coefficients.…”

“…Fonagy et al 1995;Travis et al 2001). In a recent study by Muller and Rosenkranz (2009), the authors found that positive change in attachment over the course of an 8-week, inpatient group-therapy program for the treatment of abuse-related trauma, was associated with symptom reduction both following treatment and 6 months later. Since the program emphasized reestablishing a sense of personal security through corrective emotional experiences in a group environment, the authors argued that enhancing levels of attachment security in the context of trusting relationships with therapists and other group members can be a critical component in the process of recovery from trauma (see also Herman 1992).…”

Trauma Severity, Poly-victimization, and Treatment Response: Adults in an Inpatient Trauma Program

“…Treatment outcome results with the TSC-40 total and subscale scores, as well as the SCL-GSI score can be found in Muller and Rosenkranz (2009) and Rosenkranz and Muller (2011). These analyses demonstrated significant symptom improvement at discharge and maintenance of treatment gains at 6-months follow-up.…”

“…Included in this body of work are the studies of two separate research labs that examined the program investigated in the current study with three different patient samples and reported improvements at discharge in overall level of psychiatric symptoms (Stalker et al 2005), PTSD symptoms (Stalker et al 2005;Rosenkranz and Muller 2011;Wright and Woo 2000;Wright et al 2003), and attachment orientation (Muller and Rosenkranz 2009). These studies reported overall maintenance of treatment gains at 6-months and 1-year follow-up.…”

“…The current study was a waitlist comparison design that was part of a larger project evaluating the effectiveness of the PTSR (Muller and Rosenkranz 2009;Rosenkranz and Muller 2011). Eligible participants were invited to participate in the study through mailed research packages when placed on the waitlist and at admission.…”