Attachment style and alliance in patients with diabetes and healthcare professionals

Abstract

Avoidant attachment has been found to impair attendance at appointments and treatment adherence of patients with diabetes, but the role of staff-patient relationships has not been explored. This study investigates whether attachment influences the quality of alliance between patients with diabetes and healthcare professionals. Patient avoidance was significantly associated with difficulties in therapeutic alliance. Further research is required to establish whether therapeutic alliance, underpinned by attachment, influences treatment adherence and to investigate ways of promoting collaboration.

Rehabilitation of women with gynaecological cancer: the association between adult attachment, post‐traumatic stress disorder and depression

“…Rehabilitation is a collaborative process including alliances with health professionals. These alliances may be affected by individual attachment styles . The adult attachment influences the patient's ability to elicit caregiving behaviour from the healthcare professionals and the professionals' capability to respond to the patient's needs .…”

A comparison of usual care, a patient-centred education intervention and motivational interviewing to improve medication adherence and readmissions of adults in an acute-care setting

“…Item examples from this subscale were 'I can express negative feelings freely' and 'Plain language is used by my nurse'. Morris et al (2009) found that some patients tended to overrate the quality of therapeutic alliance with their provider in that study, despite assurances of confidentiality.…”

“…Morris et al . () found that some patients tended to over‐rate the quality of therapeutic alliance with their provider in that study, despite assurances of confidentiality.…”

Achieving adolescent adherence to treatment of major depression

“…Establishment of an affective bond is facilitated by clinician warmth, interest, empathy, nonjudgmental acceptance, and honesty,29,30 coupled with adolescent patient capacity for interpersonal attachment 36. Trust in the clinician’s expertise, an important contributor to an effective therapeutic alliance and satisfactory adherence,17–19,21,27,32,37,38 is engendered by careful explanatory communication and by early evidence of clinical improvement.…”

“…Adolescent acceptance of a collaborative role fosters successful coping with concerns about and inconveniences associated with treatment 39. Patients with avoidant36 or cold/detached42 traits will find collaboration difficult and will manifest, at least initially, impaired relationships with clinicians, potentially adversely influencing treatment adherence and outcome.…”