On the Dimensionality of the Attachment Style Questionnaire in Italian Clinical and Nonclinical Participants

Abstract

This study examined the utility of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) in an Italian sample of 487 consecutively admitted psychiatric participants and an independent sample of 605 nonclinical participants. Minimum average partial analysis of data from the psychiatric sample supported the hypothesized five-factor structure of the items; furthermore, multiple-group component analysis showed that this fivefactor structure was not an artifact of differences in item distributions. The five-factor structure of the ASQ was largely replicated in the nonclinical sample. Furthermore, in both psychiatric and nonclinical samples, a two-factor higher order structure of the ASQ scales was observed. The higher order factors of Avoidance and Anxious Attachment showed meaningful relations with scales assessing parental bonding, but were not redundant with these scales. Multivariate normal mixture analysis supported the hypothesis that adult attachment patterns, as measured by the ASQ, are best considered as dimensional constructs.

Self-reported anxious- and avoidant-related attachment correlated to interpersonal problems by patients starting psychotherapy

“…The high scores of insecure attachment styles as well as mixed avoidant and anxious attachment styles reported are consistent with findings in previous studies, where attachment patterns were found to be particularly unstable in clinical samples (Fossati et al, 2003;Strauss et al, 2006;van Ijzendoorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 1996;Waters et al, 2000). In an Italian study, also using the ASQ, patients diagnosed with a Personality Disorder showed statistically significant lower scores on Confidence and higher scores on all insecure related attachment scales compared to patients with a DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis (Fossati et al, 2003).…”

“…In a study of a treatment-seeking outpatient sample the authors surprisingly, and inconsistent with what they expected from previous research, found that attachmentrelated avoidance positively correlated to subscales in the affiliation dimension of interpersonal problems (Selfsacrificing and Non-assertive) and that attachmentrelated anxiety positively correlated to subscales in the dominant dimension of interpersonal problems (Cold, Vindictive, Socially inhibited and Dominant) (Haggerty, Hilsenroth & Vala-Stewart, 2009 (BakermansKranenburg & van Ijzendoorn, 2009;Fossati, Feeney, Donati, Donini, Novella, Bagnato, et al, 2003;Strauss et al, 2006;van Ijzendoorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 1996;Waters, Hamilton, & Weinfield, 2000). The findings by Haggerty and collegues (2009) were based on a limited sample size.…”

“…The ASQ showed test-retest stability over a 10-week period (n = 295 respondents) with reliability coefficients ranging from .67 to .78 for the five scales (Feeney et al, 1994). The five-factor structure of the (Fossati et al, 2003). The ASQ has been translated into Swedish, tested in a sample of high school and university students (n = 90) and in a sample of somatic and psychiatric patients (n = 66).…”

“…Even if few clear-cut connections are found, attachment styles have shown to associate with psychiatric diagnoses such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, alcohol abuse and personality disorders (Dozier, Stovall, & Albus, 1999;Fonagy, Leigh, Steele, Steele, Kennedy, Mattoon, et al, 1996;Fossati et al, 2003). Horowitz (2004) has argued that interpersonal problems are inherent in diagnoses described in DSM-IV Axis I diagnoses and in Personality disorders.…”

Psychopathological Organizations and Attachment Styles in Patients with Fear of Flying: A Case Study

“…This is a self-report questionnaire evaluating individual differences in adult attachment style [34]. The questionnaire is made up of 40 items to be rated on a 6-point Likert scale.…”