The association between adult attachment style and mental health in extreme life-endangering conditions

Mikulincer, Mario; Horesh, Netta; Eilati, Ilana; Kotler, Moshe

doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(99)00032-x

Cited by 77 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Insofar as avoidant individuals' lack of attention to attachment-related material similarly reflects an effortful inhibitory strategy, as suggested by the present findings, such biases may put avoidant individuals at risk for later adverse consequences. Prior research has linked avoidance with concurrent mental health problems (e.g., Mikulincer, Horesh, Eliati, & Kotler, 1999;Rholes, Simpson, & Friedman, 2006) and with increases in such problems over time (Berant et al, 2001;Berant, Mikulincer, & Florian, 2003). However, mediators of the avoidancedistress relationship remain elusive (but see Berant et al, 2001Berant et al, , 2003, for an assessment of perceived coping abilities).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoiding Interference: Adult Attachment and Emotional Processing Biases

Edelstein

Gillath

2007

Pers Soc Psychol Bull

131

108

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The present study investigated attachment-related differences in emotional processing biases. Consistent with the proposal that avoidant individuals limit attention to potentially distressing information, attachment avoidance was associated with reductions in emotional Stroop (ES) interference for attachment-related words (e.g., intimate, loss). These biases were strongest among individuals who were currently in a romantic relationship, suggesting that being in a close relationship may activate avoidant defensive strategies. In addition, avoidant attentional biases were attenuated under cognitive load, suggesting that inhibiting attention to attachment-related information requires cognitive effort. Finally, avoidance was unrelated to ES performance for emotional, nonattachment-related words, demonstrating the specificity of these attentional biases. The present findings suggest that avoidant individuals can inhibit attention to potentially threatening information, that this ability requires cognitive effort, and that relationship status may be an important moderator of avoidant defensive strategies. The implications of these strategies for emotional functioning and well-being are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoiding Interference: Adult Attachment and Emotional Processing Biases

Edelstein

Gillath

2007

Pers Soc Psychol Bull

131

108

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“…This finding may provide a better understanding of prior findings on the vulnerability of avoidant persons. A number of studies have pointed out that although avoidant persons show adequate levels of well-being and functioning in daily life, they exhibit relatively high levels of distress and signs of maladjustment in severe and persistent stressful situations (e.g., Mikulincer & Florian, 1998;Mikulincer, Horesh, Eilati, & Kotler, 1999). It is This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress and accessibility of proximity-related thoughts: Exploring the normative and intraindividual components of attachment theory.

Mikulincer¹,

Birnbaum²,

Woddis³

et al. 2000

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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303

240

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Three studies examine the effects of stress on the accessibility of proximity-related thoughts. In all the studies, participants reported on their attachment style, and the accessibility of proximity themes and worries in a lexical decision task was assessed upon the priming of a stress or neutral word. In Study 2, the primed stress word was semantically related to attachment themes. In Study 3, lexical decisions were made under low or high cognitive load conditions. Overall, the priming of a stress word led to increased accessibility of proximity themes, regardless of attachment style. Anxious-ambivalent people also showed high accessibility to proximity themes and worries in both neutral and stress contexts. In most conditions, avoidant persons' reactions were similar to those of secure persons. However, they showed no accessibility to proximity worries even after the priming of a semantically related word and reacted with high accessibility to these worries upon the addition of cognitive load.In his classic trilogy, Bowlby (1969, 1973, 1980) developed an ethological theory about the function, antecedents, and consequences of the activation of the attachment system in humans. However, the vast majority of attachment studies have adopted an individual differences perspective, dealing with Bowlby's (1973, 1988) statements about the effects of a person's history of attachment experiences on his or her attachment style. This trend is mainly noted in adult attachment studies, which have focused on the ways people differing in attachment style differ in the way they regulate distress. Our study attempts to integrate the normative and intraindividual components of attachment theory and to examine Bowlby's hypothesis about the effect of stress arousal on the activation of the attachment system. Specifically, we examine whether a stress context cognitively activates the attachment system in most individuals while, at the same time, examining whether and how individual differences in attachment style may color this activation.Attachment, Stress Arousal, and Distress Regulation One basic statement of Bowlby's (1969Bowlby's ( , 1973Bowlby's ( , 1980 theory is that all human beings are born with an attachment system aimed at maintaining proximity to significant others

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“…Various studies suggest that the prolonged exposure to terrorism in Israel creates chronic stress situations that have traumatic consequences, including the development of both traumatic and posttraumatic symptoms, anxiety and somatization (Kimhi and Shamai 2006;Mikulincer et al 1999). Adolescents experience or report emotional numbing, depression, a sense of alienation and avoidance, intrusive thoughts, nightmares, sleep disturbances, and hyper-vigilance (Realmuto et al 1992;Weisenberg et al1993).…”

Section: Psychological Effects Of Exposure To Terrorismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive and Negative Effects of Long-Term Bombardment Among Israeli Adolescents: The Role of Gender and Social Environment

Yablon

Itzhaky

Pagorek-Eshel

2011

Child Adolesc Soc Work J

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The effects of living under long-term bombardment were studied among 1,004 adolescent students in Israel. The study was based on the theoretical framework of the conservation of resources and examined differences between boys and girls who live in high and low socioeconomic environments. The findings revealed that students from a low socioeconomic status (SES) and girls present more negative symptoms than high SES students and boys, while concomitantly exhibiting greater posttraumatic growth. The contribution of social resources for coping and the relationship between positive and negative symptoms as result of exposure to terrorism are discussed.

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The association between adult attachment style and mental health in extreme life-endangering conditions

Cited by 77 publications

References 26 publications

Avoiding Interference: Adult Attachment and Emotional Processing Biases

Avoiding Interference: Adult Attachment and Emotional Processing Biases

Stress and accessibility of proximity-related thoughts: Exploring the normative and intraindividual components of attachment theory.

Positive and Negative Effects of Long-Term Bombardment Among Israeli Adolescents: The Role of Gender and Social Environment

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