The relation of dissociation and mind wandering to unresolved/disorganized attachment: an experience sampling study

Abstract

Individuals with unresolved/disorganized representations of childhood trauma (U/d attachment) report more psychological distress than others, but little is known about their everyday mentation. In the present study adults with childhood trauma (N = 45) completed the Berkeley-Leiden Adult Attachment Questionnaire-Unresolved (BLAAQ-U) and the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and reported everyday mentation during 5 days of experience sampling. The BLAAQ-U and the AAI showed a medium association with each other, but only the former significantly predicted negative affect, dissociation, and low control/awareness of mentation. Contrary to our predictions, U/d attachment did not significantly predict mind wandering, but the BLAAQ-U predicted endorsements of a negative mind wandering style. U/d attachment, as assessed by both instruments, was associated with the Poor attentional control style and beliefs in anomalous mental phenomena. Experience sampling is a valuable way to investigate everyday experiences in individuals with U/d attachment.

Anomalous experiences are more prevalent among highly suggestible individuals who are also highly dissociative

“…These results are broadly consistent with the extant literature on predictors of hallucinationproneness including a reported greater history of stressful life events (Bailey et al, 2018), an insecure attachment style (Berry, Fleming, Wong, & Bucci, 2018;Pilton et al, 2016), an increased predisposition to dissociative states (Pilton et al, 2015), and a heightened responsiveness to suggestions for hallucinations (Alganami et al, 2017;van der Ven & Merckelbach, 2003;Young et al, 1987), all of which characterize high dissociative or HDHS individuals (Marcusson-Clavertz, Gušić, Bengtsson, Jacobsen, & Cardeña, 2017;Terhune et al, 2011;Wieder & Terhune, 2019).…”

Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders Reconsidered: Beyond Sociocognitive and Trauma Models Toward a Transtheoretical Framework

“…Support for the PTM derives mostly from consistent yet moderate trauma-dissociation correlations (Dalenberg et al 2012). However, recent research and theory inspired by the trauma model have included studies of distress and disruptions/disorganization in attachment as etiological explanations (Marcusson-Clavertz et al 2017), thus opening the PTM to consider more complex and interactive determinants of dissociative symptoms (Buchnik-Daniely et al 2021, Schimmenti & Caretti 2016. Reflecting greater precision in theorizing regarding trauma and distress in recent years, there is recognition that early and severe trauma is probably more influential in DID, whereas distress and negative affect might be more specific and pivotal to DDD and less debilitating manifestations of dissociation (Buchnik-Daniely et al 2021).…”

“I feel like I do not exist:” A study of dissociative experiences among war-traumatized refugee youth.

“…However, an associated sense of lack of control, dysphoria, and the frightening nature of the experiences, may relate to a disorganized type of attachment among h-d (cf. Marcusson-Clavertz, Gušić, Bengtsson, Jacobsen, & Cardeña, 2017).…”