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Attachment
is the degree to which an individual has affective ties to other persons. In Travis
Hirschi's work, aspects of the ‘social bond’.
Attachment Cognitions Predict Perceived and Enacted Social
Support during Late Adolescence
David S. Herzberg, Constance Hammen, Dorli Burge, Shannon E. Daley, Joanne Davila, Nangel
Lindberg, University of California–Los Angeles
This study examined the relationship between attachment cognitions and social support in a
community sample of late-adolescent women. Participants were 129 women recruited as
seniors from three Los Angeles high schools to take part in a 5-year longitudinal study of
adolescent development. As predicted, attachment cognitions representing greater security
in close relationships were found to be associated with higher levels of perceived and
enacted social support. The study also found that differences between subjects reporting
secure and insecure attachment cognitions were primarily in the domain of enacted
emotional support, as opposed to two other types of enacted support, information and
material aid. These findings are consistent with a basic principle of attachment theory:
that internalized representations of attachment relationships continue to influence
interpersonal functioning during adolescent and adult development. -
jar.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/4/387
Attachment and Perceived Social Support in Late Adolescence
The Interaction Between Working Models of Self and Others
Michelle D. Blain, Janny M. Thompson, Valerie E. Whiffen, University of Ottawa
Research has shown that self-perceptions are associated with perceived social support.
Attachment theory suggests that perceptions of social support are afunction of two types
of internal working models: model of self (beliefs about self-worth) and model of others
(beliefs about the availability and responsiveness of others). This study investigated the
relationship between models of self and others and perceived social support.
Undergraduates (143 females, 73 males) completed questionnaires assessing attachment to
parents andfriends and perceived social support. Analyses confirmed that individuals
reporting positive models of both self and others (secure attachment) also reported the
highest levels of perceived social supportfrom parents andfriends and attachment
tofriends. A negative model of self or other (insecure attachment) had a negative impact
on perceived social support and attachment to friends. A negative model of self had a
particularly negative impact on attachment to friends for males. -
jar.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/8/2/226
Sources of Social Support and Attachment Styles among Israeli Arab Students
Adital Ben-Ari, School of Social Work, University of Haifa, Israel. email:
adital@research.haifa.ac.il
This study identifies patterns of utilization of social support among Israeli Arab
students.The sample consisted of 64 Arab students. Findings show that Arab students
distinguish between emotional and instrumental support and allocate sources of support
accordingly. Emotional support is sought within the social network and instrumental
support is sought within the family. - isw.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/47/2/187
Social Engagement and Attachment
A Phylogenetic Perspective
STEPHEN W. PORGES, University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago,
Illinois 60612, USA
Address for correspondence: Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago,
Brain Body Center, Department of Psychiatry (mc 912), 1601 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL
60612, USA. Voice: 312-355-1557; fax: 312-996-7658. sporges@uic.edu
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1008: 31-47 (2003).
This article focuses on the importance of social engagement and the behavioral and
neurophysiological mechanisms that allow individuals to reduce psychological and physical
distance. A model of social engagement derived from the Polyvagal Theory is presented. The
model emphasizes phylogeny as an organizing principle and includes the following points:
(1) there are well-defined neural circuits to support social engagement behaviors and the
defensive strategies of fight, flight, and freeze; (2) these neural circuits form a
phylogenetically organized hierarchy; (3) without being dependent on conscious awareness,
the nervous system evaluates risk in the environment and regulates the expression of
adaptive behavior to match the neuroception of a safe, dangerous, or life-threatening
environment; (4) social engagement behaviors and the benefits of the physiological states
associated with social support require a neuroception of safety; (5) social behaviors
associated with nursing, reproduction, and the formation of strong pair bonds require
immobilization without fear; and (6) immobilization without fear is mediated by a
co-opting of the neural circuit regulating defensive freezing behaviors through the
involvement of oxytocin, a neuropeptide in mammals involved in the formation of social
bonds. The model provides a phylogenetic interpretation of the neural mechanisms mediating
the behavioral and physiological features associated with stress and several psychiatric
disorders. - annalsnyas.org/cgi/content/abstract/1008/1/31
Adult Attachment Styles, Perceived Social Support and Coping Strategies
Todd C. Ognibene, State University of New York at Buffalo, togniben@nova.psy.du.edu
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 15, No. 3, 323-345 (1998)
Nancy L. Collins, State University of New York at Buffalo, ncollins@acsu.buffalo.edu
The relations between adult attachment styles, perceived social support and the use of
various coping strategies was examined in a sample of young adults (N = 81). Participants
completed measures of adult attachment style, perceived social support from friends and
family, and a modified version of the Ways of Coping scale. In addition, participants
rated the coping strategies they would most likely use in response to a series of
hypothetical vignettes describing social- and achievement-related stressors. Results
indicated that secure individuals perceived more available support from friends and
family, and sought more social support in response to stress. Although preoccupied adults
also sought social support in response to stress, they also tended to use escape/avoidance
strategies. Dismissing and fearful individuals were much less likely to seek social
support, and were more likely to distance themselves in some contexts. Finally, regression
analyses indicated that the link between secure attachment and support-seeking as a coping
strategy was mediated, in part, by the perception that support is available from friends
and family. - spr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/15/3/323
International Journal of Behavioral Development, Vol. 19, No. 2, 309-325 (1996)
The Relation of Maternal Directiveness and Child Attachment Security to Social Competence
in Preschoolers
Linda Rose-Krasnor, Brock University, Canada
Kenneth H. Rubin, Robert Coplan, University of Waterloo, Canada
Cathryn L. Booth, University of Washington, USA
The primary focus of this study was the assessment of children's social competence in
relation to two aspects of the mother-child relationshipattachment security and maternal
directiveness. Specifically, we expected concurrent child-mother attachment security to be
positively correlated with children's positive social engagement and social
problem-solving skills and negatively related to aggression, whereas maternal
directiveness was predicted to show the opposite pattern of correlations. Subjects were
111 mothers and their 4-year-old target children, each paired with a same-sex, same-age
unfamiliar control child. Maternal directiveness was assessed in co-operative task and
free-play sessions involving the target child, target mother, and control child. The
target child's social engagement and social problem-solving skills were measured during
dyadic free play with the control child. Multiple regression analyses assessed relative
contributions of maternal directiveness and attachment security to the prediction of child
behaviour with the peer. Attachment security predicted positive social engagement.
Maternal directiveness was associated only with aspects of the children's social
problem-solving. These results support previous research linking child-mother attachment
security, maternal control patterns and children's social competence, although our
findings showed the importance of separating the influences of attachment quality and the
socialisation aspects of parenting. - jbd.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/19/2/309 |
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