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Attachment assessment in clinical practice: Factor structure of the attachment questionnaire
Author(s) -
Laverdière Olivier,
Descôteaux Jean,
BeaulieuTremblay Thalie,
Simard Valérie
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.22716
Subject(s) - psychology , convergent validity , relevance (law) , personality , clinical psychology , attachment theory , personality disorders , factor (programming language) , psychometrics , psychotherapist , developmental psychology , social psychology , political science , computer science , law , internal consistency , programming language
Objective Attachment theory is of great relevance to psychotherapy process and outcome. The labor‐intensive and time‐consuming nature of attachment codification impedes its widespread use in clinical practice. The Attachment Questionnaire (AQ), a clinician‐rated instrument, was developed to address these limitations. However, the status of validation of the AQ remains preliminary. The objective of this study is to further validate the AQ by evaluating its factor structure and convergent validity. Methods To this end, 389 psychotherapists completed the AQ and assessed patients’ personality disorders and level of functioning. Results Factor analyses revealed that a five‐factor solution provided a better fit than the original four‐factor solution. The additional factor, inhibited exploration, captured difficulties in open, nondefensive, exploration of memories and their effects. Correlations between AQ factors and criterion variables support the convergent validity of the AQ. Conclusions These results are discussed in light of patients’ characteristics and recent advances in attachment research.