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Relationship between attachment style and posttraumatic stress symptomatology among adults who report the experience of childhood abuse
Author(s) -
Muller Robert T.,
Sicoli Lisa A.,
Lemieux Kathryn E.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1023/a:1007752719557
Subject(s) - psychology , attachment theory , posttraumatic stress , clinical psychology , childhood abuse , injury prevention , poison control , suicide prevention , psychiatry , child abuse , medicine , medical emergency
This study examines the relationship between adult attachment style and posttraumatic stress symptomatology in a volunteer sample of adults who reported the experience of childhood abuse. Sixty‐six individuals completed measures of abuse history, attachment style, and posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Results indicated that 76% of participants endorsed one of the three insecure attachment styles (dismissing, fearful, or preoccupied). Analyses of variances revealed that those who displayed fearful and preoccupied attachment styles, which represent a negative view of the self, had the highest mean scores on posttraumatic sympoms. Correlational analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between negative view of self and posttraumatic stress symptomatology, but not between negative view of other and posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Regression analyses indicated that having a negative view of self was most highly associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms, followed by a history of physical abuse. The regression analysis further indicated that negative view of other was unrelated to posttraumatic stress symptoms.