Relationship between attachment style and posttraumatic stress symptomatology among adults who report the experience of childhood abuse

Author: Muller, R. T.; Sicoli, L. A.; Lemieux, K. E.

Description: 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 symptoms. 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.

Subject headings: Adult; Child; Child Abuse; Ego; Female; Humans; Male; Models; Psychological; Object Attachment; Regression Analysis; Stress Disorders; Post-Traumatic; PTSD

Publication year: 2000

Journal or book title: Journal of Traumatic Stress

Volume: 13

Issue: 2

Pages: 321-332

Find the full text: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1023/A:1007752719557

Find more like this one (cited by): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=17105586765602480802&as_sdt=1000005&sciodt=0,16&hl=en

Serial number: 3261

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