The present research explored the relationship between adult attachment style and alexithymia in a non-clinical population of adults. The quality of attachment developed during the child's growth remains stable over time, and determines, even in adult relationships, various phenomena including the ability to regulate emotions. Alexithymia is a particular form of inability to recognize and regulate emotions that originates from childhood relational dysfunctions and persists into adulthood. As suggested in literature, an overall insecure style is consistently associated with higher levels of alexithymia, while the results are conflicting when it comes to associate a specific insecure pattern with alexithymia and its several dimensions. The purpose of the research was to study the relationship between different dysfunctional types of attachment and the level of alexithymia in a population of healthy adults. Participants compiled the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) and the TAS-20 to assess adult attachment patterns and alexithymia characteristics, respectively. A group of 53 subjects (28 females) participated in the study. Consistent with the literature, results showed that the insecure style, as a general factor, predicts greater levels of alexithymia. The fearful and dismissing patterns appear predictors of high total scores on the TAS-20. Considering the TAS-20 subscales, a fearful style is predictive of greater difficulties in identifying and describing feelings, while dismissing style is associated with the concrete way of thinking of the TAS-20. No association was found between the preoccupied pattern and alexithymia and its three dimensions. Present results, while not implying a causal nature of the identified relationship, are overall promising and have confirmed the relevance of a significant association between attachment behavior and alexithymia. It would be interesting to investigate the association between adult attachment behavior and alexithymia using interview-rated instruments. Finally, the presence of differences between frightened and distancing, is an aspect that should be further investigated, as it could be significant in clinical practice.
| Published in | American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 11, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajap.20221106.12 |
| Page(s) | 156-161 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Adult Attachment, Alexithymia, Emotional Regulation, Clinical Practice
| [1] | Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: retrospect and prospect. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52 (4), 664. |
| [2] | Gillath, O., Karantzas, G. C., and Fraley, R. C. (2016). Adult attachment: A concise introduction to theory and research. Academic Press. |
| [3] | Lingiardi, V., and McWilliams, N. (2020). Introduction to the Special Issue on the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual, 2nd Edition (Pdm-2): The Pdm: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. Main Issues of Pedagogy and Psychology, 18 (2), 23-32. https://doi.org/10.24234/miopap.v18i2.377 |
| [4] | Waters, E., Merrick, S., Treboux, D., Crowell, J., and Albersheim, L. (2000). Attachment security in infancy and early adulthood: A twenty-year longitudinal study. Child development, 71 (3), 684-689. |
| [5] | Berlin, L. J., Cassidy, J., and Appleyard, K. (2008). The influence of early attachments on other relationships. |
| [6] | Mikulincer, M., and Shaver, P. R. (2012). Adult attachment orientations and relationship processes. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 4 (4), 259-274. |
| [7] | Hudson, N. W., Fraley, R. C., Brumbaugh, C. C., and Vicary, A. M. (2014). Coregulation in romantic partners’ attachment styles: A longitudinal investigation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40 (7), 845-857. |
| [8] | Feeney, J. A., and Karantzas, G. C. (2017). Couple conflict: Insights from an attachment perspective. Current opinion in psychology, 13, 60-64. |
| [9] | Bartholomew, K., and Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: a test of a four-category model. Journal of personality and social psychology, 61 (2), 226. |
| [10] | Fraley, R. C., and Shaver, P. R. (2000). Adult romantic attachment: Theoretical developments, emerging controversies and unanswered questions. Review of General Psychology, 4, 132-154. |
| [11] | Cassidy, J. (1994). Emotion regulation: Influences on attachment relationships. In N. A. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation: Biological and behavioral considerations. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59 (Serial No. 240), 228–249. |
| [12] | Thompson, R. A., and Meyer, S. (2007). Socialization of emotion regulation in the family. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 249–268). New York, NY: Guilford Press. |
| [13] | Chen, F., Lin, H., and Li, C. (2012). The role of emotion in parent–child relationships: Children’s emotionality, maternal meta-emotion, and children’s attachment security Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21 (3), 403–410. |
| [14] | Crittenden, P. M. (1999). Attaccamento in età adulta. L'approccio dinamico-maturativo all'adult attachment interview. Milano: Cortina Raffaello. |
| [15] | Mikulincer, M., Shaver, P. R., and Pereg, D. (2003). Attachment theory and affect regulation: The dynamics, development, and cognitive consequences of attachment-related strategies. Motivation and emotion, 27 (2), 77-102. |
| [16] | Lyons-Ruth, K., and Jacobvitz, D. (2008). Attachment disorganization: Genetic factors, parenting contexts, and developmental transformation from infancy to adulthood. In J. Cassidy and P. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment (2nd ed., pp. 666–697). New York, NY: Guilford Press. |
| [17] | Taylor, G. J., Bagby, R. M., and Parker, J. D. A. (1997). Disorders of affect regulation: Alexithymia in medical and psychiatric illness. New York: Cambridge University Press. |
| [18] | Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam Books. |
| [19] | Scheidt, C. E., Waller, E., Schnock, C., Becker-Stoll, F., Zimmermann, P., Lucking, C. H., and Wirsching, M. (1999). Alexithymia and attachment representation in idiopathic spasmodic torticollis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 187 (1), 47–52. |
| [20] | Troisi, A., D’Argenio, A., Peracchio, F., and Petti, P. (2001). Insecure attachment and alexithymia in young men with mood symptoms. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 189 (5), 311–316. |
| [21] | Pecci, F., De Gennaro, L., and Solano, L. (2002). Stile di attaccamento e regolazione affettiva: uno studio empirico su 260 soggetti. Ricerca in Psicoterapia, 5 (3), 141–152. |
| [22] | Montebarocci, O., Codispoti, M., Baldaro, B., and Rossi, N. (2004). Adult attachment style and alexithymia. Personality and Individual Differences, 36 (3), 499–507. |
| [23] | Wearden, A. J., Lamberton, N., Crook, N., and Walsh, V. (2005). Adult attachment, alexithymia, and symptom reporting. An extension to the four-category model of attachment. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 58 (3), 279–288. |
| [24] | Meins, E., Harris-Waller, J., and Lloyd, A. (2008). Understanding alexithymia: Associations with peer attachment style and mind-mindedness. Personality and Individual Differences, 45 (2), 146–152. |
| [25] | Bagby, R. M., Parker, J. D., and Taylor, G. J. (1994a). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38, 23-32. |
| [26] | Bagby, R. M., Taylor, G. J., and Parker, J. D. A. (1994b). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: II Convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38 (1), 33–40. |
| [27] | Bressi, C., Taylor, G., Parker, J., Bressi, S., Brambilla, V., Aguglia, Allegranti, I., Bongiorno, A., Giberti, F., Bucca, M., Todarello, O., Callegari, C., Vender, S., Gala, C., Invernizzi, G. (1996). Cross validation of the factor structure of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: An Italian multicenter study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 41 (6), 551–559. |
| [28] | Griffin, D., and Bartholomew, K. (1994). Models of the self and other: Fundamental dimensions underlying measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67 (3), 430-445. |
| [29] | Netemeyer, Bearden, and Sharma. (2004). Scaling Procedures: Issues and applications. Thousand Oaks: Sage publications. |
| [30] | Picardi, A., Toni, A., and Caroppo, E. (2005). Stability of alexithymia and its relationships with the “Big Five” factors, temperament, character, and attachment style. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 74 (6), 371–378. |
| [31] | Collins, T. J., and Gillath, O. (2012). Attachment, breakup strategies, and associated outcomes: The effects of security enhancement on the selection of breakup strategies. Journal of Research in Personality, 46 (2), 210-222. |
| [32] | Taylor, G. J., Bagby, R. M., and Parker, J. D. (1991). The alexithymia construct: A potential paradigm for psychosomatic medicine. Psychosomatics: Journal of Consultation and Liaison Psychiatry, 32 (2), 153–164. |
| [33] | Grabe, H. J., Frommer, J., Ankerhold, A., Ulrich, C., Gröger, R., Franke, G. H., Barnow, S., Freyberger H. J., and Spitzer, C. (2008). Alexithymia and outcome in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 77 (3), 189–194. |
| [34] | Taylor, P., Rietzschel, J., Danquah, A., and Berry, K. (2015). Changes in attachment representations during psychological therapy. Psychotherapy Research, 25 (2), 222-238. |
| [35] | O’Connor, S., Kivlighan, D. M., Hill, C. E., and Gelso, C. J. (2019). Therapist-client agreement about their working alliance: Associations with attachment styles. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 66 (1), 83-93. doi: 10.1037/cou0000303. |
| [36] | Da Silva, A. N. (2021). Developing Emotional Skills and the Therapeutic Alliance in Clients with Alexithymia: Intervention Guidelines. Psychopatology, 54: 282–290. doi: 10.1159/000519786. |
APA Style
Ornella Montebarocci, Paola Surcinelli. (2022). Adult Attachment Behavior and Alexithymia in a Nonclinical Sample from Italy. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 11(6), 156-161. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20221106.12
ACS Style
Ornella Montebarocci; Paola Surcinelli. Adult Attachment Behavior and Alexithymia in a Nonclinical Sample from Italy. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2022, 11(6), 156-161. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20221106.12
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ajap.20221106.12,
author = {Ornella Montebarocci and Paola Surcinelli},
title = {Adult Attachment Behavior and Alexithymia in a Nonclinical Sample from Italy},
journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
volume = {11},
number = {6},
pages = {156-161},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20221106.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20221106.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20221106.12},
abstract = {The present research explored the relationship between adult attachment style and alexithymia in a non-clinical population of adults. The quality of attachment developed during the child's growth remains stable over time, and determines, even in adult relationships, various phenomena including the ability to regulate emotions. Alexithymia is a particular form of inability to recognize and regulate emotions that originates from childhood relational dysfunctions and persists into adulthood. As suggested in literature, an overall insecure style is consistently associated with higher levels of alexithymia, while the results are conflicting when it comes to associate a specific insecure pattern with alexithymia and its several dimensions. The purpose of the research was to study the relationship between different dysfunctional types of attachment and the level of alexithymia in a population of healthy adults. Participants compiled the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) and the TAS-20 to assess adult attachment patterns and alexithymia characteristics, respectively. A group of 53 subjects (28 females) participated in the study. Consistent with the literature, results showed that the insecure style, as a general factor, predicts greater levels of alexithymia. The fearful and dismissing patterns appear predictors of high total scores on the TAS-20. Considering the TAS-20 subscales, a fearful style is predictive of greater difficulties in identifying and describing feelings, while dismissing style is associated with the concrete way of thinking of the TAS-20. No association was found between the preoccupied pattern and alexithymia and its three dimensions. Present results, while not implying a causal nature of the identified relationship, are overall promising and have confirmed the relevance of a significant association between attachment behavior and alexithymia. It would be interesting to investigate the association between adult attachment behavior and alexithymia using interview-rated instruments. Finally, the presence of differences between frightened and distancing, is an aspect that should be further investigated, as it could be significant in clinical practice.},
year = {2022}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Adult Attachment Behavior and Alexithymia in a Nonclinical Sample from Italy AU - Ornella Montebarocci AU - Paola Surcinelli Y1 - 2022/11/22 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20221106.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajap.20221106.12 T2 - American Journal of Applied Psychology JF - American Journal of Applied Psychology JO - American Journal of Applied Psychology SP - 156 EP - 161 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5672 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20221106.12 AB - The present research explored the relationship between adult attachment style and alexithymia in a non-clinical population of adults. The quality of attachment developed during the child's growth remains stable over time, and determines, even in adult relationships, various phenomena including the ability to regulate emotions. Alexithymia is a particular form of inability to recognize and regulate emotions that originates from childhood relational dysfunctions and persists into adulthood. As suggested in literature, an overall insecure style is consistently associated with higher levels of alexithymia, while the results are conflicting when it comes to associate a specific insecure pattern with alexithymia and its several dimensions. The purpose of the research was to study the relationship between different dysfunctional types of attachment and the level of alexithymia in a population of healthy adults. Participants compiled the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) and the TAS-20 to assess adult attachment patterns and alexithymia characteristics, respectively. A group of 53 subjects (28 females) participated in the study. Consistent with the literature, results showed that the insecure style, as a general factor, predicts greater levels of alexithymia. The fearful and dismissing patterns appear predictors of high total scores on the TAS-20. Considering the TAS-20 subscales, a fearful style is predictive of greater difficulties in identifying and describing feelings, while dismissing style is associated with the concrete way of thinking of the TAS-20. No association was found between the preoccupied pattern and alexithymia and its three dimensions. Present results, while not implying a causal nature of the identified relationship, are overall promising and have confirmed the relevance of a significant association between attachment behavior and alexithymia. It would be interesting to investigate the association between adult attachment behavior and alexithymia using interview-rated instruments. Finally, the presence of differences between frightened and distancing, is an aspect that should be further investigated, as it could be significant in clinical practice. VL - 11 IS - 6 ER -
Email: