Psihologija 2013 Volume 46, Issue 2, Pages: 127-141
https://doi.org/10.2298/PSI1302127J
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Attachment disorganization in different clinical groups: What underpins unresolved attachment?
Juen Florian (Institute of Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria)
Arnold Lisa (Klinik für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany)
Meissner Dominik (Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, LMU Klinik München, München, Germany)
Nolte Tobias (The Anna Freud Centre, London, UK)
Buchheim Anna (Institute of Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria)
This paper summarizes findings and clinical implications of research on
attachment disorganization in diverse clinical groups.
Disorganized/unresolved attachment is overrepresented in these groups
compared to healthy control participants, but disorder specific
characteristics of this attachment pattern are still poorly understood. The
focus of this study was to explore defensive processes in participants whose
narratives were classified as disorganized/unresolved using the Adult
Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). Besides the predominance of
disorganized attachment, clinical participants demonstrated more “segregated
system material” especially in stories representing aloneness and more
“Personal Experience material” compared to healthy individuals. Within the
disorganized/ unresolved clinical individuals, BPD and PTSD patients showed
the highest proportion of attachment disorganization and were less able to
use other attachment-related defenses to maintain organized. Furthermore,
PTSD patients were emotionally overwhelmed by the projective attachment
scenes compared to the other clinical groups as indexed by an incapacity to
complete sections of the AAP. BPD and addicted patients were characterized by
a high degree of self-other boundary confusion. Depressive and schizophrenic
patients showed a high overall defensive intensity to remain organized.
Keywords: attachment disorganization, unresolved attachment, adult attachment projective