The Handy Psychology Answer Book. Lisa J. Cohen

a father losing his job can make the parents more or less available to the child and thus impact the child’s attachment status. Studies of low-income families show greater changes in children’s attachment classification over time than is found in middle-class families. This may be because lower-income families have less buffer against changes in the environment than do families with greater financial means.

      What is the adult attachment interview?

      In order to study attachment in adults, Mary Main and colleagues developed a semi-structured interview called the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). A semi-structured interview provides specific questions as well as open-ended, follow-up questions. There is a script to follow but the interviewer can deviate from it to clarify information. The interview takes about an hour and a half and asks questions about the subject’s childhood relationship with his or her parents. The way the subject talks about childhood attachment is more important than what they say about their parents. Of most importance is the coherence of their narrative, specifically between their abstract generalizations about their childhood attachment relationships (e.g., “My mother was loving, involved.”) and the specific memories generated to illustrate these generalizations (e.g., “I remember making chocolate chip cookies with her in our kitchen.”). The narrative is coherent if the story makes sense; if it is riddled with contradictions, it is not coherent.

      Is your attachment status fixed by the time you’re one year old?

      Attachment research is sometimes interpreted as implying that personality is entirely formed by the time that a child is one year old. Attachment strategies are conservative, meaning that they are resistant to change, but they are not fixed. If the family environment remains stable and the parent-child interaction patterns do not change dramatically, it is likely that the child’s general approach to attachment will remain stable. On the other hand, if the family environment changes dramatically or if the parent chooses to change his or her way of relating to the child, the child’s attachment status can change.

      How can the three child attachment styles be mapped onto Mary Main’s three adult attachment styles?

      Main developed three attachment classifications to correspond with the three infant classifications. She labeled them D, E, and F to match Ainsworth’s A, B, and C. Dismissing adults (D) were hypothesized to correspond to avoidant babies (A); enmeshed adults (E) to correspond to resistant babies (C); and secure adults (F for Free) to correspond with secure babies (B). The enmeshed classification was later changed to preoccupied.

      What are some examples of adult attachment interviews?

      These (simulated) excerpts below illustrate typical responses for each of the adult attachment classifications on Mary Main’s Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Note how the dismissing adult presents an idealized view of her relationship without any specific memories to back it up. The securely attached adult is much more coherent. She acknowledges contradictions and mixed emotions but can reflect objectively on the relationship. The preoccupied adult, in contrast, is flooded by her attachment-related memories and is unable to integrate emotion and thought into a coherent narrative.

      Dismissing

      Interviewer: Could you tell me five adjectives that describe your childhood relationship with your mother?

      Subject: Oh, I don’t know. I guess she was normal, she was fine. I guess she was loving. She was practical and a good teacher.

      Interviewer: Could you give me an example for each of those words?

      Subject: Well, you know, she was always there. I don’t remember any problems or like anything that was really wrong. She was a good teacher—she always wanted to make sure we got good grades.

      Secure

      Interviewer: Could you tell me five adjectives that describe your childhood relationship with your mother?

      Subject: Hmm, that’s a little complicated. My mother was very warm and very loving but she could also be controlling. So we had a very close relationship but it was also conflictual at times, especially when I was a teenager.

      Interviewer: Could you give me an example for each of those words?

      Subject: I remember a lot of affection. I remember curling up with her on the couch in the evenings, watching TV. But I also remember getting in fights with her, more when I was older, when I wanted to go out with my friends. She would insist that I be home earlier than any of my friends had to. Hmm, maybe she was just being responsible, but at the time I thought she was unreasonable.

      Preoccupied

      Interviewer: Could you tell me five adjectives that describe your childhood relationship with your mother?

      Subject: It was loving, absolutely, so loving. She was wonderful, fabulous. But you know, sometimes she was really selfish, totally insensitive, like only out for herself.

      Interviewer: Could you give me an example for each of those words?

      Subject: It was unbelievable, you know. Whenever she got insecure, her dander got up and she would just never listen to my side of things. I think she had real problems with self-esteem. And all I wanted, all I wanted, was like, “Listen to me, Mom!” But not that I didn’t love her. Of course I did and still do and I know she loves me more than anything in the world. So that’s what makes it fabulous, just fabulous. It would destroy me if anything happened to her.

      How do securely attached adults act?

      Adults who are securely attached value attachment and can speak about attachment relationships with feeling but will also be thoughtful and reflective. They can take some distance from their feelings and be reasonably objective about their experiences. On the AAI, secure adults give a coherent account of their childhood relationships with their parents and their generalized descriptions of the relationship are supported by specific memories. In the same way that a securely attached child balances dependency and exploration, a securely attached adult balances emotion and thought.

      Securely attached adults tend to be more sensitive to their infants’ emotional cues.

      What characterizes dismissing adults?

      A dismissing adult corresponds to an avoidant infant. Attachment is devalued and dismissed by these adults with a concomitant emphasis on thought separated from emotion. An idealized picture of childhood attachment relationships is presented though it is not backed up by supporting memories. The adult may describe his or her mother as “fine, normal, and a good mother” but only provide memories such as “Well, you know, she was always there. She was just a normal mother.” The impression is of a cool, distant relationship with minimal recognition of the child’s emotional need for the parent.

      How do preoccupied adults behave?

      Preoccupied adults correspond to resistant infants. In contrast to dismissing adults who attempt to minimize the effect of attachment, preoccupied adults cannot turn their attention away from attachment; they are preoccupied with it. These adults are flooded with memories of attachment relations but cannot take the distance necessary to create a coherent, objective narrative. They provide contradictory, rapidly alternating views of their attachment relationships (“She was loving, no she was really selfish.”) accompanied by a gush of vivid memories (“I remember on my senior prom. It’s always about her. It was my night but she kept inserting herself. I wanted to wear my blue heels but she said they made my legs look fat.”) In this case, emotion predominates over rational thought.

      What is self-reflective functioning and how does it relate to attachment?