Attachment theory which emphasizes the importance of the mother infant bond and its&rsquo / crucial role in determining multiple cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors later in life, is gaining popularity in all domains of psychology. However, both in terms of conceptualization and methods of assessment, there is no consensus among the domains and this debate encourages researchers to develop new assessment methods to resolve the issue. The current study focused on the Turkish adaptation of the most recently developed unobtrusive measure of attachment: The Knowledge of Secure Base Script-Prompt Word Outline Method (KSBS) which aims to assess the degree of knowledge about the secure base script. For this purpose, four different studies were conducted each of which assesses the reliability and the validity of KSBS with varying samples and certain premises of the attachment theory were tested to validate KSBS. Accordingly, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and interrater reliability of KSBS was established. Addittionally, discriminant validity of KSBS was established presenting no relation with intelligence and certain socio-demographic variables as gender, age, education, and marital status. Also, consistent with the premises of the attachment theory, results revealed that among surgery patients the ones with lower KSBS score would display more state anxiety after the surgery than the ones with higher KSBS score. Similarly, psychiatric patients were shown to have considerably lower KSBS score than a control group with no psychiatric history. Lastly, the present study found that KSBS is correlated with perceived social support and coping strategies. Specifically, positive correlation was found between KSBS and perceived social support from friends, family, and significant others, and problem solving coping. Negative correlation was found between the helplessness and KSBS score. The expected and unexpected results of the study were discussed within the relevant literature, shortcomings of the current study, clinical implications and suggestions for future research were proposed.

The present study investigated the role of attachment dimensions, relationship status, and gender in subjective well-being. The participants were 389 (288 females, 101 males) volunteered students from the Faculty of Education at Middle East Technical University. Three questionnaires, namely Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory (ECRI) Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were administered to the students. Three separate stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictive power of the avoidance dimension of attachment, anxiety dimension of attachment, gender (coded as dummy variable), and relationship status (coded as dummy variable) on three components of subjective well-being identified as positive affect, negative affect, and satisfaction with life. Findings revealed that avoidance dimension of attachment, gender, and anxiety dimension of attachment predicted the life satisfaction of university student as measured by Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results also yielded that avoidance dimension of attachment predicted positive affect scores of the students whereas anxiety dimension of attachment predicted negative affect scores of the students as measured by Positive Affect and Negative Affect subscales of Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS).

The thesis deals with connections between attachment and eating disorders (EDs) in females. It is divided into two sections - literature review and research. In the literature review, we define key subjects of the thesis, i.e. eating disorders and the concept of attachment. The research section is based on quantitative research. The research aims to explore 1) the relationship between ED risk and the dimension of attachment avoidance - anxiety within the concept of attachment, 2) the relationship between ED risk and early memories of warmth and safeness, and 3) if the dimension of attachment avoidance - anxiety within the concept of attachment and early memories of warmth and safeness increase the probability of EDs. The research was conducted via online questionnaire survey. The research sample consisted of 570 females in young adulthood (aged 20-30). The measures used in the research include Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the ECR scale, and the EMWSS scale. The findings for our research sample suggest a statistically significant positive relationship between the dimension of attachment avoidance in the ECR scale and "Bulimia and Food Preoccupation" and "Oral Control" subscales in EAT-26. There has also been found a statistically significant positive relationship between the dimension of...

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The purpose of this study was to explore the concerns of parents upon learning about their children’s gay or lesbian sexual orientation from the conceptual framework of attachment theory. Personal and contextual factors such as parents’ attachment anxiety and avoidance, parent and child gender, length of time since disclosure, and parents’ prior interpersonal contact with gay and lesbian person(s) were examined to see how they influence parents’ concerns. Members of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) support groups were electronically surveyed using the Experiences in Close Relationships - Short Form (ECR-S; Wei, Russell, Mallinckrodt & Vogel, 2007) and the Concerns of Parents of Lesbians (COPLAG; Conley, 2011b). A total of 296 parents met the criteria to be considered participants. The results of this study indicated that parental concerns are correlated with attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance. There were significant differences in concern levels between parents who reported high levels of interpersonal contact with gay or lesbian people and those who reported low levels. Parents’ concerns were significantly higher for gay sons than for lesbian daughters. Amount of time since disclosure was not found to be a significant factor in parental concerns; however, attachment anxiety and amount of time since disclosure were negatively correlated. Additionally, parents who were aware of their child’s sexual orientation for more than five years reported lower levels of attachment anxiety than parents who were aware of their child’s gay or lesbian sexual orientation for less than five years. Although parent gender was a variable in this study, too few fathers participated, precluding analyses using parent gender. Overall, the results indicate that parents’ concerns about having gay and lesbian children are influenced by both intrapsychic and contextual factors.

The study aims to investigate the effects of married women&rsquo / s attachment security, caregiving styles, how they initiated marriage (i.e., love vs. arranged) and whether they have egalitarian or traditional marriage on their marital satisfaction and attachment figure transference to their husband. It is expected that attachment to spouse would be stronger and attachment functions would be transferred earlier in love marriages than arranged marriages. Moreover, caregiving styles, attachment security, and egalitarian structure of marriage are expected to predict transference of attachment functions to husbands and marital satisfaction. Married women (N = 204) filled out a questionnaire package including the measures of division of labor in house chores, significant people in their life, attachment anxiety and avoidance, caregiving styles, and marital satisfaction. A series of ANCOVA controlling for the duration of marriage was conducted to compare the participants with arranged and love marriages. Separate hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to predict attachment strength and satisfaction separately for love and arranged marriages. Results revealed no significant difference between arranged and love marriages on the strength and timing of attachment figure transference to spouse. In both types of marriage, sensitive and responsive caregiving styles and low attachment avoidance were associated with stronger attachment to spouse. Although those with egalitarian relationships reported higher levels of marital satisfaction in both love and arranged marriages, women with both egalitarian and love marriages reported the highest levels of marital satisfaction than those with traditional and love marriage. The findings were discussed considering cultural context and previous work.

Forskning om sexuell hälsa utgår ofta från ett patologiskt perspektiv och sällan belyses att sex kan vara hälsofrämjande. Sexuell nöjdhet är en hälsofrämjande aspekt och kan beskrivas som en individs kognitiva och emotionella attityd gentemot den egna sexuella aktiviteten. Erfarenheter av nära relationer och förmågan att vara närvarande i stunden kan ha betydelse för dessa attityder. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka sambandet mellan vuxenanknytning, dispositionell mindfulness (dvs tendens att vara medvetet närvarande i vardagen) och sexuell nöjdhet hos svenska universitets- och högskolestudenter. Ett sekundärt syfte var att utvärdera psykometriska egenskaper hos den svenska översättningen av självskattningsformuläret Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (SSQ). Totalt 158 respondenter inkluderades i studien efter att via en digital enkät besvarat självskattningsformulären Erfarenheter av Nära Relationer (ENR), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ_SWE) och SSQ. Resultatet visade att samband förekommer mellan fenomenen samt indikerar att relationen mellan vuxenanknytning och sexuell nöjdhet medieras av dispositionell mindfulness. Resultatet tydde på att SSQ är ett reliabelt mätinstrument. Slutsatsen är att trygg anknytning och högre nivå av dispositionell mindfulness är associerat med högre nivå av sexuell nöjdhet. Lägre nivå av sexuell nöjdhet hos personer med mer anknytningsängslighet och/eller anknytningsundvikande tycks helt eller delvis kunna förklaras av att dessa individer också tenderar att vara mindre medvetet närvarande i vardagen. Resultatet bör utvärderas genom replikering och vidare studier bör undersöka andra aspekter som kan ha betydelse för sexuell nöjdhet. Huruvida mindfulness-baserade insatser skulle kunna ge positiva effekter på sexuell nöjdhet, särskilt för individer med otrygg anknytning, är en fråga för framtida forskning. / Research on sexual health is often based on a pathological perspective and rarely emphasize sex as health-promoting. Sexual satisfaction is one health-promoting aspect that can be described as an individuals’ cognitive and emotional attitudes towards their own sexual activity. Experiences of close relationships and the tendency to be mindful could be of significance to these attitudes.  This study aims to examine the relationship between adult attachment, dispositional mindfulness (i.e., tendency to be mindful in everyday life) and sexual satisfaction. A secondary aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (SSQ) in Swedish. A total of 158 respondents were included in this study after participating in an online survey containing the self-assessment questionnaires Erfarenheter av Nära Relationer (ENR), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ_SWE) and SSQ. The results showed correlations between the variables and that the relationship between adult attachment and sexual satisfaction appears to be mediated by dispositional mindfulness. The results indicate that SSQ is a reliable scale. In conclusion secure attachment and higher levels of dispositional mindfulness are associated with higher levels of sexual satisfaction. Lower sexual satisfaction among individuals with more attachment anxiety and/or avoidance could be explained by their tendency to be less mindful in everyday life. The results should be evaluated through replication and further studies ought to investigate other aspects that may be of significance for sexual satisfaction. Whether mindfulness-based interventions could have positive effects on sexual satisfaction, especially for individuals with insecure attachment, is an issue for future research.

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The overarching question of the study was how common mutual love is, and to what extent attachment relates to relationship asymmetries. Four research questions and four hypotheses were posed and explored using a cross-sectional survey design with data analyzed using quantitative methods. Instruments were employed to measure passionate love, companionate love, partner value, emotional involvement and attachment. All four hypotheses found partial support. The main result show that a) asymmetries are relatively common on all scales b) mutual love means increased satisfaction, but mainly for women c) for most couples partners take turn at being the strong link, and this fluctuating dynamic leads to increased satisfaction c) attachment anxiety is related to asymmetries in romantic obsession rather than general passion d) avoidance in men relate to asymmetries in passionate love whereas avoidance in women relate to asymmetries in companionate love e) it seems common to have some form of positive illusions about whether one’s relationship is mutual or not. Finally, disagreeing about emotional involvement affects satisfaction more than actual asymmetries in love. The conclusion drawn is that honest communication is more important than mutual love.