A large body of research exists relative to male aggression. Studies over the past 30 years, especially as related to male-to-female intimacy violence in a domestic context, have contributed greatly to a better understanding of aggressive male behavior. However, it is suggested that a more balanced approach to research on aggression should include studies related to female aggression. A search of the current literature indicates that this process has begun; however, studies tend to report a different dynamic at work in aggressive women versus aggressive men. It appears that overall, female aggression more than male aggression, has a stronger relational component. It is the case that females can be aggressive and place substantial importance on the relationships in their lives. Attachment theory addresses the salient issue of relationships and is such a broad and complete theory that it incorporates aggressive behaviors as well. Therefore, this study seeks to expand the research related to attachment styles and associated behaviors, in particular as they pertain to the influences upon female aggressive behavior. A study of the relationship between the independent variables of gender, psychopathology/personality, and attachment style and the dependent variable of aggression was conducted. It was hypothesized that attachment style would be a better predictor of female aggression as compared to psychopathology. Additionally, it was hypothesized that psychopathology would be a better predictor of male aggression as compared to attachment style. Significant results were obtained suggesting that attachment is a better predictor of female aggression than psychopathology, with a non-significant observation indicating the reverse being true of males. Specific gender differences related to aggression and violent behavior are presented. Current trends applicable to theories of aggression are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.

A large body of research exists relative to male aggression. Studies over the past 30 years, especially as related to male-to-female intimacy violence in a domestic context, have contributed greatly to a better understanding of aggressive male behavior. However, it is suggested that a more balanced approach to research on aggression should include studies related to female aggression. A search of the current literature indicates that this process has begun; however, studies tend to report a different dynamic at work in aggressive women versus aggressive men. It appears that overall, female aggression more than male aggression, has a stronger relational component. It is the case that females can be aggressive and place substantial importance on the relationships in their lives. Attachment theory addresses the salient issue of relationships and is such a broad and complete theory that it incorporates aggressive behaviors as well. Therefore, this study seeks to expand the research related to attachment styles and associated behaviors, in particular as they pertain to the influences upon female aggressive behavior. A study of the relationship between the independent variables of gender, psychopathology/personality, and attachment style and the dependent variable of aggression was conducted. It was hypothesized that attachment style would be a better predictor of female aggression as compared to psychopathology. Additionally, it was hypothesized that psychopathology would be a better predictor of male aggression as compared to attachment style. Significant results were obtained suggesting that attachment is a better predictor of female aggression than psychopathology, with a non-significant observation indicating the reverse being true of males. Specific gender differences related to aggression and violent behavior are presented. Current trends applicable to theories of aggression are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.

This research thesis is a small exploration of attachment theory in child welfare practice. The researcher investigated the extent of knowledge that child protection workers had of attachment theory and the extent to which they integrated attachment theory into child welfare practice. A purposive non-probability sample was used to recruit General Authority child welfare workers in Manitoba. Five workers participated in the exploratory qualitative descriptive research study. Participants responded to a demographic survey investigating their education, training, years of service and the participants provided a brief description of attachment theory. Participants also reviewed vignettes and responded to semi-structured interview scripts eliciting practice information related to the vignettes. The data elicited was analyzed using content analysis. The degree of exposure to attachment theory, opportunities to engage in theory informed practice, and external and internal agency pressures were observed to influence theory integration into child welfare practice. Participants acknowledged the attachment theory concepts of transmission of parenting behaviours and attachment strategies through relationships. Participants considered the therapeutic capacity of relational and attachment focused interventions to bring about change to maladaptive parenting behaviours.

This thesis has been prepared in paper based format. The thesis focusses of the use of experimental manipulations in the investigation of paranoia and extends the use of these to an empirical investigation of the role of attachment theory in paranoia. Papers 1 and 2 have been prepared for submission to Clinical Psychology Review and Schizophrenia Bulletin respectively. Paper 1 provides a comprehensive overview of experimental paradigms that aim to induce or manipulate paranoid thinking in both clinical and analogue samples. Twenty-seven studies were identified that satisfied inclusion criteria for the review. The strengths, limitations, effectiveness of individual paradigms, as well as of the literature as a whole, are considered throughout the review and recommendations for future research are made. Theoretical and clinical implications are also discussed.Paper 2 reports an experimental analogue in which participants (N=60) were randomised to a secure attachment prime (or neutral/positive affect control) condition before being exposed to a paranoia induction paradigm. Dispositional levels of insecure attachment were associated with both trait and state paranoid thinking. Contrary to predictions, the secure attachment prime did not appear to buffer paranoid thinking. The secure attachment prime was indicated to have a negative impact for people with high levels of attachment anxiety, who experienced higher levels of paranoia following the paranoia induction. Paper 3 is a critical reflection of the submitted papers and research process as a whole. The strengths and limitations of the presented research, methodological considerations and implications for clinical practice and theory are discussed and directions for future research are highlighted.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Very little research has studied the common challenge in adulthood of coming to terms with the eventual mortality of one’s parents as they age and experience illness. The present work begins to explore this emotional adjustment and draws on Attachment Theory and the study of how people cope with their own mortality (Terror Management Theory) to develop hypotheses about potential responses of the adult child. Feelings of vigilance and thoughts or behavioural predispositions toward proximity-seeking, disengagement, and control are considered. I hypothesized specific differences in these responses based on the tendency for those high in attachment anxiety to ‘hyperactivate’ attachment-related thoughts and for those high in attachment avoidance to ‘deactivate’ these thoughts. Study 1 used self-report measures in a community sample of adults for whom a parent had experienced a significant illness. Participants high in either attachment anxiety or attachment avoidance were less likely to seek proximity to ill parents than those low on these attachment dimensions. Those high in attachment avoidance were also less likely to experience feelings of vigilance for signs of illness in their parents and to want to assert control over their parents’ health care relative to those who were low in attachment avoidance. These findings were consistent with hypotheses based on attachment avoidance but opposite to hypotheses based on attachment anxiety. Variation in responses to an ill parent was also found depending on the age of participants and their parents, the severity of the parents’ illness and their health care behaviours, and whether the adult served as a caregiver for their parent. Using a word-completion task, Study 2 assessed whether themes of proximity, disengagement, and control were cognitively accessible following imaginal induction of a parents’ mortality, participants’ own mortality, or an experience of physical pain. The pattern of results did not support hypothesized differences in reaction times based on dimensions of attachment anxiety and avoidance. Predicted differences based on which induction was completed were also not found. Self-report responses replicated findings from Study 1 such that participants high in attachment anxiety were less likely to want to seek proximity to ill parents when thinking about their mortality than those low in attachment anxiety, and that those high in attachment avoidance were less likely to feel vigilant and to want to seek proximity or to assert control over their parent relative to those who scored low on measures of attachment avoidance. The manner in which adults respond to being confronted with their parents’ mortality has significant implications for their own emotional well-being as well as for the emotional and physical well-being of their parent. Given that adults often become caregivers for their ill and aging parents, this area of study warrants further research.

The purpose of this research was to examine how attachment style and rejection interact to influence female body image. I hypothesized that women who were high in attachment anxiety would report more negative self-evaluations than women who were low in attachment anxiety. I also hypothesized that this main effect would be qualified by a significant interaction between attachment anxiety and rejection, such that highly anxious women who were rejected would report even more negative self-evaluations than highly anxious women who were not rejected. In Study One, I found that higher levels of attachment anxiety were associated with lower self-evaluations but, contrary to expectations, attachment avoidance and rejection condition interacted to influence self-evaluations. At low levels of avoidance, women in the rejection condition reported significantly higher levels of appearance state self-esteem, body esteem, and trait self-esteem than women in the non-rejection condition. However, at high levels of avoidance, women in the rejection condition reported lower levels of these three constructs than women in the non-rejection condition, although this finding was statistically significant only for appearance state self-esteem. In Study Two, my goal was to replicate and extend these unexpected findings by examining perceived partner regard and public self-awareness as potential mediators of the interaction between avoidance and rejection on self-evaluations. Although a main effect of attachment anxiety was revealed for each of the dependent measures, contrary to Study One and my hypotheses, attachment avoidance and rejection did not interact to influence any of the self-evaluation measures and, thus, no mediational analyses were performed. Importantly, I discovered that even though participants’ mean ratings of their body esteem did not change following the rejection manipulation, the degree to which highly anxious women in the rejection condition associated how they felt about their appearance and how they thought their partner perceived them was significantly stronger than that of highly anxious women in the non-rejection condition and low anxious women in either condition. Explanations for the findings found in Study One and Study Two are discussed and the implications of these findings for future research and promoting a positive body image are considered. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2010-08-16 20:38:45.836

Attachment Theory and its practical application have re-emerged in recent years as a critical factor in understanding and determining the quality of relationships between the primary caregiver and the child. The reasons for disruptions in foster care placements have also been linked to problems with attachment. Foster care, in turn, has also become more prominent as a placement option in South Africa as we try to deal with the effect of HIV and AIDS on our communities. It would seem that the latest development in the application of Attachment Theory has specific value in assessing, developing and supervising the relationships in out-of-home care such as foster care placements. In this study the knowledge and application of some of the theoretical components and Attachment Theory of the social workers of Child Welfare Tshwane and their perceptions of their in-practice use thereof were explored. The results suggest that although the social workers knew that the quality of the relationship between the foster parents and the child is predictive of the success of the placement, they lacked the basic knowledge and skill to effectively attend to the attachment between foster parent and child. It seemed that they took more of a common sense approach towards understanding and addressing the attachment between the foster parent and the child. The research indicated that they do not have a sufficient grounding in Attachment Theory to be able to provide effective intervention regarding attachment-based concerns within the foster care context. The results indicate that there is a need to better equip social workers to deal with attachment-related issues they would routinely encounter when doing foster care supervision. / Attachment Theory and its practical application have re-emerged in recent years as a critical factor in understanding and determining the quality of relationships between the primary caregiver and the child. The reasons for disruptions in foster care placements have also been linked to problems with attachment. Foster care, in turn, has also become more prominent as a placement option in South Africa as we try to deal with the effect of HIV and AIDS on our communities. It would seem that the latest development in the application of Attachment Theory has specific value in assessing, developing and supervising the relationships in out-of-home care such as foster care placements. In this study the knowledge and application of some of the theoretical components and Attachment Theory of the social workers of Child Welfare Tshwane and their perceptions of their in-practice use thereof were explored. The results suggest that although the social workers knew that the quality of the relationship between the foster parents and the child is predictive of the success of the placement, they lacked the basic knowledge and skill to effectively attend to the attachment between foster parent and child. It seemed that they took more of a common sense approach towards understanding and addressing the attachment between the foster parent and the child. The research indicated that they do not have a sufficient grounding in Attachment Theory to be able to provide effective intervention regarding attachment-based concerns within the foster care context. The results indicate that there is a need to better equip social workers to deal with attachment-related issues they would routinely encounter when doing foster care supervision. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Attachment Theory and its practical application have re-emerged in recent years as a critical factor in understanding and determining the quality of relationships between the primary caregiver and the child. The reasons for disruptions in foster care placements have also been linked to problems with attachment. Foster care, in turn, has also become more prominent as a placement option in South Africa as we try to deal with the effect of HIV and AIDS on our communities. It would seem that the latest development in the application of Attachment Theory has specific value in assessing, developing and supervising the relationships in out-of-home care such as foster care placements. In this study the knowledge and application of some of the theoretical components and Attachment Theory of the social workers of Child Welfare Tshwane and their perceptions of their in-practice use thereof were explored. The results suggest that although the social workers knew that the quality of the relationship between the foster parents and the child is predictive of the success of the placement, they lacked the basic knowledge and skill to effectively attend to the attachment between foster parent and child. It seemed that they took more of a common sense approach towards understanding and addressing the attachment between the foster parent and the child. The research indicated that they do not have a sufficient grounding in Attachment Theory to be able to provide effective intervention regarding attachment-based concerns within the foster care context. The results indicate that there is a need to better equip social workers to deal with attachment-related issues they would routinely encounter when doing foster care supervision. / Attachment Theory and its practical application have re-emerged in recent years as a critical factor in understanding and determining the quality of relationships between the primary caregiver and the child. The reasons for disruptions in foster care placements have also been linked to problems with attachment. Foster care, in turn, has also become more prominent as a placement option in South Africa as we try to deal with the effect of HIV and AIDS on our communities. It would seem that the latest development in the application of Attachment Theory has specific value in assessing, developing and supervising the relationships in out-of-home care such as foster care placements. In this study the knowledge and application of some of the theoretical components and Attachment Theory of the social workers of Child Welfare Tshwane and their perceptions of their in-practice use thereof were explored. The results suggest that although the social workers knew that the quality of the relationship between the foster parents and the child is predictive of the success of the placement, they lacked the basic knowledge and skill to effectively attend to the attachment between foster parent and child. It seemed that they took more of a common sense approach towards understanding and addressing the attachment between the foster parent and the child. The research indicated that they do not have a sufficient grounding in Attachment Theory to be able to provide effective intervention regarding attachment-based concerns within the foster care context. The results indicate that there is a need to better equip social workers to deal with attachment-related issues they would routinely encounter when doing foster care supervision. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.