title: Relationship between attachment style and posttraumatic stress symptomatology among adults who report the experience of childhood abuse.
abstract: This study examines the relationship between adult attachment style and posttraumatic stress symptomatology in a volunteer sample of adults who reported the experience of childhood abuse. Sixty-six individuals completed measures of abuse history, attachment style, and posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Results indicated that 76% of participants endorsed one of the three insecure attachment styles (dismissing, fearful, or preoccupied). Analyses of variances revealed that those who displayed fearful and preoccupied attachment styles, which represent a negative view of the self, had the highest mean scores on posttraumatic symptoms. Correlational analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between negative view of self and posttraumatic stress symptomatology, but not between negative view of other and posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Regression analyses indicated that having a negative view of self was most highly associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms, followed by a history of physical abuse. The regression analysis further indicated that negative view of other was unrelated to posttraumatic stress symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. rmuller@yorku.ca
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Sicoli
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Lemieux
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009769:Object Attachment; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*