title: Insecure family bases and adolescent drug abuse: a new approach to family patterns of attachment.
abstract: A new approach to assessing family attachment patterns is presented, using a composite measure of individual attachment representations based on the Bartholomew Attachment Interview. A cluster analysis yielded three different patterns in a sample of N = 37 families with a drug dependent adolescent (age 14 - 25) and both biological parents. A "triangulated" pattern (mothers: preoccupied; fathers: dismissing; adolescents: fearful) was found in 65% of the sample. A total of 19% showed an "insecure" pattern (mothers, fathers, and adolescents: fearful) and 16% a "near-secure" pattern (mothers and adolescents: secure; fathers preoccupied). Preliminary comparisons between these groups indicate differences in comorbid psychiatric disorders, in individual and family functioning, but not in addiction severity. There is a trend towards differences in outcome of family therapy. Implications for treatment and further research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. a.schindler@uke.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schindler
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thomasius
authors.forename: Peter-Michael
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Sack
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gemeinhardt
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Küstner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*