title: Generalized anxiety disorder: connections with self-reported attachment.
abstract: Even though generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common of the anxiety disorders, relatively little is known about its precursors. Bowlby's attachment theory provides a framework within which these precursors can be considered. According to Bowlby, adult anxiety may be rooted in childhood experiences that leave a child uncertain of the availability of a protective figure in times of trouble.Furthermore, adult "current state of mind with respect to attachment" is thought to relate to adult anxiety. Both attachment-related components were assessed with 8 subscales of the Perceptions of Adult Attachment Questionnaire(PAAQ). Clinically severe GAD clients who were about to begin therapy reported experiencing less maternal love in childhood, greater maternal rejection/neglect, and more maternal role-reversal/enmeshment than did control participants.In keeping with a cumulative risk model, risk for GAD increased as indices of poor childhood attachment experience increased. GAD clients, in contrast to controls,also reported greater current vulnerability in relation to their mothers as well as more difficulty accessing childhood memories. Logistic regression analyses revealed that elevations on PAAQ subscales could significantly predict GAD vs.non-GAD status. Results and the implications for advancing the theory and treatment of GAD are discussed.
authors.affiliation: 2147C Biology-Psychology Building, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. jcassidy@psyc.umd.edu
authors.forename: Jude
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cassidy
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lichtenstein-Phelps
authors.forename: Nicholas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Sibrava
authors.forename: Charles L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Thomas D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Borkovec
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult