title: Attachment and quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic disorders affecting psychological well-being, quality of life (QOL), social interactions, and close interpersonal relationships of patients affected. The attachment theory provides a theoretical framework to evaluate the quality of close interpersonal relationships in the context of chronic disorders. The aims of this study were to compare the attachment dimensions between IBD patients and healthy controls and to evaluate the impact of these dimensions on QOL in IBD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred three consecutive IBD outpatients (70 with Crohn's disease and 33 with ulcerative colitis) were recruited in the IBD Unit of the University of Bologna. They were clinically evaluated and filled out the questionnaire Short Form health survey-36 (SF-36), assessing QOL, and the attachment style questionnaire (ASQ), assessing attachment dimensions. One hundred three matched healthy subjects filled out the same questionnaires and represented the control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IBD patients exhibited worst scores in the QOL measures (both physical and mental health) and in the attachment dimensions Relationships as secondary and Preoccupation with relationships. In IBD, the significant predictors of physical health were disease activity and disease type, while the significant predictors of mental health were disease activity and type, surgery, and the attachment dimensions Confidence and Preoccupation with relationships.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared to controls, in IBD patients, the close interpersonal relationships are characterized by attachment insecurity that, in turn, is a significant predictor of QOL. These findings suggest plausible insights for psychological interventions in IBD patients with deterioration in QOL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, alessandro.furey@tiscali.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agostini
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Calabrese
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rizzello
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gionchetti
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ercolani
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Campieri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult