The Adult Attachment Interview and psychoanalytic outcome studies

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychoanalysis
• Attachment Theory

Background:

• The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is increasingly used in empirical psychoanalytic research.
• Assessing the effectiveness of psychoanalysis requires reliable outcome measures.
• Crittenden's Dynamic-Maturational AAI method offers a detailed approach to attachment patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the utility of the Dynamic-Maturational AAI method in evaluating psychoanalytic treatment outcomes.
• To demonstrate how therapeutic changes manifest in AAI discourse.
• To highlight the AAI's potential for empirical psychoanalytic research.

Main Methods:

• Case presentation of a patient undergoing psychoanalysis.
• Pre- and post-treatment AAI interviews were conducted and transcribed.
• Detailed discourse analysis of AAI transcripts focusing on linguistic and speech elements.

Main Results:

• Subtle formal elements of language and speech in AAI reflect changes in affect regulation and object relations.
• AAI text analysis can code procedural memory through interviewer-interviewee interaction.
• The method captures data relevant to psychoanalytic theory and practice.

Conclusions:

• The Dynamic-Maturational AAI method is a promising tool for psychoanalytic outcome studies.
• AAI discourse analysis provides insights into the dynamic processes of therapeutic change.
• This approach aligns with psychoanalytic requirements for capturing relevant clinical data.