Psychophysiology in attachment interviews: converging evidence for deactivating strategies

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Attachment Theory
• Psychophysiology

Background:

• The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) assesses attachment regulation strategies.
• Deactivating strategies involve downplaying attachment experiences and recall.
• These strategies may involve attentional conflict or inhibition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the psychophysiological correlates of deactivating attachment strategies.
• To determine if individuals using deactivating strategies exhibit conflict during the AAI.

Main Methods:

• Monitored skin conductance levels in 50 college students.
• Measured physiological responses during a baseline and the AAI.
• Analyzed skin conductance changes in relation to AAI questions about attachment experiences.

Main Results:

• Subjects employing deactivating strategies showed significant increases in skin conductance.
• These increases occurred from baseline to questions about parental separation, rejection, and threat.
• This pattern supports the hypothesis of conflict or inhibition.

Conclusions:

• Deactivating attachment strategies are associated with measurable psychophysiological conflict.
• Skin conductance can serve as an indicator of internal conflict during attachment-related recall.
• Findings support the validity of characterizing strategies as deactivating based on behavioral and physiological data.