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Mentalizing language development in a longitudinal attachment sample: implications for alexithymia.

Erwin Lemche1, Gisela Klann-Delius, Rainer Koch

  • 1Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany. erwin.lemche@mailbox.tu-dresden.de

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
|October 14, 2004
PubMed
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Childhood attachment styles impact language development. Securely attached children develop internal state language early, while insecurely attached children show delays, potentially linking to alexithymia.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psycholinguistics

Background:

  • Alexithymia is characterized by deficits in symbolizing emotional, somatic, and mental states.
  • The precise causes of alexithymia remain unclear.
  • This study examines mentalizing language development in relation to attachment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the developmental trajectory of internal state language.
  • To explore the relationship between attachment organization and the use of mentalizing language in children.
  • To understand potential etiologic factors for alexithymia.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study followed 42 children across four time points.
  • Attachment was assessed at 12 months using the Strange Situation Procedure.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Mothers and children were observed, and transcripts were coded for internal state words at 17, 23, 30, and 36 months.

    • Main Results:

    • Securely attached children demonstrated rapid acquisition of language for emotions, physiology, and cognition.
    • Insecurely and disorganizedly attached children exhibited delayed or absent use of internal state language.
    • A significant time lag in emotion and cognition vocabulary was observed in insecurely attached groups.

    Conclusions:

    • Deficits in developing internal state language may contribute to alexithymia.
    • Insecure or disorganized childhood attachment may impede the development of essential language skills.
    • Attachment security is crucial for the early development of emotional and cognitive language.