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Published on: September 19, 2019
Alternative caregiving figures and their role on adult attachment representations
Maria Zaccagnino1, Martina Cussino, Rachel Saunders
1Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Torino, Italy; Faculty of Communication Sciences, Institute for Public Communication, University of Lugano, Switzerland.
Background:
The present work represents the first Italian study investigating whether and how mothers who describe unloving experiences with both parents during childhood could become more secure as adults (termed earned-secures).
Method:
The sample consisted of 94 women from northern Italy. All the subjects were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and fill in a screening test evaluating depressive symptoms.
Results:
No significative differences were found regarding depressive symptomatology across the different attachment classifications. The majority of the samples (84%) remember an important alternative support figure during childhood (before 12 years old). Earned-secures significantly differ from continuous-secure and insecure groups (F = 27.202; p ≤ 0.01) on the amount of the emotional support from the main alternative support figure and on the average amount of emotional support across alternative support figures (F = 10.44; p ≤ 0.01). The majority of alternative support figures (80%) were grandparents.
Conclusions:
A corrective emotional experience allows the subject to work through his negative childhood experiences and acquire modalities of interaction that enable him/her to function more effectively in the world. The clinical implications of this study will be discussed.
Key Practitioner Message:
Attachment theory. Clinical implications of attachment experiences. Corrective emotional experience.
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