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Updated: May 7, 2026

Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
Attachment: developmental pathways to affective dysregulation in young people at ultra-high risk of developing
Ruchika Gajwani1, Paul Patterson, Max Birchwood
1School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK.
Objective:
Embedded in attachment theory is its association with affect regulation, which provides a framework for affective dysregulation in the emerging psychosis.
Method:
Fifty-one participants meeting criteria for ultra-high risk (UHR) of developing psychosis were recruited from a youth mental health service within the United Kingdom. At intake baseline, prior to starting therapeutic intervention, all clients were assessed on measures of affective dysregulation and attachment.
Results:
A large proportion of our sample (N = 51) reported clinically significant levels of depression (78%), state anxiety (59%), and social anxiety (65%). Eighty per cent of the UHR sample was insecurely attached. Insecure attachment was significantly associated with elevated depression and social anxiety. Attachment styles were associated with anxiety, depression, and social anxiety. There was no support for a mediating role of social anxiety between attachment styles and depression.
Conclusion:
Clinically significant levels of distress and anxiety experienced by the young people at high risk of psychosis. Clinical implications for the treatment of affective dysregulation in young people at UHR in relation to their attachment styles have been discussed.
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