Disorganized attachment and personality functioning in adults: A latent class analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Attachment Theory

Background:

• Disorganized attachment is well-studied in children but less so in adults.
• Previous research has not fully delineated the nuances of adult disorganized attachment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct clusters of adult attachment organization.
• To differentiate severity and stylistic variations within disorganized attachment.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a novel assessment approach focusing on a hierarchy of attachment organization.
• Employed latent class analysis (LCA) on data from diagnostic and attachment-based interviews.
• Clinical evaluators rated participants on secure, insecure, rigid-controlling, and disorganized attachment aspects.

Main Results:

• A 4-class solution emerged: secure (n=33), insecure (n=110), disorganized-oscillating (n=77), and disorganized-impoverished (n=53).
• The disorganized-oscillating class showed high personality disorder (PD) severity, general symptom severity, and specific PD dimensional scores (BPD, histrionic, antisocial).
• The disorganized-impoverished class exhibited higher avoidant and schizoid PD scores and greater PD severity than secure/insecure classes.

Conclusions:

• Distinct classes of adult attachment organization can be identified.
• These classes differ in severity and interpersonal style, offering insight into adult disorganized attachment manifestations.
• Findings underscore the importance of nuanced approaches to understanding adult attachment patterns.