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Relationship between executive function, attachment style, and psychotic like experiences in typically developing
Melanie A Blair1, George Nitzburg2, Pamela DeRosse3
1Graduate Center-City University of New York, New York, NY, United States; Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, United States; Division of Psychiatry Research, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, Division of the Northwell Health System, Glen Oaks, NY, United States.
Schizophrenia Research
|March 8, 2018
Summary
Psychotic-like experiences in adolescents are linked to both executive function deficits and insecure attachment styles. These factors interact, suggesting early disruptions impact behavioral and emotional control, contributing to these experiences.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neurodevelopment
- Adolescent Mental Health
Background:
- Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are prevalent in adolescents, prompting research into their origins and implications for psychosis risk or resilience.
- The attachment-developmental-cognitive (ADC) model posits that early attachment insecurity can disrupt neurodevelopment, increasing PLEs and psychosis risk.
- Attachment disruptions are linked to executive function (EF) impairments, but their combined effect on adolescent PLEs remains understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the independent and interactive contributions of daily-life executive function (EF) and attachment difficulties to psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in typically developing adolescents.
- To test predictions derived from the attachment-developmental-cognitive (ADC) model regarding the interplay of attachment and EF in PLE manifestation.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 52 typically developing youth aged 10-21.
- Assessment of daily-life executive function (EF) and attachment insecurity (avoidance and anxiety).
- Statistical analysis to determine the variance in PLEs accounted for by EF and attachment, and their interaction.
Main Results:
- Both executive function (EF) deficits and high attachment insecurity significantly predicted psychotic-like experiences (PLEs).
- A significant interaction was found between EF and attachment insecurity in predicting PLEs.
- Specific EF difficulties (e.g., behavioral monitoring, impulse control, emotional regulation) and higher attachment anxiety were associated with positive PLEs.
- Difficulties with attention shifting, situational transitions, emotional regulation, and higher attachment anxiety predicted negative PLEs.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the attachment-developmental-cognitive (ADC) model, indicating that early attachment disruptions negatively affect behavioral and emotional regulation.
- These regulatory deficits, stemming from attachment insecurity, appear to contribute to the emergence of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in adolescents.
- The study highlights the combined importance of attachment security and executive function in understanding adolescent mental health and psychosis risk.
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