The revised Psychosis Attachment Measure: Measuring disorganized attachment

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry and Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Mental Health Research

Background:

• The Psychosis Attachment Measure (PAM) is a key tool for assessing attachment in psychosis.
• However, the PAM does not currently include disorganized attachment, a style linked to psychosis vulnerability.
• There is a need for a measure that captures disorganized attachment in psychosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To expand the PAM to include disorganized attachment.
• To examine the psychometric properties of the revised PAM in a psychosis sample.

Main Methods:

• Experts and service users refined items for disorganized attachment.
• 12 new items were added to the original PAM.
• 144 individuals with psychosis completed the revised PAM and other measures.

Main Results:

• Exploratory factor analysis identified three factors: anxious, avoidant, and disorganized attachment.
• The revised PAM demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability.
• The disorganized attachment factor showed good construct validity with related measures.

Conclusions:

• The revised PAM shows preliminary evidence of capturing disorganized attachment in individuals with psychosis.
• The new measure is reliable and the disorganized subscale is valid.
• Further validation is needed, but the revised PAM may be useful for other mental health conditions.