Attachment organization, emotion regulation, and expectations of support in a clinical sample of women with childhood abuse histories

Marylene Cloitre, Chase Stovall-McClough, Patty Zorbas, Anthony Charuvastra

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Despite the consistent documentation of an association between compromised attachment and clinical disorders, there are few empirical studies exploring factors that may mediate this relationship. This study evaluated the potential roles of emotion regulation and social support expectations in linking adult attachment classification and psychiatric impairment in 109 women with a history of childhood abuse and a variety of diagnosed psychiatric disorders. Path analysis confirmed that insecure attachment was associated with psychiatric impairment through the pathways of poor emotion regulation capacities and diminished expectations of support. Results suggest the relevance of attachment theory in understanding the myriad psychiatric outcomes associated with childhood maltreatment and in particular, the focal roles that emotion regulation and interpersonal expectations may play.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)282-289
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Traumatic Stress
Volume21
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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