BACKGROUND: The present work represents the first Italian study investigating whether and how mothers who describe unloving experiences with both parents during childhood could become more secure as adults (termed earned-secures). METHOD: The sample consisted of 94 women from northern Italy. All the subjects were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and fill in a screening test evaluating depressive symptoms. RESULTS: No significative differences were found regarding depressive symptomatology across the different attachment classifications. The majority of the samples (84%) remember an important alternative support figure during childhood (before 12 years old). Earned-secures significantly differ from continuous-secure and insecure groups (F = 27.202; p ≤ 0.01) on the amount of the emotional support from the main alternative support figure and on the average amount of emotional support across alternative support figures (F = 10.44; p ≤ 0.01). The majority of alternative support figures (80%) were grandparents. CONCLUSIONS: A corrective emotional experience allows the subject to work through his negative childhood experiences and acquire modalities of interaction that enable him/her to function more effectively in the world. The clinical implications of this study will be discussed. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: Attachment theory. Clinical implications of attachment experiences. Corrective emotional experience.

Alternative Caregiving Figures And Their Role On Adult Attachment Representations

CUSSINO, MARTINA;VEGLIA, Fabio
2014-01-01

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The present work represents the first Italian study investigating whether and how mothers who describe unloving experiences with both parents during childhood could become more secure as adults (termed earned-secures). METHOD: The sample consisted of 94 women from northern Italy. All the subjects were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and fill in a screening test evaluating depressive symptoms. RESULTS: No significative differences were found regarding depressive symptomatology across the different attachment classifications. The majority of the samples (84%) remember an important alternative support figure during childhood (before 12 years old). Earned-secures significantly differ from continuous-secure and insecure groups (F = 27.202; p ≤ 0.01) on the amount of the emotional support from the main alternative support figure and on the average amount of emotional support across alternative support figures (F = 10.44; p ≤ 0.01). The majority of alternative support figures (80%) were grandparents. CONCLUSIONS: A corrective emotional experience allows the subject to work through his negative childhood experiences and acquire modalities of interaction that enable him/her to function more effectively in the world. The clinical implications of this study will be discussed. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: Attachment theory. Clinical implications of attachment experiences. Corrective emotional experience.
2014
21
3, May/June
276
287
http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com
Alternative Attachment Figures; Earned-security; Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment; Mother-child Relationship
ZACCAGNINO M.; CUSSINO M.; COOK R.; JACOBVITZ D.; VEGLIA F.;
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/121840
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