Specificities of the attachment pattern of boys: multiple case study

Authors

  • Michele Scheffel Schneider Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos
  • Vera Regina Röhnelt Ramires UNISINOS; PPG

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.20017

Keywords:

attachment, specificity, boys

Abstract

This research sought to identify indicators of attachment pattern of boys related to their parental figures, to evaluate the existence of specificity in the attachment pattern related to mother and father so as to describe the families characteristics associated with the secure/insecure attachment. The study included three boys aged between 5 and 8 years old with problems at school. It was based on the attachment theory and adopted the method of Multiple Cases. Attachment indicators evaluation was appraised through Manchester Child Attachment Story Task - MCAST, a procedure where histories are associated with anguish situation. The analyses of the outcomes of each narrative showed indicators of attachment patterns involved. Other procedures were applied with the objective of complement the data found through MCAST: Global Scale and Frequency Scale of Specific Signals applied to the Family's Drawing, Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) and Interviews with the boys and their parents. In two of the three cases evaluated the hypothesis of attachment specificity pattern related to mother and father was considered. The quality of each parental relationship was unique and the attachment pattern considered as predominant secure presented some insecure indicators and vice-versa. The family characteristics are related to weak attachments, the register of diseases in the family history, maternal depression and conjugal conflicts, all of them were related to the constitution of the attachment insecure patterns. This study also identified the nomenclature diversity that defines the mains attachment concepts, a predominance of international literature and a lack of Brazilian studies about specifics of the attachment.

References

Davila J, Cobb RJ. Predicting change in self-reported and interviewer-assessed adult attachment: testes of the individual difference and life stress models of attachment change. PSPB. 2003;29(7):859-870.

López F. Apego: estabilidad Y cambio alo largo del ciclo vital. Infancia y Aprendizaje 2006;29(1):9-23.

Schneider BH. ¿Cuánta estabilidad en losestilos de apego está implícita en la teoria de Bowlby?: comentario al artículo de Félix López. Infancia y Aprendizaje.2006;29(1):25-30.

Theran SA, Levendosky AA, Bogat GA, Huth-Bocks AC. Stability and change in mothers’ internal representations of the infants over time. Attach Hum Dev.2005;7(3):253-268.

Zhang F, Labouvievief G. Stability and fluctuation in adult attachment style overa 6-year period. Attach Hum Dev.2004;6(4):419-437.

Waters E, Hamilton CE, Weinfield NS. The stability of attachment security from infancy to adolescence and early adulthood: general introduction. Child Dev. 2000a; 71(3):678-683.

Waters E, Weinfield NS, Hamilton CE. The stability of attachment security from infancy to adolescence and early adulthood: general discussion. Child Dev.2000b;71(3):703-706.

Waters E, Merrick S, Treaboux D, CrowellJ, Albershein L. Attachment Security in Infancy and Early Adultohhod: A Twenty-Year Longitudinal Study. Child Dev.2000;71(3):684-689.

Weinfield NS, Sroufe LA, Egeland B. Attachment from infancy to early adulthood in a high-risk sample: continuity, discontinuity, and their correlates. Child Dev. 2000;71(3):695-702.

Caldera YM, Lindsey EW. Coparenting, mother-infant interaction, and infant-parent attachment relationships in two-parent families. J Fam Psychol.2006;20(2):275-283.

Carranza LV, Kilmann PR. Links between perceived parent characteristics and attachment variables for young women from intact families. Adolescence.2000;35(138):295-312.

Cook WL. Understanding Attachment Security in Family Context. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000;78(2):285-294.

Fox NA, Kimmerly NL, Schafer WD. Attachment to mother/attachment to father: a meta-analysis. Child Dev.1991;62:210-225.

Furman W, Simon VA. Concordance in attachment states of mind and styles with respect to fathers and mothers. Dev Psychol. 2004;40(6):1239-1247.

Imamoglu S, Imamoglu EO. Relationship between general and context-specific attachment orientations in a Turkish sample. J Soc Psychol.2006;146(3):261-274.

Sánchez-Queija I, Oliva A. Vínculos de apego con los padres y relaciones con los iguales durante la adolescencia. Rev Psicol Social. 2003;18(1):71-86.

Bowlby J. Apego e perda. Vol 1. Apego: a natureza do vínculo. São Paulo: Martins Fontes; 2002 (Original publicado em1969).

Bowlby J. Apego e perda. Vol 2. Separação: angústia e raiva. São Paulo: Martins Fontes; 1998a (Original publicado em1973).

Lewis M, Feiring C, Rosenthal S. Attachment over time. Child Dev. 2000;71(3):707-720.

Cronckenberg S. Infant irritability, mother responsiveness and social support influences on the security of infant-mother attachment. Child Dev. 1981;52:857-869.

Jacobson S, Frye K. Effect on maternal social support on attachment: experimental evidence. Child Dev. 1991;62:572-582.

Sánchez NV. Consideraciones acerca de los estilos de apego y su repercusión en laprática clínica. In: V Congreso Sudamericano de Investigación en Psicoterapia Empírica y III Encuentro Psicoterapéutico; 2002.

Ainsworth MDS. Attachments BeyondInfancy. Am Psychol. 1989;44(4):709-716.

Berlin LJ, Cassidy J. Relations among relationships: contributions from attachment theory and research. In: Cassidy J, Shaver PR, editors. Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research and Clinical Applications. New York: The Guilford Press; 1999. p. 688-712.

Cassidy J. The nature of the child’s ties. In: Cassidy J, Shaver PR, editors. Handbook of Attachment: Theory Research and Clinical Applications. New York: The Guilford Press; 1999. p. 3-20.

Main M, Kaplan N, Cassidy J. Security in Infancy, Childhood, and adulthood: a move to the level of representation. In: Bretherton I, Waters E, editors. Growing points of attachment theory and research Monografhs of the Society for Research in Chile Development. 1985;50(1-2, Serialnº 209):66-106.

Yin RK. Estudo de caso: planejamento e métodos. Porto Alegre: Bookman; 2003.

Green J, Stanley C, Smith V, Goldwyn R.A new method of evaluating attachment representations in young school-agechildren: The Manchester Child Attachment Story Task. Attach Hum Dev.2000;2(1):48-70.

Chor D, Griep RH, Lopes CS, Faerstein E. Medidas de rede e apoio social no estudo pró-saúde: pré-testes e estudo piloto. Cad Saúde Pública. 2001;17(4):887-896.

Fury G, Carlson EA, Sroufe LA. Children’s representations of attachment relationships in family drawings. Child Dev.1997;68(6):1154-1164.

Cecconello AM, Koller SH. Avaliação da representação mental da relação de apego através do desenho da família: um estudo com crianças brasileiras. Arq Bras Psicol.1999;51(4):39-51.

Ávila SC, Maldonado C, Saldarriaga LM,Veja L, Diaz S. Patrones de Apego em Familias de três generacionaes: abuela,madre adolescente, hijo. Rev Latinoamericana Psicol. 2004;36(3):409-430.

Harvey M, Byrd M. Relationships between adolescents’ attachment styles and family functioning. Adolescence. 2000;35(138):345-356.

Mayer LR. Rede de apoio social e representação mental das relações de apego de meninas vítimas de violência doméstica (tese de doutorado não publicada). Porto Alegre: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; 2002.

Bretherton I, Munholland KA. Internal working models in attachment relationships: a construct revisited. In: Cassidy J, Shaver PR, editors. Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research and Clinical Applications. New York: The Guilford Press; 1999. p. 89-111.

Downloads

Published

2011-08-01

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 2 (2011)

Section

Artigos Originais

License

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR JOURNAL  PUBLISHERS

 

Publishers who are Committee on Publication Ethics members and who support COPE membership for journal editors should:

 

Publishers should:

 

  • Define the relationship between publisher, editor and other parties in a contract
  • Respect privacy (for example, for research participants, for authors, for peer reviewers)
  • Protect intellectual property and copyright
  • Foster editorial independence

 

Publishers should work with journal editors to:

 

  • Set journal policies appropriately and aim to meet those policies, particularly with respect to:

–         Editorial  independence

–         Research ethics, including confidentiality, consent, and the special requirements for human and animal research

–         Authorship

–         Transparency and integrity (for example, conflicts of interest, research funding, reporting standards

–         Peer review and the role of the editorial team beyond that of the journal editor

–         Appeals and complaints

  • Communicate journal policies (for example, to authors, readers, peer reviewers)
  • Review journal policies periodically, particularly with respect to new recommendations from the COPE
  • Code of Conduct for Editors and the COPE Best Practice Guidelines
  • Maintain the integrity of the academic record
  • Assist the parties (for example, institutions, grant funders, governing bodies) responsible for the investigation of suspected research and publication misconduct and, where possible, facilitate in the resolution of these cases
  • Publish corrections, clarifications, and retractions
  • Publish content on a timely basis