Beatriz Priel

Attachment style and perceived social support: Effects on affect regulation

Abstract The aim of the present study was to explore the contribution of attachment styles and perceived social support to levels of anxiety and depression. Subjects were 328 students, 59% of whom rated themselves as securely attached, 31% as avoidant, and 10% as ambivalent. Findings confirm previous research, that securely attached individuals are significantly less anxious and depressed than insecurely attached subjects, perceive more social support in their environment and are more satisfied with it. Social support scores were significantly related to anxiety and depression levels, as well as affected by attachment styles. The exploration of the relative contributions of attachment classification and perceived social support to the explanation of affect regulation suggests that subjective satisfaction with social support contributes to the prediction of felt distress beyond attachment styles. Results are discussed in the framework of the intertwining between the intra and the interpersonal aspects of affect regulation.

Dependency, self-criticism, social context and distress: comparing moderating and mediating models

Abstract Moderating and mediating models of dependency and self-criticism as vulnerabilities to emotional distress are compared. According to the moderating model, stressful events and social support moderate the vulnerability of self-critical and dependent individuals. In contrast, mediating models relate to stress and support as mediators assuming that individuals generate stress and lack of support over time. One hundred and eighty-two young adults were assessed longitudinally, and hierarchical multiple regression and structural equation modeling were performed. The moderating model was found valid for describing the vulnerability of dependent individuals, who reported increased distress only after experiencing interpersonal stress. The mediating model appropriately described the vulnerability of self-critical individuals, who reported increased stress and decreased support over time, which partly accounted for their increased distress. These findings are discussed in relation to the formulation of causal models of personality and distress.

The Apple Does Not Fall Far From the Tree: Attachment Styles and Personality Vulnerabilities to Depression in Three Generations of Women

The intergenerational transmission of attachment insecurity was examined in a community sample of 300 participants consisting of 100 three-generation triads of women. It was hypothesized that personality vulnerabilities mediate the association between attachment insecurity and depression within each generation. Findings show significant intergenerational congruence of trait vulnerabilities and attachment styles. Moreover, the second generation’s attachment dimensions and personality vulnerabilities were found to mediate the association between first- and third-generation scores on attachment and vulnerability variables. Findings supported the following hypothesized within- and between-generation paths: Within generations, self-criticism was found to mediate the association between attachment insecurity and depression; between generations, depression, but not self-criticism, mediated the association between assessments of attachment insecurity in mothers and their daughters. This study constitutes a first approach to the delineation of the role played by self-criticism in the association between negative models of the self and depression across generations.

Active vulnerability, adolescent distress, and the mediating/suppressing role of life events

We tested a mediating/suppressing model linking personality vulnerability, negative and positive life events, and adolescent emotional distress. The model relied on three hypotheses. The first hypothesis was that negative life events would mediate the effect of adolescent dependency and self-criticism on distress. The second hypothesis was that positive events would mediate the effect of self-criticism on distress. The third hypothesis was that positive events would suppress, rather than mediate, the effect of dependency on distress. These hypotheses were tested and confirmed in a 16-week longitudinal study of 603 Israeli adolescents. Results elucidate the mechanism by which self-criticism confers vulnerability, suggest that a dialectic tension between risk and resilience is embedded in the construct of dependency, and extend action perspectives on distress.

Emotional Responses to a Romantic Partner's Imaginary Rejection: The Roles of Attachment Anxiety, Covert Narcissism, and Self-Evaluation

These studies tested the associations between responses to an induced imaginary romantic rejection and individual differences on dimensions of attachment and covert narcissism. In Study 1 (N=125), we examined the associations between attachment dimensions and emotional responses to a vignette depicting a scenario of romantic rejection, as measured by self-reported negative mood states, expressions of anger, somatic symptoms, and self-evaluation. Higher scores on attachment anxiety, but not on attachment avoidance, were associated with stronger reactions to the induced rejection. Moreover, decreased self-evaluation scores (self-esteem and pride) were found to mediate these associations. In Study 2 (N=88), the relative contributions of covert narcissism and attachment anxiety to the emotional responses to romantic rejection were explored. Higher scores on covert narcissism were associated with stronger reactions to the induced rejection. Moreover, covert narcissism seemed to constitute a specific aspect of attachment anxiety.

Childbearing depressive symptomatology in high–risk pregnancies: The roles of working models and social support

Guided by both attachment and social support theories, the authors conducted a longitudinal investigation exploring the concomitant effects of perceptions of spouse support (anticipated and received spouse support) and internal working models of attachment (positive–self and positive–other), on childbearing depressive symptomatology. Distinct main and interaction effects for attachment dimensions and perceived support variables were hypothesized for high– and low–risk pregnancies. Participants in the final sample were 200 pregnant women who completed the self–report between the 25th and the 29th weeks of pregnancy, and 8 weeks after childbirth. Controlling for initial levels of depressive symptoms and health conditions, results demonstrated the protective role of high levels of received support and of positive–other models on childbirth depressive symptoms. Moreover, received support and models of positive–other were found to interact with health conditions, producing distinct moderation effects: Received support was found to be a significantly stronger protective factor for childbearing depression among women with low–risk pregnancies; positive–other models were found to be a significantly stronger protective factor among women with high–risk pregnancies. The implications of these findings for the understanding of intrapersonal and interpersonal factors in successful coping with a health risk situation are discussed.

Parenting and adolescent adjustment: the role of parental reflective function.

Reflective function (RF) is the capacity to reflect on ones own mental experiences and those of others. This study examined the relationship between parental RF and adolescent adjustment. One hundred and five adolescents, aged 14-18, and their mothers and fathers were interviewed and completed questionnaires during home visits. We measured parental RF, aspects of parenting behavior, and adolescent outcomes. We found that parental RF correlated with adolescent RF and social competence. Unexpectedly, it also correlated with internalizing problems and less positive self-perception. In addition, parental RF, particularly paternal RF, interacted with aspects of parenting behavior. In the presence of higher levels of parental RF, these behavioral aspects were associated with more positive adolescent outcomes. We conclude that (a) parental RF is associated with both desirable outcomes and possible costs and (b) parental RF, particularly paternal RF, is a significant moderator of the associations between parenting behaviors and adolescent outcomes.

Dependency, Self-Criticism and Negative Affective Responses Following Imaginary Rejection and Failure Threats: Meaning-Making Processes as Moderators or Mediators

This study evaluated the intervening role of meaning-making processes in emotional responses to negative life events based on Blatt’s (1974, 2004) formulations concerning the role of personality predispositions in depression. In a pre/post within-subject study design, a community sample of 233 participants reacted to imaginary scenarios of interpersonal rejection and achievement failure. Meaning-making processes relating to threats to self-definition and interpersonal relatedness were examined following the exposure to the scenarios. The results indicated that the personality predisposition of Dependency, but not Self-Criticism predicted higher levels of negative affect following the interpersonal rejection event, independent of baseline levels of negative affect. This effect was mediated by higher levels of negative meaning-making processes related to the effect of the interpersonal rejection scenario on Dependent individuals’ senses of interpersonal relatedness and self-worth. In addition, both Self-Criticism and Dependency predicted higher levels of negative affect following the achievement failure event, independent of baseline levels of negative affect. Finally, the effect of Self-Criticism was mediated by higher levels of negative meaning-making processes related to the effect of the achievement failure scenario on self-critical individuals’ senses of self-definition.

Closeness, support and reciprocity: a study of attachment styles in adolescence

Abstract In the context of boarding schools, the transactions between adolescents internal working models of self and others, their peers perceptions of them, as well as the reciprocity between perceptions of others and by others were explored. Findings supported the assumed effect of models of the other on a persons social environment, as well as the expected relations between the congruency of models of self and other and the actual reciprocity between perceptions of others and others perceptions of self. Patterns of reciprocity in interpersonal relationships were found to characterize secure (positive reciprocity) and fearful (negative reciprocity) attachment styles, while non-reciprocal relations appeared more frequently among preoccupied and dismissing persons. These findings suggest specific person-environment transactions that may be involved in securing the continuity of styles of relating.

Time and self on the intersubjective construction of time

This paper develops the idea that the human experience of time is not a creation of an isolated mind, but emerges within the earliest intersubjective experiences. Following Winnicotts main theoretical assumptions about the role of the environment and the processes of ego integration, the paper focuses on the sense and the concept of time as stemming from within a self‐with‐other context and constituting an emergent property of self—other differentiations. These processes are viewed also from the perspective of the dialogical character of early mother‐infant interactions as evidenced by recent infant developmental research. The dialogical structure of these interactions includes important aspects of synchrony and accommodation, as well as asynchrony and transformations, which play a basic role in the emergence of self‐differentiation. Moreover, the temporal characteristics of mother—infant exchanges constitute a basic vehicle through which interpersonal meanings unfold. The evolution of the sense of time ...