Frederick G. Lopez

Dynamic processes underlying adult attachment organization: Toward an attachment theoretical perspective on the healthy and effective self.

Contemporary attachment theory is inspiring a burgeoning literature on adult attachment. This literature offers counseling psychology a compelling framework for understanding the healthy and effective self. In this article, the authors review studies probing the cognitive processes, affect self-regulatory dynamics. and relationship behaviors associated with secure (primary) and insecure (secondary) adult attachment strategies. They then offer a portrait of the healthy, effective personality that is consistent with theory and research on adult attachment. Finally, in an effort to understand key characteristics of successful movement toward the healthy and effective self, the authors review empirical extensions of attachment theory to the therapeutic context.

Adult attachment orientations, self–other boundary regulation, and splitting tendencies in a college sample.

In a sample of 247 college students, the contributions of adult attachment orientations and several other boundary regulation variables to measures of self-splitting (i.e., the tendency to report diffuse and chaotic self-experiences) and other-splitting (i.e., the tendency to acknowledge unstable perceptions of and feelings toward ones friends) were explored. Adult attachment orientations and self-other boundary regulation variables, respectively, explained unique variance in each criterion measure. High levels of attachment anxiety and self-concealment and low levels of self-other differentiation contributed most prominently to self-splitting, whereas high attachment anxiety, low emotional reactivity, and high needs for social approval best predicted other-splitting. Implications of these findings for advancing a more delineated understanding of splitting tendencies are discussed.

Critical evaluation of hardiness theory: Gender differences, perception of life events, and neuroticism

Abstract Women are entering the workforce in increasing numbers and, as a result, are faced with greater life stress. Personality characteristics such as hardiness have been explored to better understand how people withstand the potentially negative impact of life stress. Hardiness research has recently been strongly criticized for a number of conceptual and methodological limitations. Multiple regression was used in the present study to address three commonly voiced concerns: the presence of possible gender differences, the impact of neuroticism on physical illness, and the relevance of perceived life stress (i.e. severity) as opposed to the simple frequency of life stressors and their effect on physical illness in a sample of adult employees (91 males and 85 females). Kobasas original hardiness research paradigm (i.e. models based on Frequency scores for men) was not supported in this study. The model based on the perceived severity of life events and self-reported in health identified a hardiness buff...

Development and Initial Validation of a Measure of Academic Hardiness

Drawing upon hardiness theory and research on academic motivation we developed and administered a measure of academic hardiness to a large sample of high school students. In line with theory- and research-derived expectations, results of both principal axis factor analyses (PAF) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) yielded support for a three-factor model of the construct. Supplemental analyses indicated that, after controlling for general academic self-concept, the challenge subscale of our novel measure differentiated students who pursued more difficult academic coursework and educational plans from those who did not.

Irrational beliefs and depressive symptoms among younger and older adults: a cross-sectional comparison

The present study explored age differences in the expression of depression. Such differences were quite apparent. Among 118 young adults and 107 community-residing elderly individuals, it was found that in the young adult groups, cognitive belief factors labeled “externality/control” and “dependency/emotionality” were associated with both affective and cognitive aspects of depression, but not somatic depressive symptoms over and above the influence of sociodemographic factors. In contrast, among older adults, a cognitive belief factor labeled “cognitive-emotional rigidity/dependency” was uniquely associated with both affective and somatic depressive symptoms. Additionally, a second cognitive factor, labeled “adaptation/internal control” defined in terms of the absence of irrational thinking about adaptation and control, was negatively related to somatic depressive symptoms. For each sample, poorer health was associated with greater depressive symptomatology. While these findings generally tend to support a cognitive view of depression in adulthood, they also underscore the importance of cognitions that may be adaptive which mitigate distress among older persons.