Gottfried Spangler

Maternal sensitivity and newborns' orientation responses as related to quality of attachment in northern Germany.

Our longitudinal study was conducted in Bielefeld, North Germany. In our home observations we focused on infant crying and maternal responsiveness, on behaviors relevant to close bodily contact, and on infant responses to brief everyday separations and reunions. All these behaviors were found by Ainsworth et al. (1978) to be closely linked to the development of different patterns of infant-mother attachment. We also used Ainsworths maternal sensitivity scale to make global ratings of maternal behavior during the infants first year and correlated these ratings with infant attachment patterns in the Strange Situation. In addition, we tried to ascer-

Attachment representation and emotion regulation in adolescents: a psychobiological perspective on internal working models.

Attachment theory claims that inner working models of attachment substantially control behavioral and emotional regulation. There are different levels of organization of the attachment system following a developmental sequence from basic attachment behaviors at newborn age to a procedural organization in terms of behavioral strategies at the end of the first year to a representational organization later on. Also, the organismic systems underlying emotions and emotional regulation may occur and may be described on different organizational levels. Inner working models are seen as regulatory mechanisms for the interplay between the different organismic systems underlying emotions and emotional regulation. This paper will concentrate on biobehavioral organization. Combining assumptions of attachment theory with assumptions about biobehavioral function may provide the possibility of validating theoretically derived interpretations of the attachment system. Including the physiological processes in addition to the psychological processes enables us to test assumptions about the function of the inner working model with respect to processes that are not accessible by verbal communication and that are not expressed through overt behavior. The paper will provide theoretical and empirical evidence for the contribution of the inner working model of attachment to emotional perception, emotional expression and the coherence of inter-modal organization. The empirical findings suggest that from a developmental perspective the inclusion of different levels of regulation may provide possibilities of studying continuity and stability of individual differences of the attachment system during the life-course both within and across levels.

Emotional and adrenocortical regulation in early adolescence: Prediction by attachment security and disorganization in infancy

The aim of the present study was to examine differences in emotion expression and emotion regulation in emotion-eliciting situations in early adolescence from a bio-psycho-social perspective, specifically investigating the influence of early mother-infant attachment and attachment disorganization on behavioural and adrenocortical responses. The sample consisted of 96 children of the Regensburg Longitudinal Study IV. At age 12 months, attachment security and disorganization were assessed in the Strange Situation. At age 12 years, the adolescents were observed together with their mother during a computer game (eliciting anger) and the “Talk Show Task” (eliciting fear). Analyses included self-ratings and mother-ratings of the adolescents’ emotions (anger and fear), observations of the adolescents’ emotional expression and emotional regulation (social regulation, effective regulation) as well as concurrent maternal emotional support. In addition, adrenocortical activity was assessed from saliva samples before and after observation. The findings revealed different patterns of social-emotional responses depending on early attachment security. Adolescents with secure infant attachment reported more anger, when anger was induced, were rated as less anxious by their mothers, and their emotion self-ratings were more similar to their mothers’ ratings compared to adolescents with an early insecure attachment. An increased adrenocortical response was only found in the group of adolescents with attachment disorganization in infancy, especially with increased fear.

Brain activity during emotion perception: The role of attachment representation

To examine emotional face processing in mothers of different attachment representations, event-related potentials were recorded from 16 mothers during presentation of infant emotion faces with positive, negative or neutral emotional expressions within a three-stimulus oddball paradigm, and frontal asymmetries were assessed. Insecure mothers, as compared to secure ones, showed a more pronounced negativity in the face-sensitive N170 component and a smaller N200 amplitude. Regarding the P300 component, secure mothers showed a stronger response to face stimuli than insecure mothers. No differences were found for frontal asymmetry scores. The results indicate that attachment differences may be related to neuropsychological functioning.

Die Bindungstheorie: Modell und entwicklungspsychologische Forschung

Bindung (attachment) ist die besondere Beziehung eines Kleinkindes zu seinen Eltern oder bestandigen Betreuungspersonen. Die Bindungstheorie wurde von John Bowlby, einem englischen Psychoanalytiker, formuliert. Sie ist im ethologischen Denken der 60er Jahre entstanden und versucht, traditionell entwicklungspsychologisches und klinisch-psychoanalytisches Wissen mit evolutionsbiologischem Denken zu verbinden. Daraus ergeben sich drei Betrachtungsebenen: die biologische Bereitschaft zur Bindung auf der Grundlage stammesgeschichtlicher Selektionsbedingungen der Art (Phylogenese), die psychologischen Gegebenheiten bei der individuellen Verwirklichung von Bindung des Kindes an seine Eltern zu Beginn des Lebens und ihre Konsequenzen fur das Individuum wahrend des Lebenslaufs (Ontogenese) und die individuelle Verinnerlichung (Reprasentanz) unterschiedlicher Bindungserfahrungen und ihre Auswirkungen auf den Umgang mit Gefuhlen als Quelle des Erlebens und Schnittpunkt von Erfahrungen, vor allem im Zusammenhang mit Beziehungen zu anderen Menschen.

Dopamine D4 Receptor Exon III Polymorphism, Adverse Life Events and Personality Traits in a Nonclinical German Adult Sample

Personality and temperament embrace a wide area of both psychological and behavioral processes which are also based on disposition. A functional polymorphism in exon III of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been a highly suspect genetic marker for personality in spite of ambiguous results. The present study aimed to further elucidate the relationship between DRD4, negative life events and personality in a representative nonclinical sample. Hundred sixty-seven Germans completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and the California Adult Q-Sort. A factor analysis revealed 3 factors: emotional stability, social orientation and impulsivity. DNA from buccal cells was genotyped for the DRD4 variable-number tandem-repeat exon III polymorphism with respect to presence versus absence of the DRD4 7-repeat allele. Adverse life events were assessed by means of the Adverse Life Events Scale. Men carrying the DRD4 7-repeat allele were more impulsive than those without. Male 7-repeat carriers were more emotionally instable than others, but only when they experienced a large amount of negative life events. No genotype-personality relationships were found for women. The results indicate gender-specific influences of the DRD4 gene on human behavior and invite researchers to further investigate gene-environment correlations on personality traits.

Pilot study of a program delivered within the regular service system in Germany: effect of a short-term attachment-based intervention on maternal sensitivity in mothers at risk for child abuse and neglect.

This pilot study examined the effectiveness of a short-term attachment-based intervention, the Ulm Model, in a German population at risk for child abuse and neglect. The intervention used home visits and video feedback to promote maternal sensitivity, and was implemented by trained staff within the health care and youth welfare systems. Mothers in the control group (n=33) received standard services only, while those in the intervention group (n=63) additionally the Ulm Model intervention. The outcomes measured were maternal sensitivity, as assessed by the CARE-Index at pre-intervention, after the last session, and at about 6 and 12 months of age; and infant socio-emotional development, as assessed by the ET6-6 development test at about 6 and 12 months of age. The moderating effects on treatment outcomes of two variables were examined: risk for child abuse (moderate vs. high) and type of maternal attachment representation (secure vs. insecure). Among participants at moderate risk for child abuse, no differences were found between the intervention group and control group in either maternal sensitivity or infant development. Among those considered high risk, mothers in the intervention group showed a significant increase in maternal sensitivity from pre- to post-intervention; however, no group differences were seen at follow-up. There were some indications that infants of mothers in the intervention group showed better emotional development. The variable of maternal attachment representation was not a significant moderator for the intervention effect, but post hoc analysis indicated that the mean sensitivity of secure mothers was significant higher at the 6-month follow-up.

Foster children’s attachment security and behavior problems in the first six months of placement: associations with foster parents’ stress and sensitivity

Both traumatic experiences in their birth families and multiple placement histories lead to increased mental health problems in foster children. The formation of secure attachments to new caregivers could be a protective factor for foster children. The current study focused on the associations between foster parents’ sensitivity, parenting stress and foster children’s attachment behavior as well as behavior problems. The sample consists of 48 children (aged from 1 to 6 years) and their foster caregivers. Attachment behavior and sensitivity were observed during home visits. Furthermore, caregiver reports were used to assess parenting stress and children’s behavior problems. Compared to normative data, foster children showed lower levels of attachment security and more behavior problems. Foster children’s attachment security and behavior problems were predicted significantly or marginally by foster parents’ stress and supportive presence.

Disorganized attachment in infancy: a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers.

ABSTRACT Disorganized/Disoriented (D) attachment has seen widespread interest from policy makers, practitioners, and clinicians in recent years. However, some of this interest seems to have been based on some false assumptions that (1) attachment measures can be used as definitive assessments of the individual in forensic/child protection settings and that disorganized attachment (2) reliably indicates child maltreatment, (3) is a strong predictor of pathology, and (4) represents a fixed or static “trait” of the child, impervious to development or help. This paper summarizes the evidence showing that these four assumptions are false and misleading. The paper reviews what is known about disorganized infant attachment and clarifies the implications of the classification for clinical and welfare practice with children. In particular, the difference between disorganized attachment and attachment disorder is examined, and a strong case is made for the value of attachment theory for supportive work with families and for the development and evaluation of evidence-based caregiving interventions.

Individual dispositions as precursors of differences in attachment quality: why maternal sensitivity is nevertheless important

This paper explores the interplay of maternal sensitivity (or, more generally, the quality of the caregiving social environment) and infant individual dispositions in predicting infant–mother attachment. After a brief theoretical introduction, the focus turns to studies conducted during the 1980s that predicted attachment security vs. insecurity at 12 months from newborns’ ability to regulate orientation and arousal. A re-analysis of two longitudinal studies, formerly coded only with the ABC system, subsequently revealed that disorganized (vs. organized) attachment was predictable from newborns’ regulatory abilities, whereas secure (vs. insecure) attachment was predictable from the quality of maternal care. This suggested that the two dichotomies represented distinct dimensions and that – in low risk samples – disorganized SSP behavior may be associated with infant behavioral dispositions. More recent attempts to predict disorganized attachment from infant genetic (as opposed to newborn behavioral) dispositions yielded inconsistent results when only main effects models were examined. A set of subsequent studies examining the interplay of genetic and caregiving influences in the prediction of disorganized attachment suggested that maternal sensitivity is of particular importance in cases of genetic risk.