Adult Attachment Interview

Adult Attachment Interview

During the class, we talked adult about  the  attachment interview(AAI). There are three major classifications of AAI ,which are secure-autonomous, dismissive and preoccupied. I was wondering which type of AAI I belong to.   When we discussed on Hallmark questions  on five adjectives describing the relationship with my mother.

I had never thought about this and also have had a hard time to answer it. The reason I hesitated about this question is  because I went through two different classification.  The first stage of my life classifies as insecure-preoccupied. My impression of my mother is loving,strict,nervous, afraid and kind until in high school. I realized that I am belong to  insecure-preoccupied  despite  her loving figure. I was preoccupied by confusion or oscillation about my past experiences and overwhelmed by some frightening experiences. I remembered that she sent me to my grandparents’ place for 2years due to her overseas job posting when I was 9years old. I felt I was abandoned by my mother and  so angry that I only talked to her over the phone a few times for  two years. When I look back, this makes me insecure and affects my relationship with my mother.

The second stage of my life is secure-autonomous, which happened after becoming a Christian.I found security and identity in Christ; it turned my world up-side down. God delivered and saved me with His everlasting love. I always can remember “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”(NIV 2Corinthians 5:17)) . I can live abundance life in Jesus Christ.I started to open my heart and had courage to share with my mother about my feelings over childhood experience. There are a lot of misunderstandings and family issues which I never understood as a nine year old little girl. My mother told me her life stories, how she struggled life as a working young mother and wife. She regretted that she didn’t give me much care and attention during my childhood. After listening all these stories, I had better understanding on my mother and started to respect her. I was so touched by her love to pour out to child despite some mistakes she made. I am so thankful that God reconcile relationship between my mother and me, now we are good friends. I love my mother.

Reference

Crowell, J. A. (2009). Adult Attachment Interview. In H. T. Reis & S. Sprecher (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Human Relationships (Vol. 1, pp. 39-41). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Extra Credit Opportunity

Human Development: Extra Credit Opportunity

B. Ruth Hitchcock

            My sister was only nineteen years old when she spiraled into severe depression and began slashing her knuckles and arms with razor blades. After suffering an emotional breakdown, she was forced to drop out of college, and was eventually diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. One day, I came into her room to find that she had overdosed on her medication. She spent the following two nights in the hospital, leaving my family to tremble in our prayers. Today, several years later, my sister is recently married and is voluntarily participating in three psychoanalysis sessions a week. However, I still look back on that period of her life with a mind full of unanswered questions and deeply felt concerns.

            In the textbook, Development Across the Life Span, Feldman states that, “suicide is the third most common cause of death in the 15- to 24-year-old age group… (Feldman, 2010). Although studies indicate that the choice to commit suicide is becoming a more common one for this particular population, there is no one single explanation for this increase. According to the article, Preventive health counseling for adolescents, the “risk factors for suicide in adolescents include active substance abuse, personal history of depression... [and] problems communicating with parents (Stephens, 2006).” Adolescents that tend to be antagonistic, impetuous, and highly isolated from their primary sources of support may also experience suicidal ideations (Bridge, Goldstien, Tina, & Brent, (2002). 

            Adolescents are liable to take their lives by suffocating, hanging, or shooting themselves (Stephens, 2006), and often do so under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Needless to say, adolescents that contemplate suicide are almost always in a stage of heightened distress. As a prospective counselor, it is possible that I may come into contact with an individual that is seriously considering suicide as a viable option. In the article, Treatment of the suicidal adolescent: Death studies, Berman and Jobes state that, at this point, “the person feels a need to die, and yet yearns for intervention, rescue, and life (1994).” In learning how reveal to my future clients a sense of meaning in the midst of such turmoil, I only hope that I can remember that all individuals, no matter how despairing, are in need of hope.

References:

Feldman, R. S. (2006, 2010)  Development across the life span. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hal

Berman, A., & Jobes, D. (1994). Treatment of the suicidal adolescent. Death Studies,     18(4), 375-389.

Stephens, M. (2006). Preventive health counseling for adolescents. American Family Physician, 74(7), 1151-1156.

Bridge, J., Goldstein, T, & Brent, D. (2002). Adolescent suicide and suicidal behavior. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 47(3-4),

Adult Attachment Interview Review

Adult Attachment Interview Review

John Bowlby, the psychoanalyst that originated the attachment theory, proposed that human motivation is organized by innate behavioral systems that facilitate adjustment and survival. He also explained the infant-mother bond in terms of the need for protection, security, and affection. He also paid considerable attention to the child-parent interactions and the ways in which early experiences influence adult behavior and expectations. Attachment is defined as an enduring emotional tie with a specific other. Attachment systems extend throughout the life span and is indicated by adult’s capability to become emotionally attached to a close relationship partner, using them as a source of love, support, and encouragement. A child or adult who feels threatened and inadequately protected or supported has a difficult time directing attention to play, curiously exploring objects and environments, and establishing mutually rewarding relationships with others. Over time these issues can interfere with self-development (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2013).  

            When learning about the Adult Attachment Interview in Human Growth and Development class, I found it very interesting. We were able to perform a piece of the interview with a peer to get a feel for the test instrument. We were to ask our peer to describe their childhood relationship with their mother and then their father in four (normally five) adjectives. It was a great experience to see how others responded to the question and then being put in the same situation yourself. In the class discussion we talked about what we gained from the exercise. We all agreed that it was easy to come up with the adjectives, but when it came down to giving a specific story to support the adjective it took a little more time to think about. The words you choose and the stories you told are not really the focus when coding the AAI and I found that to be very interesting. It is more about how you answer, what you say, and your reactions. The classifications of the AAI are secure autonomous, preoccupied, dismissive, and unresolved for loss or abuse. By your reaction and what you say you are classified as one of the categories. While listening to my peers give their story for the adjective I was able to get a feel for their tone, see the look of joy or sadness on their face, and tell if what they were saying was sincere.

            If you are considered secure autonomous people would have a consistent story that is of quality, quantity, relevance, and order.  Dismissive would be brief, have notable contradictions, generalized representations, and consist of idealism. Preoccupied transcripts would be long, have unfinished sentences, vague expression, and often sound confused.  Unresolved adults would have stories that center around traumatic events such as loss or abuse. Sometime unresolved adults will talk about a dead person as if they are still alive and consist of prolonged silence or trance-like state of speaking.

            I was able to pick up on the fact that how the person told the story had a great deal of meaning before we even discussed it in class and by seeing how the transcripts would be recorded shows signs that could be pick up on, making it very obvious as to why I believed so. I also believe that your attachment style with your parent affects your attachment as an adult to other people such as your significant other. Several studies have shown that higher scores on measures of attachment anxiety and avoidance are associated with lower scores on measures of sensitive and responsive caregiving to a romantic partner (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2013).

            I believe that adult attachment emphasizes how much of an impact early life can have on us later in life and that those experiences help shape us. I find comfort in knowing that even though a person may not be of the secure attachment type that it is possible that they can work towards becoming secure. There is hope!  

References

            Mikulincer, M. & Shaver, P. (2013). Adult attachment orientation and relationship process. Journal of Family Theory & Review 4. 259-274.

Personal Reflection of the AAI

Image source:  http://www.lovekudos.com/

It was an interesting experiment to participate in a portion of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) process during the Human Growth and Development class.  I knew that pursuing a graduate degree in the counseling field would inevitably lead to a bit of random personal psychoanalysis; however, I wasn’t fully expecting the emotion that would come from participating in this particular assignment. 

Working with my partner, I eagerly volunteered to be the interviewer first so that I could have some time to process this assignment in my head a bit before it was my turn to be interviewed.  While the interview portion regarding my father went fairly smoothly and with little emotion, I found that emotions of sadness, disappointment, and hurt began welling up during the interview portion concerning my mother.  In general, my childhood was riddled with inconsistencies, a primarily absent mother, divorce effects, and constant transition in regards to primary caregivers.  While I could easily express a few, primarily negative, adjectives surrounding the acquaintance-type relationship between my mother and myself, I truly struggled to come up with any substantial memories, whether they be good or bad, in regards to my relationship with her.

This exercise piqued my curiosity and has encouraged me to research adult attachment styles on my own to further understand the concepts.  In my adulthood, I feel that I have reached a level of forgiveness regarding my relationship with my mother and would, in general, like to believe that I have a secure attachment style.  However, I’d be interested in analyzing this on a deeper level to see if there are any indications that my attachment style might need to be refined.

I read some very interesting research by Doron, Moulding, Kyrios, Nedeljkovic and Mikulincer (2009) regarding obsessive-compulsiveness in relation to adult attachment insecurities.  In my personal life, while I wouldn't classify myself as having obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), I certainly would agree that I have OCD tendencies.  In particular, I find that I express these tendencies when it feels as if life is chaotic or I’m feeling particularly stressed or upset.  In a way, I feel that having things clean or perfect is my way of controlling a situation.  The research indicates that the attachment system of an adult affects how he or she develops close relationships, copes with and deregulates stress, and creates strategies for eliminating stressors.  Their research proposes that insecure attachment orientations, either anxious or avoidant, increase the likelihood of OCD symptoms (Doron, et.al., 2009)

Clearly the AAI is research-based and has been founded to be a powerful and accurate measure of adult attachment style. However, there were some questions that came to mind that I felt might skew results or be important additions to the attachment interview process.  The following are questions that I have concerning factors that may influence the interview:

• Does level of hunger, temperature of room, current hormonal state, or current health influence level of recall or general mood of memories cited?
• Why wouldn't memories after age twelve be just as relevant as those experienced in childhood?  Particularly considering memories before age five for anyone are sometimes arbitrary and generally not well recollected.
• Does current relationship status with the father or mother influence memory recall?
•  Would a singular hurtful event in a relationship overrule positive memories?
•  Do social pressures to present a positive image of a parent influence what is said in an interview?

Despite the emotional response, I am glad to have done the assignment.  It opened my eyes to the relationship I have with my own children and confirmed the importance of a secure and loving relationship with them, particularly in their formative years. I am interested in furthering personal research regarding adult attachment styles and more deeply understanding how it impacts me personally.

  

Source

Doron, G., Moulding, R., Kyrios, M., Nedeljkovic, M., & Mikulincer, M. (2009). Adult attachment insecurities are related to obsessive compulsive phenomena. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28(8), 1022-1049. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/224854843?accountid=12085

AAI

AAI

Having the opportunity to participate in a modified version of the AAI, has given me new perspective to how my early experiences with my mother and father have shaped my current attachment style and personality. During the class session, we were required to give four describing words of both our mother and father. Although at the start of the process, I thought that describing my early childhood would be easy to recall, I found that I had difficulty in certain areas relating exact memories to the details in which I was describing one parent or the other.

When reflecting on my early childhood, I had no problem describing my father and recalling memories to back up and support my description of our relationship. In fact, not only was I able to recall single handed memories, but I found myself trying to choose between several memories to most appropriately describe the adjective. For each adjective that I described him in, there were many incidents that I could recall to support who he was and the impact that he had on my childhood.  However, when describing my mother, I found myself taking more time to find adjectives to describe her, while having a more difficult time finding exact memories without repeating those which I had already given.

When the time came to look over the different attachment styles, I began to question why I had trouble recalling aspects of my mother that shaped the very foundation of my life. This question however, was quickly answered by my realization that my relationship with my mother was drastically impacted when she left my family at the age of sixteen. Although the AAI deals with one’s relationships with one’s parents at an early age, I couldn’t help but to get caught up on the divorce and the impact it had on me. Yes, there were adjectives that I gave about my mother showing how caring, loving and nurturing she was. She was always the first one to be by my side and care for me when I needed her. Yet, other moments, had faded and I found myself trying to search and uncover past events that may have happened.

I believe that the divorce not only changed my relationship with my mother, but had an impact on my ability to recall parts of my childhood and my current attachment style in adulthood. The lack of trust, the abandonment and the loss of my mother changed the idea of the “mother” that I had from birth. Realizing that this event shaped my life and even my attachment style in such a drastic way, has led me to pursue a deeper understanding of why events later in one’s childhood can drastically shape the memories and attachment style in adulthood. I am currently researching and trying to understand how events such as divorce can impact the life of a child and have lasting effects on one’s attachment style and personality.

 

Extra Credit:AAI

When given an opportunity to describe my relationship with my parents at a young age I immediately thought, “This will be a cake walk” but when I proceeded to try to describe our relationship with 5 adjectives it was a struggle.  I believe that we automatically progress to a position of describing where our relationship is currently located with our parents or what our parents represent. For me, those are both extremely easy to describe. Before starting this class I was completely unaware of the AAI or what its purpose was and how it affects our life.   

“The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), from which an individual’s current state of mind regarding childhood experiences with care givers is inferred from a semi-structured interview.(Roisman, 2007, 679)” Once I finally decided what my 5 adjectives were that described my relationship with them I had an extremely hard time giving exact examples to describe those adjectives. I knew exactly who my parents were and what they represented as people but my memory of my younger days was substantially clouded. “Much of the social-psychological research on attachment is guided by a variant of the classic diathesis–stress model in which working models of attachment are assumed to influence attachment-related behavior primarily under conditions of stress or threat. (Roisman, 2007, 679” I think before completing this interview I was unaware of the idea that I may have had circumstances or instances in my life that have changed or developed my attachment style. For myself, I assume that I am perfectly fine and nothing is holding me back or restraining me but as I learn more and more in this course I think I have realized that in my own life there have been circumstances and instances that have caused me to put up walls and struggle through certain situations. I never realized that I actually have been affected by specific events and that there are some things that I may need to reevaluate in my own life.

In this stage of life that I am currently in I am at a point where I am making my own decisions on what I believe in and how I want to live my life. When I look back on how I was raised and how I was affected by a specific tragic event I am so grateful for my family and their support and for my Heavenly Father guiding me and protecting me. Some of life's struggles may be perceived as negative trials but they all formed me into who I am today, what I believe in, who I love, and how I serve. I never really realized that anything we covered in class could pertain to me or change my outlook on life. But somehow there has been something specific in every class that I could relate too, that has challenged me, and that has made me go away contemplating how I could better myself or others. 

References

Roisman, Glen. "The Adult Attachment Interview and self-reports of attachment style: An empirical rapprochement.." Journal of personality and social psychology. VOL 92 ed. Washington: American Psychological Association., 2007. 678-697. Print.

Stress & Burnout: Extra Credit Opportunity

Stress & Burnout: Extra Credit Opportunity

I have worked as a children and youth minister in a Protestant church in the Middle East for over 7 years. I can say that it is a fulfilling and rewarding job but my only complaint was I always felt exhausted and tired at the end of the day. My main responsibility was to manage children and youth groups at the same time. To give you a clearer picture, my regular Sunday schedule was to lead music and teach lesson to the children’s Sunday school class, then I had to attend our youth group that was also going on at the same time. Many people noticed me running here and there during our Sunday service. On top of that, I had to get ready to run youth group for middle-schoolers in the afternoon and then high school youth group in the evening. During the week, I had to meet with volunteers and parents while having one on one discipleship with student leaders. I oversaw band practices on Wednesday evenings and Bible study on Thursday evenings. For seven years, I can only count with my fingers the times that I sat down and attended our main church service each year. It has been a seven years of struggle!

An article hypothesized that workload, time pressure, role conflict, and hours worked as the main factors of burnout (Innstrand, Langballe & Falkum, 2011). The authors also emphasized that individual factors, working environment, and the interaction of work and home are all important contributors to burnout. Working as a church worker can be mentally demanding. I am actually expected to be available to others to a greater extent and shoulder many responsibilities, including administration, preaching, teaching, and counselling. Although some studies indicate that burnout scores among church ministers are not very different from those among other ‘‘helping’’ or human services professions, various religious denominations and different countries have indicated high levels of burnout among clergy. That burnout is found to predict the choice of church ministry workers to leave the ministry (Innstrand, Langballe & Falkum, 2011).

I have found out from the class that stress is one of the issues facing early adulthood, in which I am in right now. Feldman defined stress as “the physical and emotional response to events that threaten or challenge us” (Feldman, 2014, p. 424). Stressors are not necessarily unpleasant events. Even the happiest and exciting events, such as organizing a kids Christmas program or a youth summer camp, can also produce stress. In a few years, I will be entering middle adulthood. The psychosocial crisis for this stage is generativity versus stagnation and one of the developmental tasks is managing a career. I have taken down few inputs from last week’s class which I can take with me if I decide to go back and work in the same field. Some are the implications to a human service professional that can be useful to avoid burnout which I have learned from group discussion last week:

-          Setting of priorities

-          Looking at the bigger picture

-          Learn to delegate responsibilities

-          Time management

-          Self-care

-          One must not take it personally

-          Do a regular self-assessment or evaluation

Feldman also suggested some coping mechanisms for stress as follows:

-          Seek control over the situation producing the stress

-          Redefine “threat” as “challenge”

-          Find social support

-          Use relaxation techniques

-          Maintain a healthy lifestyle (exercise, eat nutritiously, get enough sleep, etc.)

-          If all else fails, keep in mind that a life without any stress at all would be a dull one.

(Feldman, 2014, p. 429).

I was happy with my previous job and I can say that I have not reached the point of total burnout. Putting all the above coping mechanisms to practice, I am sure that I will be better.  If I were to go in the same situation again, I can say that I am more confident now to manage stress and burning out efficiently.

References

Feldman, R. S. (2014). Development across the life span (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Innstrand, S. T., Langballe, E. M., & Falkum, E. (2011). The longitudinal effects of individual vulnerability, organisational factors, and work-home interaction on burnout among male church ministers in Norway. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 14(3), 241-257.

 

AAI Discussion

Recently during class we have been having group work and discussions about the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). The Adult Attachment Interview is an interview where the client is asked to give five adjectives to describe his/her mother and five adjectives to describe his/her father. After the client gives five adjectives for one of his/her parents the client is then asked to describe instances or specific memories in which the client remembers the parent demonstrating the specific adjective give. For example, if the client describes his/her mother as loving the client then would describe a memory in which the mother demonstrated loving acts towards the client. These specific memories or instances given by the client are used to determine which attachment style the client has. The attachment styles are as follows: secure-autonomous, preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, and unresolved.

                During class we also discussed different reactions that adults could give during this interview that would indicate which attachment style best fits the client’s personality. Those with a secure-autonomous attachment were characterized by responses such as the following: coherence, fresh memories, balance, and believablility. Preoccupied attachment is characterized by anger, passivity, and difficulty with seizing on words. Dismissive/avoidant attachment is characterized by difficulty remembering, cannot recall details, generic, idealism, and values material items. Finally, unresolved attachment is characterized by lack of coherence, sensory invasion, and lapse in monitoring of reasoning with respect to loss.

                The attachment that I found most interesting was the dismissive/avoidant attachment style. I do not believe that I am characterized by this attachment but I do find this style quite intriguing. I find this attachment interesting because the adult client could think in his/her mind that their relationship with their parent is healthy and secure when in fact the relationship is the opposite. Many of the characteristics that describe dismissive attachment involves the client viewing their relationship with their parent in a way that idealizes the parent yet lacks in substance. For example, the client might describe his/her father as supportive but fails to remember any memories, cannot recall details, and becomes very generic in his/her descriptions of the father. It was also discussed in class that these students could find value in material items and mention that they were “spoiled” growing up. This often indicates that the parents might have given material goods to the client as a child in order to compensate for not spending time with them during childhood.

                From my exposure to this subject during this class and my previous knowledge concerning attachment styles I found this Adult Attachment Interview to be quite helpful. Dr. Knight discussed in class that may times clients will describe his/her parents in a positive and admirable way in order to appear as “normal” to the counselor yet when it comes down to recalling specific memories of these descriptions, the clients cannot fake their true experiences. Also, I found it interesting (and relieving) that difficulty recalling memories are different then not having memories to recall. As I was doing our class group work I found it difficult to come up with specific memories to coincide with the adjectives that I designated to each parent. After taking a couple of minutes to truly think back to my childhood it became easier to remember specific memories. I greatly befitted from discussing the AAI during class and I can clearly see the benefit of using this interview in future counseling sessions.

AAI Reflection: Extra Credit Opportunity

Extra Credit Opportunity: Adult Attachment Interview Reflection

Before this class, I had never heard of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and I found it very interesting to learn about and participate in. According to Cassidy, Sherman, & Jones (2012), the overall goal of the AAI is “not to uncover the exact nature of the participant’s childhood experiences, but instead to assess how the participant currently represents those experiences” (p. 12).

I experienced the most difficulty while trying to come up with adjectives for my mother, whereas I found it easier to do so for my father. I believe this occurred because although I have very good relationships with both of my parents, I have always been closer to my father. One thing that I found challenging with the AAI was selecting adjectives that focused on my relationship with each parent as opposed to adjectives that described them as a person. I also found it difficult to choose adjectives and stories from such young ages, and often had to remind myself to do so. I found it easy to remember specific stories for my father’s adjectives, whereas I struggled a little more and took more time for my mother’s. Personally, I think I would be classified as secure autonomous with my father and preoccupied with my mother.

The article by Cassidy et al. (2012) examines the AAI and claims “the content of the narrative is much less central to classification than are the narrative’s linguistic properties” (p. 12). In other words, an individual is not classified into a specific primary attachment style as a result of the memories and stories they share, but rather as a result of how they tell those memories and stories. I definitely agree with this because when I was the interviewer, I found it quite easy to determine what parent my partner had a stronger relationship with by the way they were describing each parent. My partner was opposite to me, having difficulty thinking of adjectives and memories for their father, but doing so quickly for their mother. Through their stories I was also able to picture their experiences in my head because they were so vivid. I think the AAI is a very effective exercise to conduct with clients, as “substantial evidence exists demonstrating that adult’s attachment representations are predictors of a variety of important aspects of their children’s psychological functioning” (Cassidy et al., 2012, p. 11).

References

Cassidy, J., Sherman, L. J., & Jones, J. D. (2012). What’s in a word? Linguistic characteristics of adult attachment interviews. Attachment & Human Development, 14(1), 11-32. doi:10.1080/14616734.2012.636649