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
Kaylee, thank you for sharing your perspective on the AAI. I can relate with you in the fact that it was easier to focus on adjectives that described the person rather than describing the relationship. I, personally, found it difficult to come up with memories from childhood rather than memories from my current relationship with my parents. I appreciate that you added an outside source to help readers better understand the purpose of the AAI. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteIn my case it is the other way around; I find it easier to find adjectives that describes my mother than describing my father. I also find it easier to find attachment-related memories with my mother from my childhood than thinking of memories with my father. I guess, with this interview I can place my description of my relationship with my mother under the category of secure-autonomous while description to my father under dismissive in which I have difficulty remembering or perhaps lack of memory and belonging. It is good that through this interview, we can have awareness and realization about our relationship with our parents and can consider this in establishing future intimate relationships.
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