Changes in attachment representations during psychological therapy
Taylor and colleagues reviewed the studies that measured adult attachment before and after psychological therapy, asking whether attachment representations change with treatment. Across both traditions of measurement, the lengthy interview and the self-report questionnaire, security increased and attachment anxiety decreased over the course of therapy. Results for avoidance were unclear, which is a recurring pattern in this literature. The improvements appeared across different patient groups, different therapeutic approaches and different settings, and held at all levels of study quality rather than being confined to the weaker studies. The authors are careful about what this supports. Most of the studies lack control groups, so the review establishes that attachment measures move during therapy rather than that therapy moves them, and they call for controlled trials before the conclusion is treated as settled. This vault cites it for the claim that attachment style is not fixed in adulthood.
Taylor and colleagues reviewed the studies that measured adult attachment before and after psychological therapy, asking whether attachment representations change with treatment. Across both traditions of measurement, the lengthy interview and the self-report questionnaire, security increased and attachment anxiety decreased over the course of therapy. Results for avoidance were unclear, which is a recurring pattern in this literature. The improvements appeared across different patient groups, different therapeutic approaches and different settings, and held at all levels of study quality rather than being confined to the weaker studies. The authors are careful about what this supports. Most of the studies lack control groups, so the review establishes that attachment measures move during therapy rather than that therapy moves them, and they call for controlled trials before the conclusion is treated as settled. This vault cites it for the claim that attachment style is not fixed in adulthood.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
Systematic review of 14 studies. Security rises and anxiety falls after therapy; most included studies lacked control groups and the authors call for controlled trials.
Where we use it
- What the Crib Actually Decides, Why We Care
Reliability of this reference
The link below was matched against the publisher's record on title, first author and year, and all three agree.
The source
https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2014.886791
DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2014.886791