The relationships between psychological mindedness, parental bonding and adult attachment
Year: 2013
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to clarify the relationship between psychological mindedness and attachment relationships in childhood and adulthood. DESIGN: This analogue study examined associations between psychological mindedness and attachment using a cross-sectional design. METHOD: Participants completed questionnaire measures of psychological mindedness, parental bonding, and adulthood attachment relationships. RESULTS: As hypothesized, psychological mindedness was strongly, negatively correlated with attachment avoidance in adulthood. Psychological mindedness was also positively correlated with perceived maternal care in childhood, and negatively correlated with perceived paternal over-protection. However, a regression analysis found that attachment avoidance in adulthood was a more significant predictor of psychological mindedness than parental bonding experiences in childhood. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed to replicate associations between attachment and psychological mindedness in clinical samples and to explore additional constructs which influence psychological mindedness. PRACTITIONER POINTS: High attachment avoidance may be a potential risk factor for poor psychological mindedness. Helping individuals to develop more secure attachments in their adult relationships may improve their psychological mindedness.
DOI: 10.1111/papt.12007
Authors: Kathryn Bourne, Katherine Berry, Lisa Jones
Institution: University of Manchester
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2146543276