Mary Main's concept of conditional strategies: influences on studies of child-parent and adult romantic attachments.

Among Mary Main's many vital contributions to the field of attachment is the idea that human infants develop adaptive in the service of maintaining proximity to a secure base in light of a particular caregiving history. In this tribute paper, we describe Main's original theorizing, which delineated three types of conditional strategies: a primary strategy and two secondary strategies of or the naturally occurring output of the attachment behavioral system, using a variety of cognitive, affective, and behavioral means. We review the large body of evidence for minimizing and maximizing strategies in infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Coordination of parent and adolescent attachment across time.

Adolescence is a period of rapid social changes that may have important implications for the ways adolescents think, feel, and behave in their close relationships. According to family systems theory, adolescents' attachment-related changes have the potential to spread throughout their family system, leading to coordinated changes in parents' and adolescents' attachment styles over time. The present study analyzed data from 205 adolescents ( = 14.

A 'Problematic' Pattern of Power-system Functioning and its Association with psychopathological Symptoms.

Following the well-researched two-dimensional model of attachment-system functioning, based on the concepts of hyperactivation and deactivation, a two-dimensional model of the power behavioral system has recently been proposed. The power system is aimed at activating, organizing, and implementing action patterns that protect or restore a sense of power or dominance. Here, we tested predictions derived from the two-dimensional model of power-system functioning regarding the contribution of a 'problematic' high-high pattern, characterized by the coexistence of both hyperactivating and deactivating strategies, to psychopathological symptoms.

Security-enhancement Processes within Group Settings: Revising Insecure Working Models of Attachment During Playful Group Interactions.

According to attachment theory and research, a supportive social or therapeutic group can assuage relational worries and promote members' sense of attachment security (or felt security, confidence that others will be supportive when needed), which is crucial for sustaining goal pursuit, social relations, and mental health. As yet, however, little is known about the group provisions that move attachment-insecure members toward greater security. In this article, we propose that the Attachment Security Enhancement Model, which was originally developed to explain attachment processes within couples, can also explain security enhancement in group settings.

Validation and psychometric properties of the Italian version of the .

The power behavioural system is a neurobehavioral system that motivates a person to acquire and control resources that are important for survival and reproductive success. When activated, its function is to protect or restore the sense of power, influence, or dominance. Repeated experiences of failure in achieving this goal may result in hyperactivation or deactivation of power-oriented behaviours (analogous to the secondary strategies observed with respect to the attachment behavioural system).

Attachment in the time of COVID-19: Insecure attachment orientations are associated with defiance of authorities' guidelines during the pandemic.

Previous research has linked people's relational attachment orientations to emotional reactions and coping during crises, and to social trust and trust in societal institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis for which collective efforts, such as social distancing, are necessary to stop the spread of the virus. During previous pandemics, people high in trust have typically adhered to such efforts.

Attachment Security Priming Affecting Mating Strategies Endorsement among College Students.

Exposure to environmental cues reflecting potential threats to future survivability is associated with a stronger endorsement of short-term mating strategies. Less is known, however, about the effects of safety and security cues. In four studies, we examined the effects of attachment-related security cues compared to neutral cues on preferences for short- and long-term mating strategies.

An attachment perspective on loss and grief.

Attachment theory provides a useful framework for understanding emotional reactions to separation and loss and the process of adapting to these painful events. In this article, we review adult attachment studies that have examined emotional reactions and adjustment to separation and loss in romantic and marital relationships. We begin with a brief account of attachment theory.

Security Providing Leadership: A Job Resource to Prevent Employees' Burnout.

Leadership styles in work contexts play a role in employees' well-being, contributing to better health or, on the contrary, being a source of stress. In this study we propose that security providing leadership may be considered as a resource to prevent employees' job burnout. First, we examine the relationship between employees' perception of their leader's degree of security in providing leadership and the employees' degree of job-related burnout.

Parents' attachment orientation, interviewers' support, and children's memory for a mildly distressing event.

Parents' attachment orientations predict children's memory about distressing life events, such that parents who are less secure in close relationships tend to have children who are less accurate in their memory reports. This study examined whether socially supportive interviewing would reduce differences in children's memory performance associated with parents' attachment. Children (3 to 5 years,  = 63) and their primary caretakers took part in the Preschool Attachment Classification System (PACS), a moderately distressing event for children of preschool age that is based on the Strange Situation Procedure.

Enhancing the "broaden-and-build" cycle of attachment security as a means of overcoming prejudice, discrimination, and racism.

Attachment theory emphasizes both the importance of supportive relationship partners, beginning in infancy, for developing a sense of security, and the adaptive benefits of this sense. In this article, we consider bolstering the sense of attachment security as a means of reducing and overcoming prejudice, discrimination, and racism. We review basic concepts of attachment theory, focusing on what we call the broaden-and-build cycle of attachment security.

Attachment and attitudes toward children: effects of security priming in parents and non-parents.

The present two-study investigation is the first to examine whether experimentally boosting attachment security (security priming) affects attitudes in the parenting domain for both parents and non-parents. Mothers (n = 72) and childless undergraduates (n = 82) were randomly assigned to a neutral or a secure prime condition and then completed measures of implicit attitudes (a child-focused version of the Go/No-Go Association Task) and explicit attitudes (self-reported) toward children. Following the priming manipulation, mothers in the secure prime condition had more positive implicit attitudes toward their child compared to mothers in the neutral prime condition.

Attachment goes to court: child protection and custody issues.

Attachment theory and research are drawn upon in many applied settings, including family courts, but misunderstandings are widespread and sometimes result in misapplications. The aim of this consensus statement is, therefore, to enhance understanding, counter misinformation, and steer family-court utilisation of attachment theory in a supportive, evidence-based direction, especially with regard to child protection and child custody decision-making. The article is divided into two parts.

Attachment theory and religion.

Attachment theory deals with the development and dynamics of interpersonal affectional bonds. It also provides a framework for understanding individuals' relationship with God, which is central to religion. We review basic concepts of attachment theory and survey research that has examined religion both in terms of normative attachment processes and individual differences in attachment.

Enhancing the "Broaden and Build" Cycle of Attachment Security in Adulthood: From the Laboratory to Relational Contexts and Societal Systems.

Attachment theory emphasizes both the importance of the availability of caring, supportive relationship partners, beginning in infancy, for developing a sense of safety and security, and the beneficial effects of this sense of security on psychosocial functioning and physical and mental health. In this article, we briefly review basic concepts of attachment theory, focusing on the core construct of attachment security and present evidence concerning the ways in which this sense can be enhanced in adulthood. Specifically, we review findings from laboratory experiments that have momentarily enhanced the sense of attachment security and examined its effects on emotion regulation, psychological functioning, and prosocial behavior.

A secure base for mindful dreaming: dispositional and contextually variable attachment security and the experiential quality of dreams.

In this study, we examined the utility of attachment theory for explaining individual differences in dream experiences. Seventy-six Israeli undergraduates completed a measure of attachment anxiety and avoidance and participated in a daily diary study for 15 consecutive days. Each evening, they rated their daily sense of attachment security.

Mothers never retire: Contextual priming of working models of mother affects adults' representations of self and romantic partners.

Objectives: The main goal of these studies is to provide an experimental test of a core hypothesis based on attachment theory: Working models of mother are active in adults' minds and can bias their views of self and romantic partners.

Method: In two studies, we conducted clinical interviews to identify positive and negative core traits that participants used to describe their mothers. We then implicitly primed either positive or negative traits extracted from the interviews and compared this priming condition to control conditions in which we primed either positive or negative control traits (traits that described the mother of another study participant).

To die for a cause but not for a companion: Attachment-related variations in the terror management function of self-sacrifice.

In 8 studies, we examined the terror management function of self-sacrifice and the moderating role of attachment orientations. Studies 1-5 focused on readiness to self-sacrifice for a cause, whereas Studies 6-8 focused on self-sacrifice to save a relationship partner's life. In Studies 1-3 and 6, we examined whether mortality salience increases readiness to self-sacrifice.

Attachment, caregiving in couple relationships, and prosocial behavior in the wider world.

According to attachment theory, a sense of attachment security (confidence that others will be available and supportive when needed) facilitates the functioning of the caregiving behavioral system and the empathic provision of care to suffering others. In this article we review what has been learned during the last decade about attachment-related individual differences in caregiving within couple relationships and prosocial behavior in the wider world. We begin with a brief account of attachment theory and the dynamic interplay of the attachment and caregiving behavioral systems.

Attachment orientations and emotion regulation.

According to attachment theory, individual differences in the availability and responsiveness of close relationship partners, beginning in infancy, and the resulting formation of fairly stable attachment orientations are crucial for understanding the ways people experience and regulate emotions. In this article, we review what has been learned during the last decade about attachment-related individual differences in emotion regulation. We begin with a brief account of the hypothesized links between different forms of attachment insecurity (anxiety, avoidance) and strategies people use in regulating distress and coping with threatening events.

Developmental processes across the first two years of parenthood: Stability and change in adult attachment style.

The first months after becoming a new parent are a unique and important period in human development. Despite substantial research on the many social and biological changes that occur during the first months of parenthood, little is known about changes in mothers' attachment. The present study examines developmental stability and change in first-time mothers' attachment style across the first 2 years of motherhood.

How children remember the Strange Situation: The role of attachment.

This study tested predictions from Bowlby's attachment theory about children's memory and suggestibility. Young children (3-5years old, N=88; 76% Caucasians) and their parents took part in the Strange Situation Procedure, a moderately distressing event and "gold standard" for assessing children's attachment quality. The children were then interviewed about what occurred during the event.

Assessing hyperactivation and deactivation strategies of the caregiving behavioral system: Psychometric studies of the Portuguese version of the Caregiving System Scale.

According to attachment theory, the main goal of the caregiving behavioral system is to relieve others' distress and promote their health and welfare. This is accomplished through a set of caregiving behaviors that are the primary strategy of this system. However, some individuals develop nonoptimal or secondary strategies (hyperactivation or deactivation).

Augmenting the Sense of Attachment Security in Group Contexts: The Effects of a Responsive Leader and a Cohesive Group.

According to attachment theory, the availability of caring, supportive relationship partners, beginning in infancy, is important to developing a sense of attachment security, which in turn fosters the development of stable self-esteem, constructive coping strategies, maintenance of mental health, and formation of mutually satisfying relationships throughout life. In this article, we move beyond the well-researched correlates of attachment security and the laboratory priming of security-enhancing mental representations to propose a broader group-related model of psychological change. According to this model, repeated interactions with responsive and supportive leaders and cohesive groups beneficially alter a person's attachment patterns and psychological functioning.

Stability of Attachment Style in Adolescence: An Empirical Test of Alternative Developmental Processes.

Few studies have examined stability and change in attachment during adolescence. This 5-year longitudinal study (a) examined whether prototype or revisionist developmental dynamics better characterized patterns of stability and change in adolescent attachment (at T1, N = 176; M  = 14.0 years, SD = 0.