Attachment and Substance Abuse Parental attachment, defined as a persevering emotional bond and involved interaction between parent and child, has not been critically studied with respect to the development of substance use disorders (SUDs) (Zhai, Kirisci, Tarter, & Ridenour, 2014). One probable reason for this is the consideration that attachment is generally established by two years of age and the manifestation of SUDs often appears nearly two decades later (Zhai et al., 2014). Therefore, long-term documentation is necessary to track the influence of parent-child bonding on SUDs and SUD etiology (Lander, Howsare, & Byrne, 2013). Additionally, there are several factors occurring during the developmental period, which have an impact on the quality of the parent-child relationship, including, fluctuating life circumstances in the parent (e.g. divorce, job loss, medical illness, psychiatric disorder) and the child (e.g. school, friendships) (Zhai et al., 2014; Lander et al. 2013). According to Thorberg et al. (2011), up to fifty percent of those with Alcohol use disorders (AUD) also have alexithymia, a personality construct hypothesized to be related to attachment difficulties. Research on alexithymia notes significant positive associations between alexithymia, difficulties identifying feelings (DIF), difficulties describing feelings (DDF) and alcohol us issues (Thorberg et al., 2011). Individuals with alcohol-dependence and alexithymia report increased incidence of suicidal ideation, increased periods of alcohol abuse, and more complications with alcohol when compared to those with alcohol-dependence alone (Thorberg et al., 2011). According to Fowler, Groat, and Ulanday (2013), current findings suggest that anxious preoccupi... ... middle of paper ... ...es from Substance Abuse Treatment Services. (2006) DASIS Series: S‐30, DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 06‐4139, Rockville, MD. Thorberg, Arne, Young, Ross, Sullivan, Karen A., Lyvers, Michael, Connor, Jason P., & Feeney, Gerald F.X. (2011). Alexithymia, craving and attachment in a heavy drinking population. Addictive Behaviors, 36(4), 427-430. Wedekind, D., Bandelow, B., Heitmann, S., Havemann-Reinecke, U., Engel, R. K. & Huether, G. (2013). Attachment style, anxiety coping, and personality-styles in withdrawn alcohol addicted inpatients. Substance Abuse Treatment Prevention Policy, 8(1), Zhai, W. Z., Kirisci, L., Tarter, E. R. & Ridenour, A. T. (2014). Psychological dysregulation during adolescence mediates the association of parent-child attachment in childhood and substance use disorder in adulthood. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 40(1), 67-74.
Fortinash, K. M., & Holoday Worret, P. A. (Eds.). (2012). Substance-related disorders and addictive behaviors. Psychiatric mental health nursing (5th ed., pp. 319-362). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Hazan, C., Gur-Yaish, N., & Campa, M. (2003). What does it mean to be attached? In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.) Adult Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Implications, (pp. 55 – 85). New York: Guilford.
Earls, F., Reich, W., Jung, K. G., & Cloninger, C. R. (2006). Psychopathology in children of alcoholic and antisocial parents. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 12(4), 481 - 487.
Strodl, E., & Noller, P. (2003). The relationship of adult attachment dimensions to depression and agoraphobia. Personal Relationships, 10(2), 171-186. doi:10.1111/1475-6811.00044
The crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers, physically and emotionally, and it is the children who are the most disastrous victims. Frequently neglected and abused, they lack the maturity to combat the terrifying destructiveness of the addict’s behavior. As adults these individuals may become compulsively attracted to the same lifestyle as their parents, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, destructive relationships, antisocial behavior, and find themselves in an infinite loop of feelings of emptiness, futility, and despair. Behind the appearance of calm and success, Adult Children of Alcoholics often bear a sad, melancholy and haunted look that betrays their quietest confidence. In the chilling silence of the darkest nights of their souls, they yearn for intimacy: their greatest longing, and deepest fear. Their creeping terror lives as the child of years of emotional, and sometimes physical, family violence.
Attachment is the bond that is formed between a child and their primary caregiver(s). This is an important mechanism that is influential throughout an individual’s lifespan (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). “Sensitive, responsive parenting, maternal support, and positive family functioning facilitates the development of secure attachment, builds self-soothing skills, and develops individual differences in self-compassion skills” (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2004, 2007a; Neff & McGeehee, 2010). Primary caregivers that are inconsistent, cold, and rejecting can cause a person to become more critical towards themselves and become less skilled in recognizing their needs for care and compassion (Gilbert & Procter, 2006, Neff & McGeehee, 2010; Gilbert 2005, 2009). Sensitivity and responsive parenting leads to the development of secure attachment styles with adult attachment lying in between attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety (Grossman, Grossman, & Waters, 2005, Mikulincer & Shaver 2007a); Fraley, Waller, & Brenan,
Liehr, P, Marcus, M, Carroll, D, Granmayeh, K L, Cron, S, Pennebaker, J ;( Apr-Jun 2010). Substance Abuse; Vol. 31 (2); 79-85. Doi: 10.1080/08897071003641271
Historically, reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is considered to be a rare disorder (American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), 2011). Clinical disorders of attachment did not appear in the DSM until the third edition, published in 1980 (Zeanah et al., 2004). In the fourth edition of the DSM (text revision), reactive attachment disorder was described from two different perspectives: inhibited form and disinhibited form. It was suggested that the different forms of...
Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P.R. (1999). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications. New York: The Guilford Press.
Latham, P.K., & Napier, T.L. (1992). Psychosocial consequences of alcohol misuse in the family of origin. The International Journal of the Addictions, 27, 1137-1158.
Adult development is crucial to the success of an individual and their quality of life. But there are many factors that can delay a person from reaching certain milestones. When accessing a person who has experienced child abuse, these delays become prominent. Because individuals have to suffer trauma during childhood development, these events can cause lifelong issues. One of the major issues that develop is that of mental health disorders. These disorders ultimately have both lasting results and can correlate to other major issues. From the beginning, because of the lack of establishing healthy emotional bonds with adults, it can often cause mental health disorders. These mental health and attachment disorders can continue to affect the developmental process in adulthood in the areas of maintaining maintaining healthy relationships. Gainful
Slutske, W. S., D'Onofrio, B. M., Turkheimer, E., Emery, R. E., Harden, K., Heath, A. C., & Martin, N. G. (2008). Searching for an environmental effect of parental alcoholism on offspring alcohol use disorder: A genetically informed study of children of alcoholics. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology, 117(3), 534-551. doi:10.1037/a0012907
N. Schore, 2014). Attachment theory, when viewed through the lens of affect, and affect-regulation, becomes a pragmatic framework for models of both psychopathogenesis, and the mechanism of change in psychotherapy (Schore 2001, 2002). The clinical implications of contemporary attachment theory have been widely articulated, relating early attachment to the neurobiology of both optimal and pathological emotional development, and to the psychopathogenesis of personality disorders (Schore 2001, 2002). Scientific consensus now exists, that “deficits in right brain relational processes” and subsequent affect dysregulation “underlie all psychological and psychiatric disorders”. (A. N. Schore, 2014, p.
... Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2012): ERIC. Web. The Web. The Web.
Studies have shown that those who are abusing alcohol are 16-39% of a population that also meet the criteria for social anxiety (Chambless and Cherney and Caouto and Rjeinstein, 1987). Social anxiety is the fear of being evaluated negatively as well as observed by others (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Social anxiety has been stated as the single most prevalent diagnosed psychological disorder that effects up to 13% of the population (Book and Randall,