Attachment and body representations in adolescents with (and without)
personality disorders
Abstract
Background: Attachment theory has served as an influential
framework for understanding psychopathology, partly due to reliable
assessment methodology. The influence of insecure attachment on
attitudes towards the body and the impact this might have for the
development of psychopathology is however less well elucidated.
Method: 123 adolescents (35 with borderline personality
disorder or BPD, 25 with other personality disorders or OPD and 63
comprising a healthy control group) were interviewed with the Adult
Attachment Interview (AAI) and the Mirror Interview (MI). The MI
questions respondents about how they feel about their bodies, as they
look in the mirror Results: The AAIs from the BPD group were
predominantly insecure-preoccupied and unresolved. Adolescents with PD
but particularly BPD had significantly greater issues with negative body
representations (NBR) than the control group. Insecure attachment and
unresolved attachment status were significantly linked to NBR.
Regression results revealed a low loving relationship with fathers, high
involving anger with father, low coherence of mind & passive speech
uniquely predicted 61% of variance in NBR. Conclusion:
Unfavorable attachment experiences may give rise to negative body images
and influence the development of psychopathology, especially BPD.