State of Mind Assessment in Relation to Adult Attachment and Text Analysis of Adult Attachment Interviews in a Sample of Patients with Anorexia Nervosa
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2022
Citazione:
State of Mind Assessment in Relation to Adult Attachment and Text Analysis of Adult Attachment Interviews in a Sample of Patients with Anorexia Nervosa / C. Civilotti, M. Franceschinis, G. Gandino, F. Veglia, S. Anselmetti, S. Bertelli, A. D'Agostino, C.A. Redaelli, R. del Giudice, R. Giampaolo, I. Fernandez, S. Finzi, A. Celeghin, E. Donarelli, G. Di Fini. - In: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INVESTIGATION IN HEALTH, PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION. - ISSN 2174-8144. - 12:12(2022), pp. 1760-1779. [10.3390/ejihpe12120124]
Abstract:
Background: Attachment theory represents one of the most important references for the study of the development of an individual throughout their life cycle and provides the clinician with a profound key for the purposes of understanding the suffering that underlies severe psychopathologies such as eating disorders. As such, we conducted a cross-sectional study with a mixed-methods analysis on a sample of 32 young women with anorexia nervosa (AN); this study was embedded in the utilized theoretical framework with the following aims: 1. to evaluate the state of mind (SoM) in relation to adult attachment, assuming a prevalence of the dismissing (DS) SoM and 2. to analyze the linguistic attachment profile emerging from the transcripts of the AAIs. Methods: Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed using the linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC) method. Results: The results were observed to be consistent with the referenced literature. The prevalence of a DS SoM (68.75%) is observed in the study sample, whereas the results of the lexical analysis of the stories deviate from expectations. Notably, the lexical results indicate the coexistence of the dismissing and entangled aspects at the representational level. Conclusions: The study results suggest a high level of specificity in the emotional functioning of patients with AN, with a focusing on a pervasive control of emotions that is well illustrated by the avoidant/ambivalent (A/C) strategy described in Crittenden’s dynamic–maturational model. These findings and considerations have important implications for clinical work and treatment, which we believe must be structured on the basis of starting from a reappraisal of emotional content.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
AAI; anorexia nervosa; attachment; eating disorders; LIWC; textual analysis
Elenco autori:
C. Civilotti, M. Franceschinis, G. Gandino, F. Veglia, S. Anselmetti, S. Bertelli, A. D'Agostino, C.A. Redaelli, R. del Giudice, R. Giampaolo, I. Fernandez, S. Finzi, A. Celeghin, E. Donarelli, G. Di Fini
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