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Attachment style and somatization
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DePaulo, Daniel. Attachment style and somatization. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3VQ32GB

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TitleAttachment style and somatization
NameDePaulo, Daniel (author); Harber, Kent (chair); Kressel, Ken (internal member); Boxer, Paul (internal member); Siegel, Harold (internal member); Reich, Warren (outside member); Rutgers University; Graduate School - Newark
Date Created2010
Other Date2010-10 (degree)
SubjectPsychology, Somatization disorder--Treatment, Alexithymia, Attachment disorder, Social phobia, Somatoform disorders
Extentviii, 147 p. : ill.
DescriptionThe effect of attachment style on emotional awareness and somatization was examined using both self-report and implicit measures of negative affect. Attachment style and alexithymia were found play important roles in predicting the severity of somatic complaints independent of other indicators of negative affect. The significant interaction between alexithymia and attachment style indicated that alexithymics with a preoccupied attachment style are at the greatest risk of suffering from somatization. Follow up studies were conducted to measure the differential impact of attachment style on emotional awareness, a construct that has been previously linked to somatization. An anxiety-anger Implicit Association Test (IAT) was designed as a way to measure these negative emotions implicitly. Correlational analyses of both self-report and IAT responses of anxiety and anger grouped by attachment style revealed that the preoccupied attachment style is associated with the highest levels of emotional self-awareness while the dismissive attachment style is associated with the lowest levels. The effect of attachment style on emotional self-awareness was also revealed to be much greater in the presence of a stressor. In the final study, preliminary evidence of construct validity for the anxiety-anger IAT was established using a multi-trait multi-method correlational analysis. There was much greater convergent validity for implicit measures of anxiety compared to anger. In addition, an empirically derived construct labeled Emotional Unawareness and Evaluative Concern (EUEC) was shown to be an important moderator of anxiety when predicting somatization, with EUEC leading to greater levels of somatic complaints only under conditions of high anxiety. Implications for these findings leading to possible alternative treatments for somatization are discussed.
NotePh.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
NoteIncludes vita
Noteby Daniel DePaulo
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3VQ32GB
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - Newark Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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