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Attachment as a Keyword for Wellbeing and Mental Health: From Theory to Practice

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Behavioral and Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2024) | Viewed by 1816

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy
Interests: homo/lesbo/bi/trans-phobia; parenthood; perinatal mental health; twinship; intimate partner violence; gender violence; same sex intimate partner violence; same sex parenting; sexual minorities; minorities stress; attachment
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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Interests: clinical psychology; adolescent development; child development; family studies; psychology of adolescence; attachment; sexual minorities; adoption

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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
Interests: intimate partner violence; attachment theory; adult attachment; sexual orientation; perinatal psychology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since its initial proposal by Bowlby in 1969 [1], attachment theory has provided a relevant framework for understanding individual and psychological and relational processes. Over the years, its application has been extended to different contexts (e.g., palliative care), populations (e.g., people belonging to religious, sexual, or cultural minorities), and aims (e.g., evaluating parenting skills; developing clinical interventions or assessment tools). Recent psychological research has demonstrated the effects of attachment on well-being and mental health [2], highlighting the need to consider models, methodologies, and interventions that can be adapted to various contexts and across the lifespan.

This Special Issue aims to collect scientific and multidisciplinary contributions on attachment and its possible relation to wellbeing and mental health. We encourage researchers, scholars, and clinicians to submit contributions from different areas, including original qualitative and quantitative articles, reviews, mini reviews, meta-analyses, theories, and clinical case studies which focus on how attachment theory and evaluation is correlated with other constructs and variables. We also encourage contributions on preventive and intervention models in which attachment has been used or applied for individuals’ or couples’ wellbeing.

References

1. Bowlby, J. Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1: Attachment; Basic Books: New York, NY, USA, 1969. Available online: https://mindsplain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ATTACHMENT_AND_LOSS_VOLUME_I_ATTACHMENT.pdf (accessed on 20 December 2022).
2. Zhang, X.; Li, J.; Xie, F.; Chen, X.; Xu, W.; Hudson, N.W. The relationship between adult attachment and mental health: A meta-analysis. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 2022, 123, 1089–1137. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000437.

Dr. Luca Rollè
Dr. Alessandra Santona
Dr. Tommaso Trombetta
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • attachment
  • wellbeing
  • mental health
  • evaluation of attachment
  • attachment and minorities
  • couple
  • family
  • perinatality
  • parenthood

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 876 KiB  
Article
Childhood Adversities and the ATTACHTM Program’s Influence on Immune Cell Gene Expression
by Zhiyuan Yu, Steve Cole, Kharah Ross, Martha Hart, Lubna Anis and Nicole Letourneau
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(6), 776; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21060776 - 14 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1111
Abstract
Objective: To determine whether maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are (a) associated with increased inflammatory gene expression in mother–child dyads and (b) whether a parenting intervention (ATTACH™) moderates the association between maternal ACEs and mother and/or child inflammatory gene expression. Methods: Twenty mother–child [...] Read more.
Objective: To determine whether maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are (a) associated with increased inflammatory gene expression in mother–child dyads and (b) whether a parenting intervention (ATTACH™) moderates the association between maternal ACEs and mother and/or child inflammatory gene expression. Methods: Twenty mother–child dyads, recruited from a domestic violence shelter in Calgary, AB, Canada, were randomized into an ATTACH™ parenting intervention group (n = 9) or a wait-list control group (n = 11). Maternal ACEs were assessed. The mothers and children each provided one non-fasting blood sample after the intervention group completed the ATTACH™ program, which was assayed to quantify the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity (CTRA) score, indicating inflammatory gene expression profile. Mixed-effect linear models were used, separately in mothers and children, to examine the associations between CTRA score, maternal ACEs, and the ACEs-by-intervention group interaction term. The covariates were age, sex, ethnicity, and maternal medication use. Results: Higher maternal ACEs were associated with higher child CTRA scores (b = 0.123 ± SE 0.044, p = 0.005), indicating an increased pro-inflammatory gene expression profile. The ATTACH™ parenting intervention moderated this association between maternal ACEs and child CTRA scores (b = 0.328 ± SE 0.133, p = 0.014). In mothers, the ACEs-by-intervention interaction terms were insignificant (p = 0.305). Conclusions: Maternal ACEs could exert an intergenerational impact on child inflammatory activity, and this association could be moderated by participating in the ATTACH™ parenting intervention. Full article
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