Relationship of personal coherence and interpersonal attachment with psychological well-being PDF
Preview Relationship of personal coherence and interpersonal attachment with psychological well-being
THERELATIONSHIPOF PERSONALCOHERENCEANDINTERPERSONALATTACHMENT WITHPSYCHOLOGICALWELL-BEING By LIONELROOD ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA 2000 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IwouldliketofirstexpressmuchgratitudetoDr.GregNeimeyerforhis guidanceonthisproject. Oneofthecentralhighlightsformeinthisprogram hasbeenhisopennesstotheoreticalprojectsandhisabilitytoguidethework. Hisconceptual,editorial,andorganizationskillshavebeencrucialand illuminating. Iappreciatehispatiencedespitemydistractionswithothertasks andresponsibilities. IwouldalsoliketogivespecialthankstoMartinHeesackerforhis encouragementandinsight. Hisnotablesupportandgenuinedirectnesshas beengreatlyappreciatedalongwithhisresearchandstatisticalexpertise. DeepgratitudeisalsoextendedtoPeteSherrard,whohasbeena powerfulpresencefromthefirstdayofmyprofessionalcounselingand psychologycareer. Hisinfluencecontinuestoinfluencemytheoretical endeavors,professionalwork,andpersonallife. IwouldliketothankAlanStewartforhissupportonthisproject. Itruly admirehisinsightandexquisiteattentiontodetail. IalsothankJeffFerrarfor hisparticipation,availability,andespeciallyhispatiencewiththeobtusenessof theconstructivisttheoryinthiswork. ii IalsowanttoacknowledgePaulaLovett,RobHosford,andGrant McDougall,mycolleaguesformanypowerfulyearsintheprivatepractice. The breadthofourexperiencetogetherhadaprofoundaffectuponmyprofessional andpersonaldevelopment. Ialsowanttothankmyparentsandfamilyfortheirsupportand encouragementovertheyears. WiththeproximityofmynewAtlantaresidence, IhopethatIcanbecomeincreasingmorehelpfultothemintheirsenioryears. Finally,averyspecialthanksforN.R.forthecontinuedyearsof enchantment. iii TABLEOFCONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT vi CHAPTERS ONE INTRODUCTION 1 ConstructivistFramework 2 AttachmentTheory 5 Overview 7 TWO REVIEWOFLITERATURE 9 ConstructivistBasisforCoherence,Self-Organization, andMeaning-making 9 SenseofCoherence 17 SenseofCoherenceandPsychologicalWell-being 21 OverviewofAttachmentTheory 25 AttachmentTheoryandAdjustment 30 AssessmentinAttachmentTheory 35 Guidano'sDevelopmental-Constructivism:TheInterplayof ConstructivismandAttachmentTheory 39 SummaryandHypotheses 46 THREE METHODOLOGY 49 Participants 49 Procedures 50 Measures 50 Predictions 56 iv 1 FOUR RESULTS 58 PreliminaryAnalyses 58 ExploratoryAnalyses 61 PrimaryAnalyses 64 FIVE DISCUSSION 67 InitialHypotheses 67 SOCandAttachmentStyles 68 SenseofCoherence(SOC)andAdjustment 69 AttachmentStylesandPsychologicalAdjustment 71 DiscussionandInterpretationofPrimaryResults 74 LimitsoftheStudy 80 Conclusion 82 APPENDICES A SENSEOFCOHERENCE 84 B RELATIONSHIPQUESTIONAIRE 85 C SELF-ESTEEMSCALE 86 D SELF-CONCEPTCLARITY 87 E COSTELLO-COMPHREYDEPRESSIONANDANXIETYSCALE 88 F IDENTITYINTEGRATION 89 GINFORMEDCONSENT 90 REFERENCES 91 BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 97 V 1 AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy THERELATIONSHIPOF PERSONALCOHERENCEANDINTERPERSONALATTACHMENT WITHPSYCHOLOGICALWELL-BEING By LIONELROOD December,2000 Chair:Dr.G.Neimeyer MajorDepartment:Psychology Extensiveresearchasdocumentedthatattachmentstyleisstrongly relatedtovariousindicatorsofpsychologicaladjustmentandvwell-being. Secure attachmentispositivelycorrelatedtoadjustmentandeachofthethreeformsof insecureofattachmentarenegativelycorrelatedtoadjustment. Similarly,an individual'ssenseofcoherence(SOC)isstronglyrelatedtoadjustmentand physicalhealth. SOCiscomprisedofthreesubcomponents:meaningfulness, comprehensibility,andmanageability. InthisstudySOCwasutilizedto representconstructivism,aformofpsychologythatfocusesuponanindividual's effortsinmeaning-making. Thisstudyexaminedtheinterrelationshipof attachmentandSOCwithrespecttopsychologicaladjustment. vi Atotalof142universitystudentsfilledoutself-reportinstrumentsfor attachment,SOC,andpsychologicaladjustment(asmeasuredbyanxiety, depression,self-esteem,self-conceptclarity,andidentityintegration). Exploratoryanalysesdocumentedsignificantcorrelationsbetweenthethreeof thefourattachmentstylesandpsychologicaladjustment. SOCwasalsoshown tohavestrongcorrelationswiththeseindicatorsofadjustment. Statistical proceduresusingmultivariate(MANCOVA)andunivariate(ANOVA)analyses indicatedthatattachmentbecameinsignificantwithrespecttoadjustmentwhen theinfluenceofcoherencewascontrolled. Thisresultimpliesthat,withinthe contextofsecureorinsecureattachment,theeffectsofcoherencecomprisea verystrongandsignificantrelationshipwithpsychologicaladjustment. Further researchmayshowthatthisresultsignifiesthattheusualpositiverelationshipof attachmentwithadjustmentisunderminedwhenanindividual'ssenseof coherenceisdiminishedand,conversely,thenegativerelationshipofinsecure attachmentwithadjustmentisenhancedwhencoherenceisincreased. This interpretationwouldsupportconstructivismandmayalsohaveclinical implicationsinassistingindividualswithinterpersonalattachmentdifficulties. vii \1Ii 1 CHAPTERONE INTRODUCTION Whilemanytraditionalpsychologicalperspectivesfocusuponpersonality asprimarilytheproductofheredity,childhoodexperiences,orenvironmental conditioning,constructivismpresentsanalternativeperspectivethatfocuses upontheproactiveconstructionofmeaningsandcoherentorderfrom experience. Apremiumisplacedontheactive,interpretative,and"meaning- making"effortsthatconstitutetheorganizationandreorganizationofthe personalitythroughoutthelifespan(Rosen,1996;Guidano,1991,1995). While developmentalexperiencesmayorganizeandconstrainanindividual's personalityandbehaviors,constructivistsgenerallyviewdevelopmentinrelation totheconstructionofflexiblestructuresratherthanafixedfoundation. These structurescanbetransformedthroughongoingreorganizationsofmeaningthat contributetoanincreasinglycomplexandwell-integratedsenseofcoherence regardingone'sselfandworld. Whereasconstructivismoftenfocusesuponanindividual'scontemporary effortsinmeaning-making,attachmenttheory,withitsrootsinpsychoanalysis, emphasizesthelifelongeffectsofearlychildhoodrelationshipsuponadult functioningandemotionalwell-being. JohnBowlby(1988),oneofthefounders 1 ofattachmenttheory,assertedthat"attachment...isthehubaroundwhicha person'sliferevolves,notonlywhenheisaninfantoratoddler..butthroughout hisadolescenceandhisyearsofmaturityaswell"(p.442). Thequalityofearly attachmentrelationshipshasbeensubsequentlyshowntopredictimportant aspectsofadultrelationships,cognitivestylesandpsychologicaladjustment. Thepurposeofthisstudyistoassesstherelationshipandinteraction betweenindividuals'senseofcoherenceandtheirqualityofattachmentwith respecttopsychologicaladjustment. Thisinvestigationspecificallyseeksto determinewhetheranindividual'ssenseofcoherenceispositivelycorrelated withattachmentand,furthermore,whetherthissenseofcoherencemediates aspectsofpsychologicalhealthindependentofthequalityofattachment;e.g., whetherweakcoherencemayunderminestrongattachmentand,conversely, strongcoherencemayenhanceadjustmentdespitepoorattachment. An overviewofconstructivismisimportanttoprovideaframeworkforunderstanding theinterfaceamonganindividual'spersonalcoherence,qualityofattachment, andpsychologicaladjustmentthatthisprojectwillexplore. ConstructivistFramework Constructivismemphasizeshumans'activemeaning-makingeffortsand theircentralroleinpsychologicalprocesses. Whilenotdenyingreactiveand passiveaspectsofcognition,behavior,andemotion,constructivistsfocusupon theproactiveconstructionsofmeaningthatgivesenseandordertoexperience. Humansarethusviewedasco-creatorsoftheirworldandareoftenmore influencedbytheirinterpretationsofeventsratherthantheeventsperse. Anotherbasicpremiseofconstructivistmetatheoryconcernsself- organization,whichreferstostructuresthatguidepsychologicalprocessesand giverisetoacoherentsenseofself(Mahoney,Miller,&Arciero,1995). Noting that"humanexperience...presupposesalevelofstabilityandcoherence"(p. 94),Guidano(1995)concludedthat"itisnowincreasinglyapparentthatthe individualhumanknowercontributessignificantlytothecoherenceandstability thatheorsheexperiences"(p.94). Constructivistsacknowledgethataperson'sself-organizationoriginates inearlyinterpersonalrelationshipsandthattheattachmentrelationships betweenaninfantandcaregiverssignificantlycontributetoastablesenseofself andpersonalityorganization. However,alternativeorganizationsofselfoften arisewithfundamentalchangesinpersonalmeaning(Guidano,1987,1991; Mahoney,1991). Guidano's(1987,1991)developmental-constructivism describedatlengththevariousformsofself-organizationsestablishedinearly developmentalphasesthatcanbelatermodifiedinadultmeaning-making efforts. Guidano(1995)assertedthat "althoughattachmentiscentraltothe stable...self,newpatternsofattachmentemergethroughoutmaturational stagesduringadulthood,attachmentsthatfunctiontoconfirm,supportand furtherexpandthepatternofselfcoherencethathasthusfarbeenstructured" (p.99).
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