The relation between adverse childhood experiences and attachment-related anxiety and ...

89 Pages·2014·1.11 MB·English

by  Ingrid Helen Lindboe

The relation between adverse childhood
experiences and attachment-related anxiety
and avoidance in adult romantic relationships

A study of pregnant Norwegian women

Ingrid Helen Lindboe

Main thesis – Department of Psychology

UNIVERSITY OF OSLO

October 2014

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The relation between adverse childhood experiences and
attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in adult romantic
relationships:
A study of pregnant Norwegian women

“[…] what happens in childhood - like a child´s footprints in wet
cement - commonly lasts throughout life. Time does not heal; time
conceals.” (Felitti, 2009, p. 131)

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Copyright Ingrid Helen Lindboe

2014

The relation between adverse childhood experiences and attachment-related anxiety and
avoidance in adult romantic relationships: A study of pregnant Norwegian women.

Ingrid Helen Lindboe

http://www.duo.uio.no

Print: Reprosentralen, University of Oslo

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Abstract
Author: Ingrid Helen Lindboe Supervisors: Vibeke Moe and Lars Smith

Title: The relation between adverse childhood experiences and attachment-related anxiety
and avoidance in adult romantic relationships: A study of pregnant Norwegian women.

Background and research questions: There seems to be a lack of studies investigating the
consequences of adverse childhood experiences on attachment behaviours in romantic
relationships in adulthood. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether adverse
childhood experiences, as reported retrospectively by Norwegian pregnant women, were
related to attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in their romantic relationships in
adulthood after controlling for important socio-demographic characteristics. The proposed
hypothetical model is that such experiences are associated with insecure attachment patterns
in childhood, and that these patterns are transmitted into romantic relationships in adulthood
due to the internal working models of attachment and the persistence of attachment patterns
throughout life.
Method:
 The data reported in the present study were obtained from 1 036 pregnant women
taking part in the Norwegian study “Little in Norway” (“Liten i Norge”). The participants
completed a questionnaire packet containing questions related to socio-demographic
information in addition to several specific self-report questionnaires. The Adverse Childhood
Experiences Scale was used to measure the women´s adverse childhood exposures, and the
Experiences in Close Relationships Scale was used in the measurement of attachment-related
anxiety and avoidance in the women´s adult romantic relationships. Correlation- and
hierarchical multiple regression analyses were carried out in the investigation of the relation
between the childhood adversities and the adult attachment-related anxiety and avoidance.

Results: The results showed that there was a moderate, positive association, and that the
adverse experiences made a unique, statistically significant contribution to the amount of
attachment-related anxiety and avoidance after controlling for the women´s age, education,
ethnic minority group status, presence of former and current mental health problems and the
number of days into pregnancy at the time when they answered the questionnaires.
Conclusions: The present results yield support to the proposed hypothetical model of adverse
childhood experiences and the transmission of insecure attachment patterns from childhood
to adulthood.
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Preface

The process of conducting this study has been like a journey.
The kind where you feel enriched of new experiences when you get home.
The kind where you have been filled with all excitement, motivation, inspiration, joy,
tiredness, frustration and exhaustion along the way.
I have learned so much – both professional and personal.

There are several persons who have been of great importance to me during this process, and
who have contributed significantly in the conduction of the study. I am very grateful to the
Norwegian study “Little in Norway” / “Liten i Norge”, for letting me use data from their
material. Your work is so important, and truly inspiring. I want to thank my supervisors
Vibeke and Lars. For your invaluable and generous guidance, support and inspiring
commitment. I would also like to thank Anne-Marie Halberg, for all guidance, help and
availability at any time. Furthermore, I want to thank my friends. You have been my lights
along the dark parts of the journey. Especially Kristina, Ida and Liv Marit; without you, the
dark parts would have been so much darker and the bright parts so much dimmer. You are
my second family. Last but not least, I want to thank my parents and my brothers Eivind and
Anders. For your eternal love, support and guidance. You are my secure base and safe haven
– always.

Oslo, October 2014

Ingrid Helen Lindboe

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Table of Contents

1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Adverse childhood experiences ............................................................................................... 2
1.2 The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study .......................................................................... 2
1.3 Replications of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study ................................................. 4
1.4 Prevalence of adverse childhood experiences ........................................................................ 5
1.5 Consequences of adverse childhood experiences on development ....................................... 7
1.6 Consequences of adverse experiences on children´s attachment and
attachment relationships ......................................................................................................... 8
1.7 The role of internal working models: Consequences of adverse
childhood experiences on attachment in close relationships later in life .......................... 12
1.8 Attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in romantic relationships in
adulthood ................................................................................................................................ 13
1.9 The present study: Purpose, proposed hypothetical model and research
questions .................................................................................................................................. 15
2 Method .............................................................................................................................. 18
2.1 Study population .................................................................................................................... 18
2.2 Measurement instruments and procedures ......................................................................... 18
2.2.1 Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (ACE Scale) ....................................................... 19
2.2.2 Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR Scale) ................................................... 20
2.3 Statistical analyses .................................................................................................................. 22
3 Results ............................................................................................................................... 23
3.1 Descriptive statistics ............................................................................................................... 23
3.1.1 Characteristics of the study population ............................................................................ 23
3.1.2 Responses on the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale ................................................ 24
3.1.3 Responses on the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale ........................................... 26
3.2 Correlation analyses ............................................................................................................... 28
3.3 Regression analyses ................................................................................................................ 29
3.3.1 Hierarchical multiple regression analysis with the sum score on the ECR
anxiety-scale as the outcome variable .............................................................................. 29
3.3.2 Hierarchical multiple regression analysis with the sum score on the ECR
avoidance-scale as the outcome variable .......................................................................... 32
3.3.3 Measure of the effect size in the present study: Cohen´s f2 .............................................. 33
4 Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 35
4.1 The relation between the women´s adverse childhood experiences and attachment-
related anxiety and avoidance in their adult romantic relationships ................................ 35
4.1.1 Were the reported adverse childhood experiences related to currently assessed
attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in adult romantic relationships? .................... 35
4.1.2 Was this relation still present after controlling for possible confounding variables? ...... 35
4.1.3 Strength of the relation between the adverse childhood experiences and the
attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in adult romantic relationships ...................... 36
4.2 Predictors of attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in the women´s
adult romantic relationships ................................................................................................. 38
4.2.1 Predictors of attachment-related anxiety .......................................................................... 39
4.2.2 Predictors of attachment-related avoidance ..................................................................... 40
4.3 Prevalence of adverse childhood experiences ...................................................................... 41
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