Page 86 - Personality disorders and insecure attachment among adolescents

Prospective part of this study Table 3. Distribution in number and percentages of AAI attachment classifications by five- (a) and three- way* (b) at the beginning and the end of the treatment (N = 33) a) Attachment classifications Pre Post N%N%N%N% b) Forced attachment classifications* Pre Post F5 15.2 Ds5 15.2 E4 12.1 U 3 9.1 CC 16 48.5 13 39.4 6 18.2 16 48.5 6 18.2 824.2 7 21.2 0 0.0 19 57.6 10 30.3 5 15.2 9 27.3 Note. AAI = Adult Attachment Interview; F = Free, autonomous; Ds = Dismissive; E = Entangled, preoccupied; U = Unresolved for loss or abuse; CC = Cannot classify * Three way attachment classifications (i.e. regardless U/CC) In Table 3a, the distribution is shown of the five-way attachment classifications at pre- and post- treatment, while in supplementary material 2, a cross tabulation report summarises the changes between pre- and post-treatment. When comparing the pre- and post-treatment AAI classifications, a significant transition towards secure attachment was found (z = -2.85, p = .004). Sixteen of the 33 patients (48.5%) showed an increase in secure attachment, 12 (36.4%) remained the same, and five (15.2%) showed a decrease in secure attachment. Furthermore, the number of securely attached adolescents increased by 24.2% (t1: n = 5, t2: n = 13) at the end of treatment. Table 3b shows the distribution of the three-way or forced attachment classifications, which included forcing the unresolved and cannot classify cases into an organised attachment classification (secure, dismissing, or preoccupied). Comparing the pre- and post-forced attachment classifications distribution, a significant difference towards increased secure attachment was found (z = -2.80, p = .005). Changes on the continuous AAI scales at t-2 On 13 of the 24 AAI scales, a significant change occurred (p < .05), namely, ‘Rejecting mother’ (p = .027), ‘Pressured to achieve from mother’ (p = .012), ‘Neglecting mother’ (p = .013), 82