Narratives of Loss as they Relate to Adult Attachment Style and Well-Being Público

Abstract

Abstract
Narratives of Loss as they Relate to Adult Attachment Style and Well-Being
By Nancy Adler

The loss of a loved one is a difficult trauma that affects many people. Although much past research has examined individual differences in methods of coping with loss as they relate to well-being, little research has focused on how individuals come to interpret the loss of a loved one, and how their interpretation relates to their psychological well-being. The way that individuals deal with the loss of a loved one is likely related to their styles of attachment. In the present study, I looked at narratives of bereavement, as such narratives are linked to the way that individuals create meaning of past experiences. I sought to examine how narratives of loss might be related to attachment style in addition to well-being. Narratives were coded for contamination, emotion words, and cognitive words. Individuals filled out measures of attachment, depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms. The results revealed that individuals high in attachment anxiety were more likely to show higher levels of depression and general anxiety. The results also indicated that, for the most part, narrative variables were not related to attachment style, although individuals high in attachment avoidance were less likely to use positive emotion words in narratives. Despite the general lack of significant correlations between narrative variables and well-being measures, I found that more contaminated narratives were related to increased symptoms of PTSD. These results, and the general absence of significant correlations, indicate that further research would be useful to better understand how attachment style and well-being relate to bereavement narrative disclosure.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Introduction...1

Loss...1
Relationship Between Loss and Attachment...5
Why Narratives?...8
Narratives of Trauma...8
The Importance of Trauma Narratives: Their Relationship to Well-Being...11
Contamination and Redemption...15
Current Literature on Loss...16
Predictions...17

Method...19

Participants...19
Procedure...19
Measures...20
Coding of Narratives and Reliability...22

Results...23

Descriptive Statistics...23
Attachment and Well-Being...24
Narratives and Attachment...25
Narratives and Well-Being...25

Discussion...26

Narrative Examples...28
Limitations and Directions for Future Research...32

Conclusion...34
References...35

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Psychology
Degree	BA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, General
Palabra Clave	well-being narratives attachment style loss
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Fivush, Robyn, Emory University
Committee Members	Nowicki Jr., Stephen, Emory University Coropceanu, Lilia, Emory University

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