Abstract
This study compares attachment trauma and psychological adjustment of child survivors of an earthquake and social violence
in Gujarat (n = 127). In particular it explores attachment style/s associated with the two disaster traumas and tries to explicate, what
these tell us about the particular vagaries of trauma. Results show larger number of insecurely attached children in the disaster
trauma sample and the dismissing attachment style dominates particularly in the earthquake sample whereas in the riots sample
one can see a presence of what can be termed as a ‘mixed attachment’ style-vacillation between dismissing and preoccupied
states of mind. The implications of these findings for a conceptualization of attachment trauma are discussed in details.
in Gujarat (n = 127). In particular it explores attachment style/s associated with the two disaster traumas and tries to explicate, what
these tell us about the particular vagaries of trauma. Results show larger number of insecurely attached children in the disaster
trauma sample and the dismissing attachment style dominates particularly in the earthquake sample whereas in the riots sample
one can see a presence of what can be termed as a ‘mixed attachment’ style-vacillation between dismissing and preoccupied
states of mind. The implications of these findings for a conceptualization of attachment trauma are discussed in details.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Research in Progress
- Pages 1-13
- DOI 10.1007/s12646-011-0114-x
- Authors
- Manasi Kumar, Research Fellow, Research Institute for Health and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M13 0JA UK
- Peter Fonagy, Psychoanalysis Unit, Research Department of Clinical, Health and Educational Psychology, University College London, London, WC1E 7HB UK
- Journal Psychological Studies
- Online ISSN 0974-9861
- Print ISSN 0033-2968