Zusammenfassung
Attachment theory provides specific assumptions about the appropriateness of different attachment patterns foremotional regulation in infancy. In a series of studies we tried to identify specific physiological processes during the "Strange Situation" in securely attached, insecurely attached and disorganized infants which would support the validity of their psychological interpretation. Cardiac ...
Zusammenfassung
Attachment theory provides specific assumptions about the appropriateness of different attachment patterns foremotional regulation in infancy. In a series of studies we tried to identify specific physiological processes during the "Strange Situation" in securely attached, insecurely attached and disorganized infants which would support the validity of their psychological interpretation. Cardiac activation processes indicate an activation of the attachment behavioral system also in insecure avoidant infants, Similary, heart rate elevations in disorganized infants suggest the validity of the assumed underlying alarm responses. The appropriateness of the secure attachment pattern for emotional regulation during the Strange Situation was proved by consistently missing cortisol responses in secure infants. In contrast, repeatedly, albeit not consistently found, adrenocortical activation in insecure and disorganized infants indicates the dysfunctionality of their attachment strategies. Moreover, a secure attachment relationship seems to be a social buffer against physiological stress responses in infants characterized by behavioral inhibition. Differential analyses of the interplay between emotional expression and adrenocortical responses within the attachment groups suggest that the organization of biobehavioral processes in securely attached infants may be different from that found in insecurely attached and disorganized infants.
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