The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System Attachment Theory and Assessment in Adults

by George, Carol; West, Malcolm L.

• ISBN13: 9781462504251
• ISBN10: 1462504256
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-03-12
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

This book presents cutting-edge research on adult attachment together with a complete overview of the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP), the authors' validated developmental assessment. In addition to identifying attachment classification groups, the AAP yields important information about dimensions including defensive processes not evaluated by other available measures. Detailed case illustrations show what the AAP looks like "in action" and what it reveals about individuals' early experiences, sense of self, and capacity to engage in close, protective relationships. The AAP can be used in clinical or research settings; the concluding chapter discusses promising applications to studying the neurobiology of attachment.

Author Biography

Carol George, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Mills College. She has been in the forefront of developing attachment assessments for children and adults, including the Attachment Doll Play Projective Assessment, the Caregiving Interview, and the Adult Attachment Interview. Dr. George has authored numerous research articles and book chapters on adult and child attachment and caregiving. She teaches courses in development and attachment, co-directs a master\u2019s degree program in infant mental health, and trains and consults on the application of attachment assessment in research and clinical settings. Malcolm West, PhD, is retired Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A clinician and researcher, Dr. West has used attachment theory in clinical research, including studies of cardiac rehabilitation patients, depression in women, and suicidal behavior in adolescents. In addition to the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System, Dr. West has developed self-report assessments of attachment in adults and adolescents: the Reciprocal Attachment Questionnaire and the Adolescent Attachment Questionnaire.

Table of Contents

I. Background 1. Narrative versus Non-Narrative Assessment of Adult Attachment 2. Defining Attachment Stories as Representational Precipitates II. Development, Validation, and Coding of the AAP 3. The Development and Validation of the AAP 4. The Attachment Self: The AAP Attachment Content Coding Dimensions 5. Defensive Processes in the AAP III. Using the AAP 6. Secure Attachment 7. Dismissing Attachment 8. Preoccupied Attachment 9. Dysregulated Segregated Systems: Unresolved Attachment, Failed Mourning, and Preoccupation with Suffering 10. Using the AAP in Neurobiology Research, Anna Buchheim and Carol George