Little research has examined the developmental precursors of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Such work will be useful in prevention and treatment of GAD, and theorists have recently called for increased attention to this area (cf. Rapee, 1991). The goal of the present study is to begin to understand the developmental antecedents of individuals with GAD. Bowlby's (1969/82, l973) attachment theory is the theoretical framework within which this issue is examined. The attachment quality of 36 pre-therapy GAD subjects will be compared with that of 36 nonanxious, nondepressed control subjects. GAD will be diagnosed on the basis of two independent Revised Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule (ADIS-R) interviews conducted by highly trained clinicians. GAD and control subjects will be matched for age, gender, race, and education. Attachment will be assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985). This semi-structured interview yields information both about probable childhood experiences as well as about """"""""current state of mind with regard to attachment."""""""" It is hypothesized that GAD subjects will be more often classified insecure/preoccupied than will control subjects. In order to examine the possibility that a relation between attachment and GAD emerges because of the current anxious mood of GAD subjects, the attachment of those subjects will be compared with that of a group of 36 recovered GAD subjects. It is hypothesized than the two GAD groups will not differ on attachment. In order to examine whether heightened insecurity is specific to GAD in particular, as opposed to psychopathology in general, we will include a comparison group of 36 depressed, non-GAD subjects. We expect that the attachment of these subjects (mostly insecure/dismissing) will differ from that of the GAD subjects. We will also examine possible mediators of the connection between attachment and GAD. To further understand the associations between GAD and attachment, attachment-related differences in the nature and extent of anxiety within the GAD group will be examined. It is hypothesized that insecure GAD subjects will be more anxious than will secure GAD subjects. Finally, because high levels of anxiety can also hinder functioning in people not classified as having GAD, attachment- related differences in the nature and extent of anxiety within the other groups will be examined.
| Cassidy, Jude; Lichtenstein-Phelps, June; Sibrava, Nicholas J et al. (2009) Generalized anxiety disorder: connections with self-reported attachment. Behav Ther 40:23-38 |
| Cassidy, Jude (2003) Continuity and change in the measurement of infant attachment: comment on Fraley and Spieker (2003). Dev Psychol 39:409-12; discussion 423-9 |
| Cassidy, Jude; Aikins, Julie Wargo; Chernoff, Jodi Jacobson (2003) Children's peer selection: experimental examination of the role of self-perceptions. Dev Psychol 39:495-508 |
| Cassidy, J (2001) Truth, lies, and intimacy: an attachment perspective. Attach Hum Dev 3:121-55 |
