Insecure Attachment in Schizophrenia— A Wider Range of Effect

Abstract

Attachment serves as an important framework to understand the development, onset and recovery of schizophrenia. Categories of attachment include three organized patterns (secure, dismissing, preoccupied) and one disorganized pattern. Schizophrenia is a disorder typically recognized by delusions and hallucinations, which can significantly impair the patient’s normal social functioning. This article aims to summarize previous studies of attachment on schizophrenia, and provide new extensions. This paper also discusses the impact of environmental factors on schizophrenia. More importantly, dismissing and disorganized attachment serves as important predictors of positive and negative symptoms, difficult therapeutic relationship and longer course. Dismissing, preoccupied and disorganized attachment orientations also mediate childhood adversity according to previous studies. Based on analysis of cognitive and environmental factors, this article hypothesize that dismissing and preoccupied attachment also mediates schizophrenia and other environmental factors (parental age, migration and low SES). In addition, this article discusses cognitive and neuroscience evidence to prove the connections.