Alternative caregiving figures and their role on adult attachment representations.

BACKGROUND: The present work represents the first Italian study investigating whether and how mothers who describe unloving experiences with both parents during childhood could become more secure as adults (termed earned-secures). METHOD: The sample consisted of 94 women from northern Italy. All the subjects were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and fill in a screening test evaluating depressive symptoms. RESULTS: No significative differences were found regarding depressive symptomatology across the different attachment classifications. The majority of the samples (84%) remember an important alternative support figure during childhood (before 12 years old). Earned-secures significantly differ from continuous-secure and insecure groups (F = 27.202; p ≤ 0.01) on the amount of the emotional support from the main alternative support figure and on the average amount of emotional support across alternative support figures (F = 10.44; p ≤ 0.01). The majority of alternative support figures (80%) were grandparents. CONCLUSIONS: A corrective emotional experience allows the subject to work through his negative childhood experiences and acquire modalities of interaction that enable him/her to function more effectively in the world. The clinical implications of this study will be discussed. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: Attachment theory. Clinical implications of attachment experiences. Corrective emotional experience.