• Attachment Q&A 

• Attachment Science

• Attachment Myth-Busting

• Attachment Theoretical Concepts (Society for Emotion and Attachment Studies)

• What Is Your Attachment Style?

• On Measures of Attachment and Assessment Tools 

• Intro to Attachment Theory And Research

• The reference database -contains every scientific paper ever published in the domain of life sciences (many papers are available with free access): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

• Long M, Verbeke W, Ein-Dor T, Vrtička P. A functional neuro-anatomical model of human attachment (NAMA): Insights from first- and second-person social neuroscience. Cortex. 2020 May;

• White LO, Schulz CC, Schoett MJS, Kungl MT, Keil J, Borelli JL, Vrtička P. Conceptual Analysis: A Social Neuroscience Approach to Interpersonal Interaction in the Context of Disruption and Disorganization of Attachment (NAMDA). Front Psychiatry. 2020 Dec 23

• Feldman R. The Neurobiology of Human Attachments. Trends Cogn Sci. 2017 Feb

• Ein-Dor T, Coan JA, Reizer A, Gross EB, Dahan D, Wegener MA, Carel R, Cloninger CR, Zohar AH. Sugarcoated isolation: evidence that social avoidance is linked to higher basal glucose levels and higher consumption of glucose. Front Psychol. 2015 Apr 23

• Frankenhuis WE. Did insecure attachment styles evolve for the benefit of the group? Front Psychol. 2010 Nov 1;1:172. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00172. 

• Attachment Theoretical Concepts (Society for Emotion and Attachment Studies)  https://seasinternational.org/explanations-of-attachment-theoretical-concepts/

• Myth Busting Around Attachment Theory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nygkaPx6LY&ab_channel=AssociationforChildandAdolescentMentalHealth

• Fraley RC, Hudson NW, Heffernan ME, Segal N. Are adult attachment styles categorical or dimensional? A taxometric analysis of general and relationship-specific attachment orientations. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2015 Aug

• Stability of attachment over time: Gillath, O., Karantzas, G. C., & Fraley, R. C. (2016). Adult Attachment: A Concise Introduction to Theory and Research. Elsevier [Chapter 6]

• This paper introduced the four-category model of adult attachment styles and provides an estimate of prevalence : Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). "Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(2), 226-244.

• Prevalence of 3 main attachment styles : Mickelson, K. D., Kessler, R. C., & Shaver, P. R. (1997). "Adult attachment in a nationally representative sample." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,

• Some info on fearful-avoidant prevalence: Barbara Murphy, Glen W. Bates, Adult attachment style and vulnerability to depression, Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 22, Issue 6,1997.

• Some info on fearful-avoidant prevalence: Fraley, R. C., & Shaver, P. R. (2000). Adult romantic attachment: Theoretical developments, emerging controversies, and unanswered questions.  Review of General Psychology, 4, 132-154.

• This paper examines the link between infant attachment and physiological response - caveat of the study is small sample size and the fact that avoidant and anxious style were put in one category possibly confounding two distinct "signals" when looking at cortisol levels: Spangler G, Grossmann KE. Biobehavioral organization in securely and insecurely attached infants. Child Dev. 1993 Oct 

• This paper examines the link between adult attachment styles and physiological response to distressing thoughts - takes into consideration the fearful-avoidant atyle:Fraley, R. C., & Shaver, P. R. (1997). Adult attachment and the suppression of unwanted thoughts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,  73, 1080-1091.

• Ein-Dor T, Verbeke WJMI, Mokry M, Vrtička P. Epigenetic modification of the oxytocin and glucocorticoid receptor genes is linked to attachment avoidance in young adults. Attach Hum Dev. 2018 Aug;20(4):439-454.

• Ebner NC, Lin T, Muradoglu M, Weir DH, Plasencia GM, Lillard TS, Pournajafi-Nazarloo H, Cohen RA, Sue Carter C, Connelly JJ. Associations between oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) methylation, plasma oxytocin, and attachment across adulthood. Int J Psychophysiol. 2019 Feb

• Holt-Lunstad, J., Birmingham, W. A., & Light, K. C. (2008). Influence of a "warm touch" support enhancement intervention among married couples on ambulatory blood pressure, oxytocin, alpha amylase, and cortisol. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70(9), 976–985.

• Zak, P. J., Stanton, A. A., & Ahmadi, S. (2007). Oxytocin increases generosity in humans. PLoS ONE, 2(11), e1128.

• Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2005). Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature, 435(7042), 673–676.

• Morhenn, V., Beavin, L. E., & Zak, P. J. (2012). Massage increases oxytocin and reduces adrenocorticotropin hormone in humans. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 18(6), 11–18.

• Kim, S., So, W. Y., Kim, S., & Sung, D. J. (2013). The effects of meditation on salivary cortisol and oxytocin levels in early postmenopausal women. International Journal of Neuroscience, 123(10), 672–676

• ​Heinrichs, M., Baumgartner, T., Kirschbaum, C., & Ehlert, U. (2003). Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress. Biological Psychiatry, 54(12), 1389–1398.

• Genetic research indicates that up to 45% of the variability in anxious and 39% in avoidant adult attachment style could be explained by genetic causes: Erkoreka L, Zumarraga M, Arrue A, Zamalloa MI, Arnaiz A, Olivas O, Moreno-Calle T, Saez E, Garcia J, Marin E, Varela N, Gonzalez-Pinto A, Basterreche N. Genetics of adult attachment: An updated review of the literature. World J Psychiatry. 2021 Sep 19;11(9):530-542. 

• ​Fearon P, Shmueli-Goetz Y, Viding E, Fonagy P, Plomin R. Genetic and environmental influences on adolescent attachment. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2014 

• Genetics of adult attachment: Erkoreka L, Zumarraga M, Arrue A, Zamalloa MI, Arnaiz A, Olivas O, Moreno-Calle T, Saez E, Garcia J, Marin E, Varela N, Gonzalez-Pinto A, Basterreche N. Genetics of adult attachment: An updated review of the literature. World J Psychiatry. 2021 Sep 19;

• All you need to know : https://pvrticka.com/attachment/epigenetics/

• Ein-Dor T, Verbeke WJMI, Mokry M, Vrtička P. Epigenetic modification of the oxytocin and glucocorticoid receptor genes is linked to attachment avoidance in young adults. Attach Hum Dev. 2018 Aug;20(4):439-454.

• Ebner NC, Lin T, Muradoglu M, Weir DH, Plasencia GM, Lillard TS, Pournajafi-Nazarloo H, Cohen RA, Sue Carter C, Connelly JJ. Associations between oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) methylation, plasma oxytocin, and attachment across adulthood. Int J Psychophysiol. 2019 Feb

History and Methods of Social Neuroscience: Matthewr Lieberman, Social Cognitive Neuroscience https://www.academia.edu/621621/Social_cognitive_neuroscience

• Attachment and mental health meta-analysis (second part) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nygkaPx6LY&ab_channel=AssociationforChildandAdolescentMentalHealth

• Mikulincer M, Shaver PR. An attachment perspective on psychopathology. World Psychiatry. 2012 Feb; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3266769/

• Causes for disorganised attachment: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/experts-express-concerns-over-infant-mental-health-assessment

• Example of a twin study regarding mental health and attachment that is not very useful and makes things unclear:  Crawford T,Livesley W,Jang K,et al Insecure attachment and personality disorder: A twin study of adults, European Journal of Personality, (2007), 21(2)

• About anxious attachment and love addiction: Gori A, Russo S, Topino E. Love Addiction, Adult Attachment Patterns and Self-Esteem: Testing for Mediation Using Path Analysis. J Pers Med. 2023 Jan 29;

• Fonagy P, Luyten P, Strathearn L. Borderline personality disorder, mentalization, and the neurobiology of attachment. Infant Ment Health J. 2011 

• Exploring the link between BPD, attachment and reflective functioning:Fonagy, P., Leigh, T., Steele, M.,  Steele, H., Kennedy, R., Mattoon, G., Target, M., Gerber, A. The relation of attachment status, psychiatric classification, and response to psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 64(1), Feb 1996

• https://pvrticka.com/attachment-qanda

• Attachment in children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review

• Effects of an attachment-based parent intervention on mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder

• Relationship satisfaction: Holland, A. S., Fraley, R. C., & Roisman, G. I. (2012). Attachment styles in dating couples: Predicting relationship functioning over time. Personal Relationships, 19, 234-246.

• Segal, N., & Fraley, R.C. (2016). Broadening the investment model: An intensive longitudinal study on attachment and perceived partner responsiveness in commitment dynamics. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 33.

• Fraley, R. C., & Bonanno, G. A. (2004). Attachment and loss: A test of three competing models on the association between attachment-related avoidance and adaptation to bereavement. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 878-890.

• Berry K, Danquah A. Attachment-informed therapy for adults: Towards a unifying perspective on practice. Psychol Psychother. 2016

• Gillath, O., Karantzas, G., & Fraley, R. C. (2016). Adult Attachment: A Concise Guide to Theory and Research. New York: Academic Press.

• Attachment theory and research in clinical work with adults / edited by Joseph H. Obegi and Ety Berant.

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• Nguyen T, Schleihauf H, Kayhan E, Matthes D, Vrtička P, Hoehl S. Neural synchrony in mother-child conversation: Exploring the role of conversation patterns. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2021 Jan 18;

• Nguyen T, Kungl MT, Hoehl S, White LO, Vrtička P. Visualizing the invisible tie: Linking parent-child neural synchrony to parents' and children's attachment representations. Dev Sci. 2024 Mar

• Beaulieu N, Brassard A, Bergeron S, Péloquin K. Why do you have sex and does it make you feel better? Integrating attachment theory, sexual motives, and sexual well-being in long-term couples. J Soc Pers Relat. 2022 Dec.

• Holmes, B. M., & Johnson, K. R. (2009). Adult attachment and romantic partner preference: A review. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 26(6-7), 833-852.

• This study seems to refute the Anxious-Avoidant Trap: Frazier, Patricia & BYER, ANNE & Fischer, Ann & Wright, Deborah & Debord, Kurt. (2005). Adult attachment style and partner choice: Correlational and experimental findings. Personal Relationships. 3. 117 - 136.

• Vicary AM, Fraley RC. Choose your own adventure: attachment dynamics in a simulated relationship. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2007 Sep;33(9):1279-91.

• Introduction to hyperscanning for the general public: https://pvrticka.com/fnirs-hyperscanning-an-introduction/

• An interesting if a tad technical paper about hyperscanning and some common caveats Hamilton AFC. Hyperscanning: Beyond the Hype. Neuron. 2021 Feb 3.

• Lozano EB, Fraley RC. Anxious to detect deceit: an empirical investigation of social defense theory. Attach Hum Dev. 2023 Dec

• Tsachi Ein-Dor, Adi Perry-Paldi et al It takes an insecure liar to catch a liar: The link between attachment insecurity, deception, and detection of deception. 2017

• Reflective Functioning Questionnaire

• For the very brave - the manual, contains lots of useful stuff but it is bloody long.

• This paper explores the relationship between therapy effectiveness and a therapist's level of reflective functioning: Cologon J, Schweitzer RD, King R, Nolte T. Therapist Reflective Functioning, Therapist Attachment Style and Therapist Effectiveness. Adm Policy Ment Health. 2017

• A review on brain areas involved in mentalising tasks: Gallagher HL, Frith CD. Functional imaging of 'theory of mind'. Trends Cogn Sci. 2003 

• Video Rebecca Saxe explaining research around ToM

• This study examines the relationship between reported abuse, reflective functioning and BPD: Fonagy P, Leigh T, Steele M, Steele H, Kennedy R, Mattoon G, Target M, Gerber A. The relation of attachment status, psychiatric classification, and response to psychotherapy. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1996 Feb.

• This foundational study illustrated that maternal reflective functioning could predict the organization of infant-mother attachment, even when the mother had experienced significant hardship: Fonagy, P., Steele, H., & Steele, M. (1991). Maternal representations of attachment during pregnancy predict the organization of infant-mother attachment at one year of age. Child Development, 62(5)

• ​Steele H, Steele M, Fonagy P. Associations among attachment classifications of mothers, fathers, and their infants. Child Dev. 1996

• This research emphasized the importance of self-mentalization in parents who have experienced hardship: Suchman, N. E., DeCoste, C., Castiglioni, N., McMahon, T. J., Rounsaville, B., & Mayes, L. (2010). The Mothers and Toddlers Program, an attachment-based parenting intervention for substance-using women: Results at 6-week follow-up in a randomized clinical pilot. Infant Mental Health Journal,

• This study found that parental reflective functioning can moderate the impact of trauma on child attachment outcomes: Ensink, K., Begin, M., Normandin, L., & Fonagy, P. (2017). Parental reflective functioning as a moderator of child internalizing difficulties in the context of child sexual abuse. Psychiatry Research.

• Stevens F, Taber K. The neuroscience of empathy and compassion in pro-social behavior. Neuropsychologia. 2021 Aug  20;159:107925. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107925. Epub 2021 Jun 26. PMID: 34186105.