The relationships between psychological mindedness, parental bonding and adult attachment

Objectives The aims of this study were to clarify the relationship between psychological mindedness and attachment relationships in childhood and adulthood. Design This analogue study examined associations between psychological mindedness and attachment using a cross-sectional design. Method Participants completed questionnaire measures of psychological mindedness, parental bonding, and adulthood attachment relationships. Results As hypothesized, psychological mindedness was strongly, negatively correlated with attachment avoidance in adulthood. Psychological mindedness was also positively correlated with perceived maternal care in childhood, and negatively correlated with perceived paternal over-protection. However, a regression analysis found that attachment avoidance in adulthood was a more significant predictor of psychological mindedness than parental bonding experiences in childhood. Conclusions Further research is needed to replicate associations between attachment and psychological mindedness in clinical samples and to explore additional constructs which influence psychological mindedness. Practitioner points High attachment avoidance may be a potential risk factor for poor psychological mindedness. Helping individuals to develop more secure attachments in their adult relationships may improve their psychological mindedness. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.