In an article written
about
psychopathy it was stated that psychopathic individuals may suffer from
an attachment disorder. Evidence for this theory comes from the
literature, which states that psychopaths often have difficulty maintaining
relationships (Meloy, 1988, 1992; Hare, 1991) and have shallow affect, both
of which are variables of an attachment disorder. In this article, we
will explore the role of attachments as a possible contributing factor to
deviant crimes.
Attachments are formed early in life when the infant cries and a caretaker
responds to soothe him or her. However, when this does not take place,
the infant becomes uncertain, (or loses complete confidence) that the
caretaker will respond to his or her needs. If the parent is not
available to the child on a regular basis, this may eventually become a
template for all following relationships. When an individual has not
developed secure attachments early in life, future relationships will also
suffer because he or she has perceived that any significant other will not
be available to respond to his or her needs.
There are several theories on attachments, but most include a secure style
indicating that the individual has developed the capacity to bond with
others. In most theories, the mother is reported as the crucial
caretaker for forming attachments with the infant; however, any caretaker
can allow the infant to form attachments. Those with secure attachments have
caretakers that are available to care for the emotional and psychological
needs of the infant when necessary. From this, the child develops
expectations of caring relationships in the future. Securely attached
individuals characteristically do better in life, develop the capacity for
intimacy, are able to trust others, and have better self-esteem.
Those without a dependable caretaker may develop insecure attachments, and
this is where we will begin our look at a possible contributing factor to
deviant crimes. Insecure attachments develop when the infant cannot depend
on the caretaker to be available for emotional or physical soothing.
There are several factors often seen in the histories of offenders such as
physical or sexual abuse, abandonment, neglect or the absence of one parent,
which may play an important role in the development of insecure attachments.
However, it should be stated that although these may be contributing factors
to attachment disorders, not all offenders come from backgrounds that
include these factors, yet still develop attachment difficulties. It
must also be recognized that not every individual that experiences abuse,
abandonment or neglect go on to develop an attachment disorder.
Unlike secure attachments, there are several styles of insecure attachments
throughout the literature. In addition to the secure attachment style,
Ainsworth (1989) also mentions anxious/ambivalent and avoidant styles to
describe those with insecure attachments. Bartholomew (1991) has
developed a two-factor model to describe avoidant attachments, which has
been indicated in the literature (Ward & Hudson, 1996) as prevalent in
offenders.
Bartholomew's theory (1990; 1991) is based upon how an individual perceives
the self and others in a relationship. Beginning again with the secure
attachment, this person will perceive both the self and others positively,
and have the capacity to form trusting relationships. Those who have a
negative perception of themselves, but a positive view of others are known
as preoccupied, and may feel worthless, while seeking the approval of
others. Bartholomew further breaks down the avoidant attachment style
into fearful and dismissive types. An individual with a fearful
attachment style has a negative view of self and others, which leads to a
distrust of others and a fear of rejection and the dismissive attachment
style is an individual having a positive view of self and a negative view of
others.
A fearful style individual with a negative view of self and others, is a
hostile person who blames others for his feelings of hostility and creates
tension in relationships to avoid intimacy. The hostility witnessed in
fearful offenders may become focused on a specific type of victim that is
perceived as having caused his inability to bond with others. This
offender may use force to overpower the victim to meet his needs for
contact, while still maintaining his avoidance of intimacy. Because
this offender does not wish to form a bond with the victim and may even
blame the victim for his hostility, he will often lack empathy or feel
remorse for his actions (Ward & Hudson, 1996).
A dismissive individual's positive view of self and negative view of others
leaves them with the perception that they are better than others, and may be
viewed much like the narcissistic personality. Like the fearful offender,
these individuals will exhibit a high degree of hostility to avoid bonding
with others. Yet, unlike the fearful offender, these individuals do
not experience a negative view of self, and may perceive victims as objects.
When victims are seen as objects, these offenders may develop sadistic
traits to devalue future victims (Ward & Hudson, 1996).
In future articles we will look at how treating attachment disorders may be
beneficial in preventing crimes of the future.
References
Ainsworth, M.D.S. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American
Psychologist, 44, 709-716.
Bartholomew, K. (1990). Avoidance of intimacy: An attachment perspective.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 147-178.
Bartholomew, K. & Horowitz, L.M. (1991). Attachment styles among adults: A
test of a four category model. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 61, 226-244.
Meloy, J.R. (1992). Violent attachments. Northvale, NJ: Jason
Aronson.
Ward, T. & Hudson, S.M. (1996). Attachment style in sex offenders: A
preliminary report. Journal of Sex Research, 33(1) . Available
Online: EBSCO.
E-mail your questions or suggestions to
Bryan Nelson
