AUTHOR=Gander Manuela , Karabatsiakis Alexander , Nuderscher Katharina , Bernheim Dorothee , Doyen-Waldecker Cornelia , Buchheim Anna 

TITLE=Secure Attachment Representation in Adolescence Buffers Heart-Rate Reactivity in Response to Attachment-Related Stressors

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

VOLUME=16

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.806987

DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2022.806987

ISSN=1662-5161

ABSTRACT=<p>To date, we know very little about the effects of the differences in attachment classifications on the physiological correlates of stress regulation in adolescent age groups. The present study examined for the first time heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) during an attachment interview in adolescents. HR and HRV data were collected during a baseline assessment as well as during the administration of the <italic>Adult Attachment Projective Picture System</italic> (<italic>AAP</italic>) in a community-based sample of 56 adolescents (26 females and 30 males, mean age = 16.05 years [<italic>SD</italic> = 1.10]). We additionally used the <italic>Adult Attachment Interview</italic> (<italic>AAI</italic>) in 50% of our sample to test the convergent validity. Adolescents with a secure attachment representation showed a higher HRV from baseline to the <italic>AAP</italic> interview compared to those with an insecure-dismissing (Ds) and the unresolved group. A comparison between the two insecure attachment groups showed no significant difference related to HR and HRV. Cohen’s Kappa (κ = 0.81) revealed an almost perfect agreement between the <italic>AAP</italic> and the <italic>AAI</italic> for the four-group classification. Our results indicate that adolescents with a secure attachment representation are more capable of dealing with attachment-related distress which is represented in higher HRV during an attachment interview.</p>