An attachment theory explanation of personality disorders

The main purpose of this study was to explain personality disorders in terms of attachment theory in a sample of patients with personality disorder. Sixty eight patients (43 male, 25 female) referred to the University of Tehran and the Iran University of Science and Technology clinics were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete the Millon Clinical Multiaxel Inventory-II (MCMI-II) and the Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI). Analysis of the data involved both descriptive and inferential statistics including means, standard deviations, chi-square tests, and correlation coefficients. The results revealed that ambivalent attachment style was significantly associated with dependent, histrionic, obsessive-compulsive, and passive-aggressive personality disorders while avoidant attachment style was significantly associated with paranoid personality disorder. The correlations of avoidant attachment style and personality disorders of schizoid, narcissistic, schizotypal, and borderline were in the positive directions but just failed to reach levels of statistical significance. The association of personality disorders to attachment disorders is explained by internal working models through negative evaluation of self, positive/negative evaluation of others, and constant preoccupation with interpersonal relationships.