How the Attachment Style Interview Measures Attachment
The ASI measures adult attachment style in relation to a persons’ ability to access and utilise social support. As such it belongs to the ‘social psychology’ strand of investigation of attachment style. The ASI provides a categorisation of attachment style for individuals, as well as assesses their specific support context and quality of close relationships.
The resulting attachment profile not only determines which style characterises (eg Secure, Enmeshed, Fearful, Angry-dismissive or Withdrawn) them but also the extent to which the insecure styles are dysfunctional in terms of whether the person is markedly moderately or Mildly insecure. This is important given evidence that mildly insecure styles carry less risk of mental health problems. The measure has shown to predict depressions and marital/partner problems (in Markedly or Moderately Insecure styles), which are correlated with parenting problems. Insecure attachment styles also relate to ow self-esteem, conflicting or distant relationships and adverse childhood experience.
How the Attachment Style Interview Measures Attachment
Attachment theory is influential in providing explanations of individuals’ capacities to achieve good support, close partner relationships and effective parenting of LAC/adopted children.
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The ASI is a standardised interview tool, which assess support-based attachment styles in adults and how this affects and impacts on the relationship with children
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It assesses strengths, resilience and risks in individuals, their relationships and the support system of families whose children who have had challenging starts in life.
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It contributes to determining the impact of these individual and family factors and helps provide a foundation to work from when conducting family based therapeutic interventions
This part of the assessment includes the results which are scored and analysed and results are fed back to parent and used inform the planning and delivery of Therapeutic work
This Attachment Style Interview should not be shared without the permission of the therapist and parents. It is personal and confidential. It should be used by the adoption support social worker to offer further support to Parents to enable their relationship with their adopted child L.
Attachment styles are seen as a lifespan issue. They do not stay rigid and do change and develop over the lifespan and with different relationship experiences. As a result, the adults ASI may look different if this was done again after a year of therapeutic support or as a result of changes to close relationships.
