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Attachment in families with Huntington's disease. A paradigm in clinical genetics.
Patient Educ Couns. 2006 Oct; 63(1-2):246-54.PE

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

Based on the premise that attachment experiences lead to a working model for social relationships throughout life, this study investigates if there is a difference between adult attachment representations in individuals who were brought up by a parent with Huntington's disease (HD), compared to a non-clinical population. Specific events in the parents' disease process, especially those leading to trauma and loss will receive attention.

METHODS

Using the Adult Attachment Interview, adult attachment representations were investigated in 32 unaffected adults at 50% risk for HD who were raised by an affected parent.

RESULTS

We found a lower percentage of secure attachment representations, a higher percentage of preoccupied representations, and a higher percentage of unresolved/disorganized representations in our sample, compared to a non-clinical population. A relatively late start of the parent's HD career was associated with a secure adult attachment representation. Death of the HD parent before the child's 18th birthday was associated with an unresolved/disorganized adult attachment representation.

CONCLUSION

Growing up in a family where one of the parents has Huntington's disease appears to affect the offspring's adult attachment representation.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

This study can be of relevance for genetic counselling, as well as for counselling and intervention in childrearing matters.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Van der Meer L
Center of Human and Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands. l.b.van_der_meer@lumc.nl
Timman R
No affiliation info available
Trijsburg W
No affiliation info available
Duisterhof M
No affiliation info available
Erdman R
No affiliation info available
Van Elderen T
No affiliation info available
Tibben A
No affiliation info available

MeSH

Adaptation, PsychologicalAdolescentAdultAge of OnsetAttitude to HealthChi-Square DistributionChildChild of Impaired ParentsFearFemaleGenetic CounselingGenetic TestingHumansHuntington DiseaseInheritance PatternsMaleMiddle AgedNetherlandsObject AttachmentParent-Child RelationsPsychology, ChildRisk FactorsSurveys and Questionnaires

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

16427763

Citation

Van der Meer, Lucienne, et al. "Attachment in Families With Huntington's Disease. a Paradigm in Clinical Genetics." Patient Education and Counseling, vol. 63, no. 1-2, 2006, pp. 246-54.
Van der Meer L, Timman R, Trijsburg W, et al. Attachment in families with Huntington's disease. A paradigm in clinical genetics. Patient Educ Couns. 2006;63(1-2):246-54.
Van der Meer, L., Timman, R., Trijsburg, W., Duisterhof, M., Erdman, R., Van Elderen, T., & Tibben, A. (2006). Attachment in families with Huntington's disease. A paradigm in clinical genetics. Patient Education and Counseling, 63(1-2), 246-54.
Van der Meer L, et al. Attachment in Families With Huntington's Disease. a Paradigm in Clinical Genetics. Patient Educ Couns. 2006;63(1-2):246-54. PubMed PMID: 16427763.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Attachment in families with Huntington's disease. A paradigm in clinical genetics. AU - Van der Meer,Lucienne, AU - Timman,Reinier, AU - Trijsburg,Wim, AU - Duisterhof,Marleen, AU - Erdman,Ruud, AU - Van Elderen,Thérèse, AU - Tibben,Aad, Y1 - 2006/01/20/ PY - 2005/08/05/received PY - 2005/11/14/revised PY - 2005/11/19/accepted PY - 2006/1/24/pubmed PY - 2006/12/12/medline PY - 2006/1/24/entrez SP - 246 EP - 54 JF - Patient education and counseling JO - Patient Educ Couns VL - 63 IS - 1-2 N2 - OBJECTIVE: Based on the premise that attachment experiences lead to a working model for social relationships throughout life, this study investigates if there is a difference between adult attachment representations in individuals who were brought up by a parent with Huntington's disease (HD), compared to a non-clinical population. Specific events in the parents' disease process, especially those leading to trauma and loss will receive attention. METHODS: Using the Adult Attachment Interview, adult attachment representations were investigated in 32 unaffected adults at 50% risk for HD who were raised by an affected parent. RESULTS: We found a lower percentage of secure attachment representations, a higher percentage of preoccupied representations, and a higher percentage of unresolved/disorganized representations in our sample, compared to a non-clinical population. A relatively late start of the parent's HD career was associated with a secure adult attachment representation. Death of the HD parent before the child's 18th birthday was associated with an unresolved/disorganized adult attachment representation. CONCLUSION: Growing up in a family where one of the parents has Huntington's disease appears to affect the offspring's adult attachment representation. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study can be of relevance for genetic counselling, as well as for counselling and intervention in childrearing matters. SN - 0738-3991 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/16427763/Attachment_in_families_with_Huntington's_disease__A_paradigm_in_clinical_genetics_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -