The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System: Attachment Theory and Assessment in Adults - Hardcover

Carol George, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Mills College in Oakland, California. She has been at the forefront of developing attachment assessments for children and adults, including the Attachment Doll Play Projective Assessment, the Caregiving Interview, the Adult Attachment Interview, and the AAP. Dr. George has authored numerous research articles and book chapters on adult and child attachment and caregiving, and is coeditor, with Judith Solomon, of the book Disorganized Attachment and Caregiving. She teaches courses in development and attachment, co-directs a master’s-degree program in infant mental health, and trains and consults on the application of attachment assessment in research and clinical settings.

Carol George, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Mills College in Oakland, California. She has been at the forefront of developing attachment assessments for children and adults, including the Attachment Doll Play Projective Assessment, the Caregiving Interview, the Adult Attachment Interview, and the AAP. Dr. George has authored numerous research articles and book chapters on adult and child attachment and caregiving, and is coeditor, with Judith Solomon, of the book Disorganized Attachment and Caregiving. She teaches courses in development and attachment, co-directs a master’s-degree program in infant mental health, and trains and consults on the application of attachment assessment in research and clinical settings.

 

Malcolm L. West, PhD, is retired Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Dr. West worked as a clinician and researcher throughout his career. His research has used attachment theory in clinical research, including cardiac rehabilitation patients, depression in women, and suicidal behavior in adolescents. In addition to the AAP, Dr. West has developed self-report assessments of attachment in adults and adolescents. He is coauthor, with Adrienne Sheldon-Keller, of the book Patterns of Relating: An Adult Attachment Perspective.

This book presents cutting-edge research on adult attachment together with a complete overview of the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP), the authors' validated developmental assessment. In addition to research applications, the AAP can be of great use for clinicians seeking to understand the attachment strengths and challenges that clients bring to therapy. The book describes how the AAP identifies attachment classification groups and yields important information about dimensions—including defensive processes—not evaluated by other available measures.

 

Part I examines the theoretical underpinnings of the AAP and compares it to other adult attachment assessments. The authors explain how autobiographical narrative, as elicited and analyzed by the AAP, can offer strong insights into essential features of attachment. Part II reviews the nuts and bolts of the AAP: its development and validation, how it is administered, and how the coding and classification system works. Chapters in Part III contain detailed case illustrations that show what the AAP looks like "in action" and what it reveals about individuals' early experiences, sense of self, and capacity to engage in close, protective relationships. Cases, which include childhood history and verbatim AAP transcripts, represent the four major adult attachment classification groups: secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and unresolved. The concluding chapter discusses promising uses of the AAP in neurobiological research.

 

A unique and timely contribution to the field, this authoritative book belongs on the desks of all developmental and clinical researchers interested in attachment, as well as clinical psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and other clinicians who want to integrate attachment into their practices.