Abstract
Background: Priming attachment security is founded on the theory that attachment is based on a series of internal working models which can be altered momentarily in a lab environment to induce emotions and cognitions associated with a secure attachment style. It has been tested on few clinical populations and thus there is a gap in current literature. Objective: To explore whether priming attachment security can improve psychological wellbeing (mood) and empathy towards others in a group of forensic mental health patients. Design: A between subjects experimental design was conducted with sequential assignment for participants to be primed with attachment security or to be in a control condition with neutral priming. Measures of mood (POMS-A – Terry, Lane, Lane & Keohane, 2009), felt security (Luke, Sedikidies & Carnelley, 2012) and empathy (Batson, Early & Salvarani, 1997) were given pre and post intervention. Baseline attachment was measured post intervention by the short Experiences in Close Relationships scale (Wei, Russell, MallincKrodt, & Vogel, 2007). Participants: Twenty-five adults completed the study. They were recruited from three secure units in the South of England with the majority being male and white British with a diagnosis of Schizophrenia. Potential participants were identified by their clinical team. Results: The results did not support our hypotheses. Priming secure attachment did not induce increased feelings of felt security. Mood and empathy were not increased after priming secure attachment although participants reported to enjoy the experiment. Conclusion: Although the results did not support the hypotheses there are implications for future research. Reflections and recommendations are made based on the empathy vignettes, sample diversity and psychometric measures. Future research is recommended to explore the utility of priming attachment security in order to assess impact on empathy and work within a body of research aiming to reduce aggression towards staff within secure units.