The Influence of Attachment Characteristics on Countertransference Effects of Tape Recorded AAI-Sequences on Emotional Well-Being, Attribution of Friendliness and Readiness for Social Interaction of Listeners

For the purpose of clarifying the association between patients pre-treatment attachment characteristics and the quality of the therapeutic relationship, we randomly assigned three audio-taped AA I-transcript sequences - each representing prototypically a secure (autonomous), an ambivalent (enmeshed), or an avoidant (dismissive) attachment representation - to a sample of N = 343 medical students. After the presentation of the audio-sequences, participants' well-being, their evaluations of the friendliness of the interviewed person, and their readiness for social interaction with the person were measured. Data analyses indicated that the ambivalent AAI-narrative evoked the highest impairment of well-being, whereas the participants' evaluations of friendliness and their readiness for social interaction were lowest with regard to the dismissive narrative. Interactions between AAI-tape sequences and listeners' attachment characteristics were not found. The study replicates findings from Martin et al. (2007) who found the same countertransference reaction patterns within two samples (students and psychotherapy trainees). Our results suggest that countertransference reactions are influenced by subtle ways as the patients' attachment related narratives of their childhood relationships. For psychotherapists the knowledge of a patient's attachment style may be helpful for supporting the development of the therapeutic alliance.