Attachment and aged care: a systematic review of current research. (February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Karantzas, Gery C; Romano, Daniel; Lee, Juwon
• Is Part Of: Current opinion in psychology. Volume 25(2019)
• Page Start: 37
• Page End: 46
• Publication Date: 2019-02
• Subjects: Psychology -- Periodicals; 150.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.02.016
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-250X

Abstract

Highlights: Carer attachment anxiety is associated with poorer mental health and wellbeing. Carer attachment insecurity is associated with more controlling caregiving. Care recipient insecurity predicts greater self-appraisals of dementia symptoms. There is a lack of studies from the care recipient perspective. The use of existing attachment measures in aged care may be inappropriate. Abstract : Attachment theory is an important framework from which to examine familial aged care. Despite this, the role of attachment in later-life caregiving remains unclear. The current study presents a systematic review of papers within the last five years on attachment and various outcomes related to familial aged care. For the caregiver, attachment anxiety was associated with poorer mental health, and attachment insecurity with a more controlling manner of caregiving. The few studies conducted with care recipients found that attachment insecurity was associated with greater self-appraisals of dementia symptoms and a lower sense of security. Research continues to suffer from the use of inadequate assessments of individual differences into adult attachment.