Attachment and childhood adversity in athletes, actors, dancers, and healthy controls

Abstract

An investigation into patterns of childhood adversity and attachment states of mind may provide information that can optimise performance for athletes/performers and their coaches/teachers. This cross-sectional study was designed to examine four groups: athletes (n = 23), actors (n = 39), dancers (n = 30), and healthy control participants (n = 25). The study goals included determining group distribution for attachment classifications and group mean differences for inferred parental caregiving, childhood adversity, adult traumatic events, and degree of resolution for past trauma/loss experiences. The Adult Attachment Interview, Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire, and Traumatic Event Questionnaire were administered to participants. The most significant finding in this study was the substantial prevalence rates of unresolved mourning and adverse childhood experiences, especially in the actor group. The athlete group had a greater prevalence of a dismissing attachment classification, suggesting a non-optimal deactivating coping strategy. It is recommended that attachment and trauma-informed care be implemented in the training and treating of athletes and performing artists.

Keywords:

• childhood adversity
• attachment
• trauma
• unresolved mourning

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the two reliable coders, Dr Joanne Seltzer and Melissa Mose, who participated in double coding the AAIs (the first author was the primary reliable coder).