Adult Attachment and Transgender Identity in the Italian Context: Clinical Implications and Suggestions for Further Research

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Although attachment theory has been recognized as one of the main references for the study of the general well-being, little research has been focused on the attachment styles of transgender people. Attachment styles are deeply influenced by the earliest relationships with caregivers, which, for gender-nonconforming children, are often characterized by parental rejection. Consequently, transgender children and adults likely internalize societal stigma, developing internalized transphobia. The current research was aimed to explore the link between adult attachment and internalized transphobia.

Method: Twenty-five male-to-female (MtF) and 23 female-to-male (FtM) transgender people participated in the survey filling in two self-report questionnaires: the Attachment Style Questionnaire and the Transgender Identity Survey. A cluster analysis, t-test, and multiple regression analysis were conducted to explore the link between attachment styles and internalized transphobia.

Results: A greater prevalence of secure attachment styles was detected. Participants with secure attachment styles reported higher levels of positive transgender identity than those with insecure attachment styles. Secure attachment styles significantly affect positive transgender identity, while insecure attachment styles influence internalized transphobia.

Conclusions: A clinical focus on the redefinition of the internal working models of transgender people can inform psychologically focused interventions that transgender people can benefit from.

KEYWORDS:

• Adult attachment styles
• internalized transphobia
• transgender identity
• stigma

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

All the authors are particularly grateful for the assistance given by Prof. Emeritus Harold Cook at Columbia University in revising this manuscript.

funding

The project described was supported by the Summer Institute in LGBT Population Health, under Award Number R25HD064426 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NICHD or the National Institutes of Health.

Notes

1. As Mikulincer and Shaver (2012) stated, “attachment insecurity can therefore be viewed as a general vulnerability to mental disorders, with the particular symptomatology depending on genetic, developmental, and environmental factors” (p. 12).

2. In attachment literature there is still no agreement on the degrees of association between the various measures of adult attachment (e.g., see Shaver, Belsky, & Brennan, 2000; Shaver & Mikulincer, 2004, 2009).

3. For a review of attachment theory in clinical work, see Slade, 1999; Wallin, 2007.