Apego y psicopatología en jóvenes y adultos: contribuciones recientes de la investigación

This paper presents a review of recent research about the relations between attachment and psychopathology in young adults and adults. The authors analyse the main theoretical concepts of attachment theory relevant for understanding the links between the development of attachment relationships and the course of psychopathology, namely the concepts of developmental pathways, internal working models, behavioural conditional strategies, and attachment disorganization. This theoretical approach is followed by the empirical analyses centred on the methods for assessing attachment in adults and young adults, including the interview focused on the quality of the representational organization of attachment - Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) - as well as self-report measures allowing the evaluation of adults' perceptions about their attachment relations. Finally, the most recent empirical studies, examining the relation between attachment and psychopathology in distinct clinical groups are reviewed and discussed by differencing studies based on the AAI and on self-report measures.