A relação entre vinculação e aliança terapêutica

: uma perspetiva dos clientes

Abstract

Attachment patterns, developed from early relational experiences, influence the way individuals engage in interpersonal relationships throughout life, including those established in a therapeutic context. The therapeutic alliance, widely recognized as a central factor for the success of psychotherapy, may be shaped by the client’s attachment style, influencing perceptions of trust, security, and engagement in the therapeutic process. The present study aimed to investigate, from the clients’ perspective, the relationship between different attachment styles and the quality of the therapeutic alliance. The study included 144 participants aged between 19 and 60 years (M = 34.43; SD = 9.61), who completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Adult Attachment Scale, and the Working Alliance Inventory – Client Version. With regard to personal variables, the results revealed statistically significant differences in the quality of the therapeutic alliance according to the frequency, duration, and therapeutic setting in which participants engaged in psychotherapy. Additionally, statistically significant differences were observed in attachment quality according to marital status, educational level, and employment status. The relationship between attachment quality and therapeutic alliance quality was positive and statistically significant only for the dimension Comfort with Closeness and for the total attachment quality score. Analysis of differences between attachment styles indicated that participants with a Fearful attachment style reported significantly lower levels of therapeutic alliance compared to individuals with Preoccupied and Secure attachment styles. The regression model further demonstrated that attachment quality is a significant predictor of therapeutic alliance quality, even after controlling for personal variables such as psychotherapy frequency and duration. Overall, the findings highlight emotional closeness as a central factor in the development of strong and effective therapeutic alliances. Although some hypotheses were supported, others did not receive statistical support, reinforcing the need for future research to explore these phenomena in different contexts and to include additional variables.

Date of Award	9 Apr 2026
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Armanda Gonçalves (Supervisor)