Institute of Psychosocial Medicine and Psychotherapy

Model of the relationship between insecure attachment and the development and maintenance of diseases
Graphic: K. Brenk-Franz & B. Strauß, based on Maunder & Hunter

Research topic(s)

Attachment and illness perception in older patients with multimorbidity in primary care

The aim of the project is to transfer the basic findings from attachment research to primary care. In primary care, psychological aspects (such as self-care, illness and symptom perception) are becoming increasingly important, especially for patients with multimorbidity. These patients need to be increasingly involved in the treatment of their diseases due to the complexity of the disease patterns and health care. Health-supporting behaviours are taught to patients and, among other things, through shared decision-making, the patient becomes more actively and autonomously involved in health care. In this context, models of developmental psychology are playing an increasingly important role in explaining individual differences in patients and developing treatment plans for different types of patients. In particular, attachment theory offers a model to explain individual differences in illness-related experience and behaviour in terms of interpersonal closeness and distance for stress and affect regulation. Chronic illnesses can be subjectively perceived as threatening by the patient, which can activate the patient's attachment system. The patient's individual attachment-related characteristics influence the perception of symptoms, use of health care and health status.