Psychology Department, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Psychology Department, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
Psychol Psychother. 2024 Sep;97(3):549-561. doi: 10.1111/papt.12530. Epub 2024 Jun 29.
People with psychosis delay accessing recommended treatments, resulting in poor healthcare outcomes and increased risk of relapse. Means of improving help-seeking and help-acceptance could reduce duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). This study examined the role of attachment style in help-seeking and help-acceptance in psychosis.
We used an experimental design to test the effect of attachment imagery priming on help-seeking and help-acceptance intentions, in a sample with self-reported psychosis. The independent variables were attachment imagery condition (secure vs. avoidant) and time (pre- vs. post-prime). The dependent variables were state paranoia, help-seeking intentions and help-acceptance intentions.
We used an online research platform to recruit people with psychosis (n = 61). Participants were randomly allocated to the secure or avoidant attachment priming condition. All completed measures of state paranoia, help-seeking, and help-acceptance, before and after priming.
In comparison with the avoidant condition, secure attachment imagery resulted in reduced paranoia and increased help-seeking and acceptance intentions, all with large effect sizes.
This is the first study to use an experimental design to assess the role of attachment style in help-seeking and help-acceptance in a clinical sample. Attachment style is causally linked to behavioural intentions that contribute to DUP. Clinicians should assess attachment and help-seeking and acceptance, highlight these in formulation, and prioritise in treatment planning. Interventions that enhance help-seeking and acceptance could improve access to recommended treatments and reduce DUP.
精神病患者会延迟接受建议的治疗，导致医疗效果不佳和复发风险增加。改善寻求帮助和接受帮助的方式可以减少未治疗精神病的持续时间（DUP）。本研究探讨了依恋风格在精神病患者寻求帮助和接受帮助方面的作用。
我们使用实验设计来测试依恋意象启动对寻求帮助和接受帮助意图的影响，该研究对象为自我报告有精神病的人群。自变量为依恋意象条件（安全型 vs. 回避型）和时间（启动前 vs. 启动后）。因变量为状态妄想、寻求帮助的意图和接受帮助的意图。
我们使用在线研究平台招募有精神病的人（n=61）。参与者被随机分配到安全或回避依恋启动条件。所有人在启动前后都完成了状态妄想、寻求帮助和接受帮助的测量。
与回避条件相比，安全依恋意象导致妄想减少，寻求帮助和接受帮助的意图增加，所有这些都具有较大的效应量。
这是第一项使用实验设计评估依恋风格在临床样本中对寻求帮助和接受帮助的作用的研究。依恋风格与导致 DUP 的行为意图有关。临床医生应评估依恋和寻求帮助和接受帮助的意愿，在制定方案时强调这些方面，并将其优先纳入治疗计划。增强寻求帮助和接受帮助的干预措施可以改善获得推荐治疗的机会，并减少 DUP。
