Attachment Style And Initial Self Disclosure example essay topic

Attachment and Self Disclosure in Groups Attachment and self disclosure can say a lot about a person. There was a study done to investigate attachment style and self disclosure in the first group counseling session. This was done in order to explain variable of group functioning. The attachment style was done by self report questionnaires and the self-disclosure was done by observations. There were more than four hundred participants that were split up into twenty seven different groups. I find taking over 400 people and placing them into twenty seven different groups is actually a quite strong way of studying attachment and disclosure.

They were assessed on the basis of transcripts of the first group counseling session. As noted by the group leader and the participants, group functioning included self-disclosure, group empathy, group intimacy, and client behavior. The results indicated that a significant relationship existed between attachment and initial self disclosure. I agree with this. Many of people around the world find group counseling beneficial, but still there are some that disagree. The prediction of a person's behavior in the group counseling process is important for the sake of both the group and the individual.

This article covers the behind the scenes look at each of these behaviors and what role it has in a group. They wanted to examine whether a person's behavior in a counseling group can be explained by means of self disclosure and attachment. I think that a person's behavior can be explained in any setting based upon disclosure and attachment. Attachment theory is viewed as a valid conceptual framework for explaining one's predisposition toward group counseling. This includes ability, motivation, and behavior. Attachment style reflects a person's past experiences with significant others, it is expressed in Group 2 that person's sense of trust and level of intimacy, and collected from self-report data.

Self disclosure is reflected in actual behavior and can be measured through observation of a person's situations such as the initial stage of a group. Attachment research has shown that secure attachment contributes to subjective well-being, high self-esteem, high self-efficacy, self-control, and well-adjusted interpersonal behavior. Insecure attachment seems to be organized around two basic dimensions: avoidance and anxiety-ambivalence. Avoid ant adults tend to be uncomfortable about and have difficulties being close to and trusting others; anxious-ambivalent adults want closeness to others, worry that others do not love or want to be with them, and sometimes scare others away with their intense need for closeness. Secure-attachment persons report more support-seeking strategies than do persons who score high on either avoid ant or anxious attachment styles. In partner relationships, secure persons seem to hold more positive expectations toward their partners and perceive them in a more positive way than do avoid ant types.

Client productive behavior in counseling consists of cognitive and affective exploration, the development of insight, and actual change in behavior. Self disclosure is the mechanism that underlies all therapeutic factors in group counseling. Self-disclosure is related to group cohesion and to intimate relationships in the group, whereas limited self-disclosure in the group hinders group progress. Two hypotheses were developed. These include positive relation exists between attachment style and initial self-disclosure: Participants with secure attachment will express a higher level of self-disclosure than will participants with insecure attachment. Attachment style and initial self-disclosure will reveal differences in participants' functioning in the group process: Group 3 Participants with secure attachment and participants high in initial self-disclosure will function more productively in the compared with insecure participants or those with a low level of initial self-disclosure.

I do have to say that self disclosure and attachment seem to play a big part in group counseling. If you sit back and look at different people and observe whether or not they disclose information about their life or if they find themselves able to get attached to others then you would be able to tell how their progress will go. In the groups that I have attended I have noticed that the ones who do not actively participate and freely disclose experiences or information do tend to have a harder time getting close to people. This goes the other way around also. If you observe someone has a hard time getting close or attached to people then most likely their disclosure will be to a minimum.

Bibliography

Group Dynamics. Vol. 8 (3) September 2004, pp. 207-220. Educational Publishing Foundation. Attachment Style and Observed Initial Self-Disclosure as Explanatory Variables of Group Functioning.