Abstract

QUIROGA-MENDEZ, M Pilar. Attachment in old age, a dimension to take into account. Acción psicol. [online]. 2020, vol.17, n.2, pp.13-24.  Epub July 03, 2023. ISSN 2255-1271.  https://dx.doi.org/10.5944/ap.17.2.29838.

Attachment theory provides a new framework for understanding old age. Due to its automatic activation response characteristics to any situation perceived as threatening, attachment in old age is an especially important construct. Attachment is postulated as the precursor factor of emotional regulation in the elderly, due to its automatism, stability in the life cycle and connection with basic biological mechanisms of anxiety. Resistant attachments act in old age, producing responses of extreme dependence and suffering; and avoidance types activate excessive independence, which prevents self-care and the perception of risk. In addition, health problems typical of old age are aggravated in insecurely attached subjects, creating a greater vulnerability to disease due to the inflammatory and cardiac biological processes underlying this type of attachment. More than half of the elderly population can be considered a population at risk, due to the presence of insecure attachments. Through attachment theory, it is possible to understand the reactions of older people under stress and intervene in a tight way, since this perspective becomes modulating and novel for the understanding of old age.

Keywords : attachment theory; old age; disease; emotional regulation.

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