Studies exploring the function of s

Studies exploring the function of self-harm have often conceptualized it as an affect-regulation strategy (g.e., Chapman, Gratz, andBrown,2006;FAvazza,1992;Gratz,2003). Since affect-regulation capacities begin to develop the attachment relationship during infancy (sroufe,1995),it is reasonable to investigate self-harm self -harm within the framework of attachment theory (Boelhy,1969/1982).Attachment theory holds that the organization of the infant caregiver relationship gives rise to self-organization over the course of the first 2 years (Sroufe.1995). Repeated interaction in the attachment relationship can scaffold the child’s emergent sense of self; expectation of others; and, ultimately, his or her capacity to engage in reciprocal and emphatic relationship. In addition, patterns of dyadic interaction and regulation in early development can entrain excitatory and inhibitory processes in the brain that underlie the child’s capacity for arousal modulation. Thus. regulatory patterns originating in the dyadic caregiving relationship may influence the child’s emergent competence across multiple levels of adaptation (Sroufe.1995). According to attachment theory ,securely attached individuals are expected to exhibit adaptive affect- regulation strategies, such as cognitive or behavioral coping methods and social support seeking to effectively manage negative affect states (Schaffer,1993). In contrast, individuals with insecure attachments are expected to engage in maladaptive affect-regulation strategies, including deliberate self-harm, substance abuse, and social isolation (Cooper. Shaver, &Collins, 1998).
In the context to the attachment relationship, the may internalize a sense of the caregiving other as reliable or unreliable, as protective or threatening, and a complementary perception of the self as deserving or undeserving of care, as effective or inept at eliciting adequate nurturance, support, and protection. These internalized representation from the basis of working models of the self , the others, and of the self –with-others that may guide future behaviors and shape subsequent experiences in the interpersonal sphere(Bowlby,1969/1982). Thus, the securely attached child will likely develop positive expectation of the both the self and others with respect to eliciting nurturance and obtaining comfort. In contrast, the insecurely attached child will likely develop negative relational expectations regarding the ability to elicit comfort and support