Integrated Attachment Theory

October 27, 2026 updated by: Boston University Charles River Campus

This pilot randomized waitlist-controlled study will evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effects of a 12-week Integrated Attachment Theory (IAT) psychoeducational coaching program in adults ages 18-65 with an insecure attachment pattern identified through study screening.

Eligible participants will be randomized 1:1 to immediate IAT or a 12-week waitlist followed by IAT. The immediate group will complete in-person Boston University assessments before and after IAT; the waitlist group will complete assessments at baseline, after the 12-week waiting period, and after subsequently completing IAT.

The primary objectives are to determine whether the study procedures and intervention are feasible and to estimate the magnitude and variability of pre/post changes. The investigators hypothesize that IAT will be associated with improvement in attachment-related patterns, emotion regulation, interpersonal functioning, and well-being, together with changes in physiological and cortical responses during attachment-related emotion regulation compared with the waitlist period.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

24

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Meryem Yücel, PhD
  • Phone Number: 617-353-1181
  • Email: mayucel@bu.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Boston University Center for Life Science & Engineering
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
          • Miray Altinkaynak, PhD MPH

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Speak and read English sufficiently to complete study questionnaires and the IAT program
  • Meets the PDS attachment-style eligibility criterion for insecure attachment
  • Able and willing to attend required in-person Boston University (BU) research visits
  • Able and willing, if assigned, to participate in the 12-week remote IAT program.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Self-reported neurological disorder or condition
  • Self-reported psychiatric/mental-health disorder
  • Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) total score >14
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) total score >14
  • Failure to meet the PDS attachment-style eligibility criterion
  • Inability to complete required study procedures
  • A safety concern that makes participation inappropriate.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Immediate Integrated Attachment Theory (IAT)

Participants randomized to this arm will immediately receive the 12 week IAT intervention.
Behavioral: IAT

IAT provides12 consecutive weekly remote Zoom sessions delivered by Personal Development School (PDS). Each session lasts approximately 2.5 hours with about 90 minutes of teaching plus 1 hour of supervised support. Participants will work in small breakout rooms with two participants per room during the support portion. The 12-week curriculum addresses core beliefs, relationship needs, emotional/nervous-system patterns, communication, boundaries, and behaviors. Participants will also complete approximately 10 minutes of daily skills practice/homework.
Active Comparator: Waitlist followed by IAT

Participants randomized to this arm will be put on a 12 week waitlist and after will receive the IAT intervention.
Behavioral: IAT

IAT provides12 consecutive weekly remote Zoom sessions delivered by Personal Development School (PDS). Each session lasts approximately 2.5 hours with about 90 minutes of teaching plus 1 hour of supervised support. Participants will work in small breakout rooms with two participants per room during the support portion. The 12-week curriculum addresses core beliefs, relationship needs, emotional/nervous-system patterns, communication, boundaries, and behaviors. Participants will also complete approximately 10 minutes of daily skills practice/homework.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of IAT intervention
Time Frame: baseline through 12 weeks

Feasibility will be assessed using intervention and study completion. The number and percentage of participants assigned to IAT who complete the 12-week IAT program and the corresponding post-intervention research assessment will be calculated. Higher completion/retention rates will indicate greater feasibility.
baseline through 12 weeks
Change in attachment
Time Frame: baseline and 12 weeks

Attachment will be assessed using the self-report Personal Development School (PDS) Attachment-Style Questionnaire administered at baseline and again at the post-intervention assessment. The questionnaire characterizes participants' attachment patterns, including secure and insecure attachment styles. Change from baseline to 12 weeks will be evaluated, with movement toward greater attachment security interpreted as improvement.
baseline and 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in emotion regulation, measured by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-36)
Time Frame: baseline and 12 weeks

Emotion regulation will be assessed using the 36-item self-report Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-36). Items are rated on a 5-point scale from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). The total score ranges from 36 to 180. Higher scores indicate greater difficulties with emotion regulation; therefore, a decrease in score from baseline indicates improvement in emotion regulation.
baseline and 12 weeks
Change in interpersonal functioning, measured by the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-32 (IIP-32)
Time Frame: baseline and 12 weeks

Interpersonal functioning will be assessed using the 32-item self-report Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, Short Form (IIP-32). Items are rated from 0 (not at all) to 4 (very much) and assess difficulties across eight interpersonal domains. Higher scores indicate greater interpersonal difficulties; therefore, a decrease from baseline indicates improvement in interpersonal functioning.
baseline and 12 weeks
Change in well-being, measured by the WHO-5 Well-Being Index
Time Frame: baseline and 12 weeks

Well-being will be assessed using the 5-item self-report World Health Organization 5 (WHO-5) Well-Being Index. Each item is rated from 0 to 5. Raw scores range from 0 to 25 and are multiplied by 4 to yield a score from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate better well-being; therefore, an increase from baseline indicates improvement.
baseline and 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Boston University Charles River Campus

Collaborators

Personal Development School (PDS)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Meryem Yücel, PhD, BU, Biomedical Engineering, Neurophotonics Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 27, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

November 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 27, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • TBD not assigned

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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