Perfil Clínico de Apego (PCA): Elaboración de un sistema de categorías para la evaluación del apego

This article makes use of Bowlby’s theory and the attachment styles set out by Bartholomew and Horowitz, in order to to develop an Clinical Attachment Profile-narratives (CAP-n), an observation system for the assessment of attachment using patient narratives. In Study 1, an initial version of this tool is built (ACPv1). The tool displays sufficient levels of internal consistency in the assessment of both secure and avoidant attachment, but not in that of anxious and fearful attachment styles. In Study 2 changes are made to the instrument (CAP-n), which finally features four categories: availability-trust, autonomy in the relationship, regulation of emotions and communication of emotions. When the model is applied to the narratives of two patients, the degree of inter-assessor agreement in the identification of significant narratives exceeds 75%. The reliability of the CAP-n is also sufficient in that the average correlation in the identification of the categories was .78 for one patient and .88 for the other. The article discusses possible applications of the CAP-n, its advantages and limitations and possibilities for further research.