ABSTRACT
Deficits of affect regulation and affect recognition have been considered as vulnerability factors for the development and course of psychosomatic illness. In the present chapter, the affect regulation is considered from an attachment theory perspective. We claim that the expression and recognition of affects are central features of the infant-mother interaction. Affects regulate distance and closeness and signal the infant’s need for support and reassurance. The mother’s sensitivity towards the infant’s affective signals has turned out as an influential predictor of the infant’s attachment security in later development. It may be assumed that the capacity for affect recognition and affect expression and the development of attachment security share a common developmental pathway.
