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Based on conceptualizations and assessment instruments of adult attachment research, the development of the adult attachment scale is outlined. The AAS scale is a self report instrument reflecting attachment-related attitudes. The dimensional scales of the AAS assess to what extent a person feels close to his partner, to what extent he is able to rely on others, and how much someone is afraid of losing an intimate partner. The German version of the AAS was normed in a representative study and its psychometric properties were investigated. The reliability of all scales was satisfactory (alpha = 0.72 - 0.79), however, the scale structure only acceptable. Thus, the current version might be integrated in studies to analyze the convergence of adult attachment measures. Findings on the convergent and discriminant validity of the scales (sociodemographic data, the SOC-S, the HADS-D, the SOMS and the Whiteley-Index were included) suggest a high prognostic relevance of the scales in the fields of health psychology and psychosomatics.

This article provides an overview of developments and research on client-centered psychotherapy, beginning around the mid-1970s, within the German language region. Even then the efficacy and the effectiveness of CCT were considered established within the German research community. Considered here are mainly those studies that fulfill more stringent scientific standards. The results summarized concern diagnostics (development of measurement tools), the therapeutic process, and effects of CCT. After a slight decrease of research on CCT, an increase is observable now. The necessity of disorder-specific research involving CCT is emphasized here. Currently such studies represent only a minority of existing research.

The Bielefeld Client Expectations Questionnaire and the Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire are two parallel German language self-report tools of adult attachment. The Bielefeld questionnaires are different from others in two important ways: (a) Attachment patterns are operationalized as configurations of scale scores, which allow qualitative distinctions in terms of functioning; and (b) five empirically identified attachment patterns are distinguished. A partially-secure pattern is described for the first time. Both instruments yield good psychometric properties, and the current results support their validity. The aim of the present article is to inform an international audience about an original approach for assessing attachment and to encourage its adaptation and standardization in other languages.