N2 - This paper investigates attachment themes in the life history narratives of professional orchestral musicians and their relationship with music performance anxiety (MPA). Narrative accounts derived from open -ended in -depth interviews of ten professional musicians were analysed from an attachment perspective using content and thematic analysis. We hypothesized that the performance setting re -triggers unprocessed feelings related to early attachment experiences, especially when traumatic, and that defensive manoeuvres against their re -emergence into consciousness are activated. The interviews identified early relational trauma as a relevant etiological factor in the MPA -symptomatic of the musicians studied. A case is made for the addition of an attachment -informed life -course model rather than a purely symptomatic approach to understanding and treating severe MPA and other intra -personal psychodynamics of performing musicians. L1 - http://czasopisma.pan.pl/Content/103967/PDF/PPB%203-18%202-D.Kenny%20i%20in.pdf L2 - http://czasopisma.pan.pl/Content/103967 PY - 2018 IS - No 3: Advances in research on performance anxiety KW - attachment theory KW - attachment quality KW - attachment narratives KW - musicians KW - music performance anxiety A1 - Kenny, Dianna T. A1 - Holmes, Jeremy PB - Committee for Psychological Science PAS VL - vol. 49 DA - 2018.07.15 T1 - Attachment quality is associated with music performance anxiety in professional musicians: an exploratory narrative study UR - http://czasopisma.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/103967 T2 - Polish Psychological Bulletin