Parent--child emotion communication,attachment, and affective narratives

Forty-four pre-schoolers (ages 4.3 to 5.8 years) and their primary caregivers participated in a study on the connections between parent-child emotion communication and a narrative assessment of pre-schoolers' attachment. Children completed the Separation Anxiety Test (SAT), a narrative assessment of children's responses to attachment-related separations (including self-reliance, avoidance, attachment and coherence scores). Several aspects of parent-child discussions of emotion-eliciting events were also assessed in the Emotion Communication Task. Results indicated that SAT coherence was positively related to SAT attachment and negatively related to SAT avoidance. Furthermore, SAT coherence was positively related to parental scaffolding and negatively related to parental and child negativity during the Emotion Communication Task. Parental scaffolding and child reciprocity were positively related to each other and, in general, were negatively related to parental and child negativity. Discussion focused on the potential contributions of children's interactions with caregivers to the development of children's attachment narratives and emotion-related understanding.     

Adult attachment style and parental responsiveness during a stressful event

Despite widespread use of self-report measures of adult attachment, relatively little research has explored the predictive utility of these measures in the domain of parent–child relationships. The present study examined the association between self-reported attachment style and parental responsiveness during a stressful event. Children and their parents were observed while children received an inoculation at a county immunization clinic. Children's reactions to the inoculation were rated and parents' responsiveness was assessed with the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS). Results revealed that children of parents scoring high on self-reported attachment avoidance were more distressed during the inoculation than children of parents scoring low on avoidance. Moreover, parents high on avoidance were less responsive when children were highly distressed, whereas this pattern was reversed among parents scoring low on avoidance. Finally, the influence of adult attachment on parental behavior and children's distress was found to be independent of children's temperament and parental personality. These findings suggest that self-report adult attachment measures may be useful in the domain of parent–child relationships.     

情绪管理在大学生亲子依恋和交往焦虑间的中介作用

目的探讨情绪管理在大学生亲子依恋和交往焦虑间的中介作用。方法对唐山某高校347例在校大学生采用问卷调查方式,通过亲子依恋量表、交往焦虑量表和情绪管理量表的得分来评定依恋程度、焦虑程度和情绪管理。结果通过大学生交往焦虑单因素分析,在不同专业和性别的大学生交往焦虑方面得分差异无统计学意义,师生关系和同学关系较好的大学生交往焦虑得分小于关系一般者和较差者(F=3.673,3.984;P0.05);大学生在父母总依恋、母依恋和父依恋与交往焦虑均为负相关(r=-0.181,-0.148,-0.165;P0.05);交往焦虑总分与情绪管理为负相关(P0.05);父母总依恋、母依恋和父依恋与情绪管理为正相关(r=0.373,0.397,0.358;P0.05);情绪管理在亲子依恋对交往焦虑中起到中介效应。结论情绪管理在亲子依恋对交往焦虑中起到中介效应,显著减少大学生社会交往焦虑的水平。     

Japanese children's family drawings and their link to attachment

The secure base construct represents one of attachment theory’s most important contributions to our understanding of parent–child relationships and child development. The present study represents the first examination of how parents’ self-reported attachment styles relate to parental secure base provision and adolescent (mean age = 16.6 years, SE = .59) secure base use during an observed parent–adolescent interaction. Further, the present study is the first to examine how fathers’, as well as mothers’, attachment styles relate to observed behavior in a parent–child interaction. At the bivariate level, maternal avoidance, but not anxiety, was negatively associated with observed adolescent secure base use. In addition, path analysis revealed that maternal avoidance was indirectly related to less adolescent secure base use through mothers’ self-reported hostile behavior toward their adolescents and through adolescents’ less positive perceptions of their mothers. Further, paternal anxiety, but not avoidance, was indirectly related to less adolescent secure base use through fathers’ self-reported hostile behavior toward their adolescents. No significant findings emerged in relation to parental secure base provision. We discuss these results in the context of attachment theory and suggest directions for future research.     

Continuity and discontinuity of attachment patterns: A short-term longitudinal pilot study using a sample of late-adopted children and their adoptive mothers

This study analysed the attachment patterns of 28 late-adopted children (placed when they were between four and seven years of age) and their adoptive mothers. The change in the children's internal working models (IWMs) within seven to eight months of their placement was evaluated. In addition, we wanted to observe the influence of a secure-autonomous maternal state of mind in facilitating the change in the children's IWMs and the possible associations between the maternal IWMs and the children's IWMs in the adoptive dyads. The separation-reunion procedure (SRP) was used for the late-adopted children in order to assess their attachment behavioural patterns, and the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) was used to evaluate their attachment narrative patterns. The adoptive mothers completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) in order to classify their state of mind with regard to attachment. The results showed a significant change in the attachment behavioural patterns of late-adopted children, from insecure to secure (p = .002). Furthermore, the children who presented this change were predominantly placed with secure-autonomous adoptive mothers (p = .047), although the link between the adoptive mothers' representations of their attachment history and their adopted children's completed narratives was not significant. In conclusion, it seems possible to revise the attachment behaviour of late-adopted children but, for about one-third of children, the adverse history will persist at a narrative/representational level.     

Social capital,safety concerns,parenting, and early adolescents' antisocial behavior

This study explores the relations between neighborhood social capital (neighbor support and social climate), safety concerns (fear of crime and concern for one's child), parenting (solicitation and support), and adolescent antisocial behavior in a sample of 952 parents (742 mothers) and 588 boys and 559 girls from five middle schools (sixth through eighth grades) in a midsize Italian city. In structural equation models, social capital is strongly and inversely related to safety concerns and positively related to parental support and solicitation. In turn, safety concerns are also positively related to parental support and solicitation. Social capital and safety concerns have indirect effects on children's antisocial behavior through their effects on parenting. Implications are discussed for parenting and community‐based interventions to prevent or reduce youth antisocial behaviors. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Adult attachment style and parental responsiveness during a stressful event

Despite widespread use of self-report measures of adult attachment, relatively little research has explored the predictive utility of these measures in the domain of parent-child relationships. The present study examined the association between self-reported attachment style and parental responsiveness during a stressful event. Children and their parents were observed while children received an inoculation at a county immunization clinic. Children's reactions to the inoculation were rated and parents' responsiveness was assessed with the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS). Results revealed that children of parents scoring high on self-reported attachment avoidance were more distressed during the inoculation than children of parents scoring low on avoidance. Moreover, parents high on avoidance were less responsive when children were highly distressed, whereas this pattern was reversed among parents scoring low on avoidance. Finally, the influence of adult attachment on parental behavior and children's distress was found to be independent of children's temperament and parental personality. These findings suggest that self-report adult attachment measures may be useful in the domain of parent-child relationships.     

Child, parent, and parent-child emotion narratives: implications for developmental psychopathology

Studies using narratives with children and parents offer ways to study affective meaning-making processes that are central in many theories of developmental psychopathology. This paper reviews theory regarding affective meaning making, and argues that narratives are particularly suited to examine such processes. The review of narrative studies and methods is organized into three sections according to the focus on child, parent, and parent-child narratives. Within each focus three levels of analysis are considered: (a) narrative organization and coherence, (b) narrative content, and (c) the behavior/interactions of the narrator(s). The implications of this research for developmental psychopathology and clinical work are discussed with an emphasis on parent-child jointly constructed narratives as the meeting point of individual child and parent narratives.     

The role of maternal attachment in children's attachment and cognitive executive functioning: A preliminary study

The influence of maternal attachment on children's attachment and executive functioning skills through maternal sensitivity and decentered tutoring were studied in 40 middle-class mother–child dyads. Infant attachment security in the Strange Situation Procedure was related to maternal attachment security, evaluated with the Adult Attachment Interview. When the children were six–seven months of age, maternal sensitivity was evaluated. When the child was six years old, maternal decentered tutoring and the children's executive functioning were evaluated. Regression analyses indicated that maternal tutoring accounted for the association between maternal attachment and child cognitive functioning, whereas maternal sensitivity accounted for the association between maternal and child attachment.     

Efficacy of a home-visiting intervention aimed at improving maternal sensitivity, child attachment, and behavioral outcomes for maltreated children: a randomized control trial

The efficacy of a short-term attachment-based intervention for changing risk outcomes for children of maltreating families was examined using a randomized control trial. Sixty-seven primary caregivers reported for maltreatment and their children (1-5 years) were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. The intervention group received 8 weekly home visits directed at the caregiver-child dyad and focused on improving caregiver sensitivity. Intervention sessions included brief discussions of attachment-emotion regulation-related themes and video feedback of parent-child interaction. Comparison of pre- and posttest scores revealed significant improvements for the intervention group in parental sensitivity and child attachment security, and a reduction in child disorganization. Older children in the intervention group also showed lower levels of internalizing and externalizing problems following intervention. This is the first study to demonstrate the efficacy of short-term attachment-based intervention in enhancing parental sensitivity, improving child security, and reducing disorganization for children in the early childhood period.     

Attachment representations, sleep quality and adaptive functioning in preschool age children

Both the attachment system and sleep are considered to be important biopsychosocial regulators of development and of adaptive functioning in children, and there is a substantial literature suggesting that the two systems may be mutually influencing. To date, however, the bulk of research attempting to link these systems has focused on infancy and the results of empirical studies are mixed. Thirty-nine preschool children participated in this study (valid sleep data for 34 cases). Attachment representations were assessed using the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT) and sleep was assessed using objective (i.e., actigraphy) measures. Analyses revealed that the coherence of child narratives and security scored from the ASCT were related to sleep quality indices (e.g., Sleep Activity, Wake Minutes after Sleep Onset, Sleep Efficiency). Additional analyses examined external correlates of attachment representations and tested possible interactions of attachment and sleep. No significant mediated interactions across attachment and sleep domains were found. Although the direction of effects cannot be determined, the results suggest that parent-child relationship and sleep organization are intertwined for preschool age children and the joint effects of these biopsychosocial regulators should be studied further.     

Maternal attachment avoidance is linked to youth diurnal cortisol slopes in children with asthma

ABSTRACT

Prior evidence suggests that an individual’s attachment orientation is linked to the health and health-related biology of his/her romantic relationship partners. The current study examined whether this effect extends to parent–child relationships. Specifically, we investigated the association between maternal attachment anxiety and avoidance and diurnal cortisol of offspring. In a sample of 138 youth with asthma and their primary caregivers, caregivers reported their attachment orientations, and their children (aged 10–17) supplied four saliva samples per day over four days to assess diurnal cortisol patterns. Growth curve analyses revealed no links to caregiver attachment anxiety, but caregiver attachment avoidance was significantly associated with children’s diurnal cortisol slopes, such that greater attachment avoidance predicted flatter diurnal cortisol slopes. Maternal warmth did not mediate this link. These results support the possibility that an individual’s adult attachment orientation may “get under the skin” of family members to influence their health-related biology. Future research should seek to determine the causal direction of this association and mechanisms of this effect.     

Young children traumatized by organized violence together with their mothers – The critical effects of damaged internal representations

Three examples of young Kosovar children who were exposed to brutal violence together with their mothers are presented to illustrate how important it is to understand the impact of traumatic events on young children's development from the perspective of the parent?–?child relationship. The traumatized mothers' internal representations of self and self-being-together-with-child were damaged, and this in turn led to their care-giving system and internal representations of the children being negatively affected. No longer being able to see themselves as protective and loving parents, the mothers were unable to respond to their children with care-giving behaviour. The traumatized children's increased attachment behaviour and posttraumatic symptoms functioned as a trigger for posttraumatic symptoms in the mothers and contributed to a disengagement of the care-giving system. The on-going process disrupted the previous attachment pattern in mother?–?child interaction and a disorganized attachment pattern developed.     

The family drawings of at-risk children: Concurrent relations with contact with incarcerated parents,caregiver behavior,and stress

The current study examined children's attachment representations as assessed with their family drawings in relation to contact with an incarcerated or estranged parent, caregiver behavior, and family stress in a high-risk sample of children (N = 44, M _age = 8.14), 55% of whom had incarcerated parents. Greater phone, mail, and physical contact with an incarcerated parent was associated with more role reversal in children's family drawings. Additional results show that child-reports of more hostile caregiver behavior were associated with greater overall insecurity in their family drawings; child and caregiver reports of stress were associated with increased global pathology and bizarreness/dissociation in children's family drawings. Given the lack of research on concurrent familial-based correlates of ratings made of children's family drawings, these results provide additional insights into children's representations of attachment relationships in early middle childhood. Further, the results regarding contact with incarcerated parents have implications for researchers and clinicians working with families impacted by parental incarceration.     

大学生父母教养方式与成人依恋的关系研究

目的探讨大学生父母教养方式与成人依恋的关系。方法随机抽取120名大学生,采用父母养育方式评价量表（EMBU）和亲密关系经历量表（ECR—C）进行调查。结果①）父母教养方式与成人依恋回避维度相关不显著;父母教养方式中父亲过度保护,母亲情感温暖、理解和母亲惩罚、严厉与成人依恋焦虑维度显著相关;②父母教养方式因子中父亲过度保护对成人依恋的焦虑有正向预测作用,母亲情感温暖、理解对焦虑有负向预测作用。结论父母教养方式对于女的成人依恋有较小影响。     

Parental Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) Moderates Associations of Stress and Child Behavior With Parenting Behavior

The serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with caregiving in nonhuman animals and with affective and cognitive correlates of human parenting, yet its association with human parenting is largely unknown. Using a well-characterized sample of parents and offspring, we evaluated the association of parental 5-HTTLPR with observed positive and negative parenting behavior, as well as its biologically plausible moderation of child-related stress and disruptive child behavior as predictors of parenting. One hundred and sixty-two parents (86% mothers) and their 6- to 9-year-old children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were ascertained using multiple methods including structured interviews, rating scales, and observed parent-child interaction, yielding strong measures of key constructs. Controlling for multiple youth-level (e.g., sex, 5-HTTLPR genotype, disruptive behavior) and parent-level (e.g., demographics, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) factors, parents with an S allele exhibited significantly less observed positive parenting than those with the LL genotype. Significant Gene × Environment interactions were also observed: Child-related stress was negatively associated with observed parental negativity among SS/SL genotype parents but not LL genotype parents; next, observed disruptive child behavior was positively associated with parental negativity for both genotypes, but the effect was strongest in SS/SL parents. These preliminary findings suggest that parental 5-HTTLPR is uniquely associated with positive and negative parenting behavior, with more specific patterns according to child-related stress and disruptive child behavior. We consider implications for future research evaluating genetic influences on parenting as well as considerations for designing and delivering parenting-based interventions.     

Attachment linked predictors of women's emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine associations among women's emotional and cognitive responses to infant fear and anger and to identify attachment linked predictors of these responses. Four hundred and forty Caucasian and African American undergraduate college women viewed video clips of two crying infants, one displaying anger and the other displaying fear. They identified what the infants were feeling, made causal attributions about the cause of crying, rated their own emotional reactions to the crying infants, and reported on the extent to which their parents met their emotional needs in childhood and their current adult attachment patterns. Emotional and cognitive responses to infant fear and anger were interrelated. Consistent with prediction, a history of parental emotional rejection and adult attachment anxiety and avoidance correlated negatively with accurate identification of emotions and positively with negative attributions, amusement, and neutral responses to infant distress. Adult attachment security moderated the effects of early parental rejection on emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress, and these results varied based on race and parent gender. Results are discussed from an attachment theory perspective.