Attachment security and parenting quality predict children's problem-solving,attributions, and loneliness with peers

The influence of early relational experience on later social understanding has evoked rich theoretical discussion but relatively little empirical inquiry. Enlisting data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, measures of the security of attachment in infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood, together with measures of parenting quality (maternal sensitivity and depressive symptoms) gathered longitudinally throughout infancy and early childhood, were used to predict differences in children's thoughts and feelings about peers (i.e., social problem solving, negative attributional biases, aggressive solutions to ambiguous social situations, and self-reported loneliness) when children were 54 months and in first grade. Relational experiences, especially before 36 months, were significantly predictive of later peer-related representations. Attachment security at 24 and 36 months was associated with enhanced social problem-solving skills and less loneliness, but security of attachment at 15 months was nonpredictive. Early maternal sensitivity was positively associated with later social problem-solving and negatively with aggressive responses, and early maternal depressive symptoms were positively associated with children's negative attributions. Concurrent parenting quality was also associated with children's thoughts and feelings about peers, but less consistently. These findings shed new light on how early relational experiences may contribute to social information processing with peers at the end of the preschool years, and that the timing of relational influences may be crucial.     

Developmental correlates and predictors of emotional availability in mother-child interaction: a longitudinal study from infancy to middle childhood

In this investigation we examined the developmental correlates and predictors of maternal emotional availability in interactions with their 7-year-old children among a sample of families at psychosocial risk. We found developmental coherence in maternal interactive behavior, and in the relations between maternal emotional availability and children's functioning in middle childhood. Mothers and children were observed at home and in a laboratory playroom in infancy to assess maternal interactive behavior and child attachment security. When children were 7 years of age, dyads were observed in the lab; maternal emotional availability was coded using the Emotional Availability Scales, and children's disorganized and controlling attachment behavior was assessed. Classroom teachers reported on children's behavior problems; at age 8, children reported on their depressive symptoms. Results showed that aspects of maternal emotional availability (sensitivity, nonhostility, nonintrusiveness [passive/withdrawn behavior]) were associated with children's functioning in middle childhood: (a) controlling and disorganized attachment behavior, (b) behavior problems in school, and (c) self-reported depressive symptoms. Maternal emotional availability in childhood was predicted by early mother-infant relationship dysfunction (maternal hostility, disrupted communication, and infant attachment insecurity).     

Associations between early caregiving and rural,low-SES,African-American children’s representations of attachment relationships

Little research has examined the legacy of early maternal care for later attachment representations among low-income and ethnic minority school-aged children. Using data from a sample of 276 rural, low-income, African-American families, this study examined associations between maternal care in infancy and children’s representations of attachment figures in middle childhood. Maternal care was coded from 10-min home-based observations at 6, 15, and 24 months of age. Representations of attachment figures were assessed using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task at 6 years of age. Sensitive maternal care in infancy was not significantly related to attachment security or episodic disorganized behaviors in children’s representations. However, children exposed to more harsh–intrusive parenting during infancy displayed less secure representations of attachment figures in middle childhood and more episodic disorganized behaviors, even after controlling for numerous child and family contextual covariates. Findings inform conceptualizations of attachment formation among rural, low-income, African-American parent–child dyads.     

The course of maternal depressive symptoms and maternal sensitivity as predictors of attachment security at 36 months

We examined the course of maternal depressive symptoms and children's attachment security at 36 months in a large sample of mother-child pairs from 10 sites across the country participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (N = 1077). Maternal depressive symptoms predicted higher rates of insecure attachment. Women who reported intermittent symptoms across the first 36 months had preschoolers who were more likely to be classified as insecure C or D; women with chronic symptoms were more likely to have preschoolers who were classified as insecure D. Symptoms reported only during the first 15 months were not associated with elevated rates of later insecurity. After controlling for potentially confounding demographic variables, maternal sensitivity (observed at 6, 15, 24, and 36 months) did not meaningfully account for links between attachment security and patterns of depressive symptoms. However, the course and timing of maternal depressive symptoms interacted with maternal sensitivity to predict insecurity. Women with late, intermittent, or chronic symptoms who were also low in sensitivity were more likely to have preschoolers who were insecure, in contrast to symptomatic women who were high in sensitivity. These data have implications for understanding the combined impact of maternal depressive symptoms and maternal sensitivity on children's socioemotional development.     

School-aged children's vulnerability to depressive symptomatology: the role of attachment security, maternal depressive symptomatology, and economic risk

The influences of three risk factors (insecure attachment, maternal depressive symptoms, and economic risk) on children's depressive symptomatology were examined. Subjects were 85 children from a range of income levels; all subjects were between 7 and 9 years of age. Children's depressive symptomatology was assessed with the Dimensions of Depression Profile for Children and Adolescents. Results indicated that children at high economic risk were more likely to exhibit depressive symptomatology than were children at low economic risk. Security of attachment was significantly related to children's depressive symptomatology. In addition, a significant relation was noted between children's depressive symptomatology and the depressive symptomatology of their mothers. Contrary to expectations, no significant relation was found between maternal depressive symptomatology and security of attachment. A multiple regression analysis revealed that security of attachment, maternal depressive symptomatology, and economic risk accounted for 47% of the variability in children's depression scores. Secure attachment served as a buffer; economic risk was associated with depressive symptoms only among insecurely attached children.     

Affect dysregulation in the mother-child relationship in the toddler years: antecedents and consequences

The purpose of this study was to examine child, maternal, and family antecedents of children's early affect dysregulation within the mother-child relationship and later cognitive and socioemotional correlates of affect dysregulation. Children's affect dysregulation at 24 and 36 months was defined in the context of mother-child interactions in semistructured play and toy cleanup. Dyads were classified as dysregulated at each age based on high negative affect. Affect dysregulation was associated with less maternal sensitivity and stimulation, more maternal depressive symptoms, and lower family income over the first 36 months of life. Children with early negative mood, lower Bayley Mental Development Index scores and insecure-avoidant (15 months) or insecure-resistant attachment classifications (36 months) were more likely to be in an affect-dysregulated group. Controlling for family and child variables, affect-dysregulated children had more problematic cognitive, social, and behavioral outcomes at 54 months, kindergarten, and first grade. The findings are discussed in terms of the early role played by parents in assisting children with affect regulation, the reciprocal nature of parent-child interactions, and the contribution of affect regulation to children's later cognitive, social, and behavioral competence.     

The Importance of Parenting During Early Childhood for School-Age Development

This study reports on the relation of 4 patterns of responsive parenting across early childhood (birth-4 1.2 years) with children's rate of cognitive and social development through 8 years of age for a cohort of children born preterm and of very low birthweight and term. Consistent responsiveness across early childhood predicted faster rates of cognitive and social growth than did inconsistent or minimal responsiveness, particularly for preterm children. As parenting at 6 and 8 years did not alter this relation, results suggest that parenting across early childhood plays a unique role in children's development. We also examined whether mothers could be facilitated to use a set of responsive behaviors across infancy that increased children's learning. Compared to control mothers, mothers randomly assigned to receive the intervention displayed greater changes in behaviors that established a social learning context supporting infants' object exploration and vocalization of interests. This, in turn, resulted in greater changes in infants' cognitive and social skills. As in the 1st study, preterm infants appeared to benefit to a greater extent from this more responsive social learning context.     

The importance of parenting during early childhood for school-age development

This study reports on the relation of 4 patterns of responsive parenting across early childhood (birth-4 1.2 years) with children's rate of cognitive and social development through 8 years of age for a cohort of children born preterm and of very low birthweight and term. Consistent responsiveness across early childhood predicted faster rates of cognitive and social growth than did inconsistent or minimal responsiveness, particularly for preterm children. As parenting at 6 and 8 years did not alter this relation, results suggest that parenting across early childhood plays a unique role in children's development. We also examined whether mothers could be facilitated to use a set of responsive behaviors across infancy that increased children's learning. Compared to control mothers, mothers randomly assigned to receive the intervention displayed greater changes in behaviors that established a social learning context supporting infants' object exploration and vocalization of interests. This, in turn, resulted in greater changes in infants' cognitive and social skills. As in the 1st study, preterm infants appeared to benefit to a greater extent from this more responsive social learning context.     

Maternal lifetime history of depression and depressive symptoms in the prenatal and early postnatal period do not predict infant-mother attachment quality in a large, population-based Dutch cohort study

We examined the effects of maternal history of depressive disorder and the effects of depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the early postpartum period on attachment insecurity and disorganization. A total of 627 mother-infant dyads from the Generation R Study participated in a population-based cohort from fetal life onwards. Maternal history of depression was assessed by diagnostic interviews during pregnancy; maternal peri- and postnatal depressive symptoms were assessed with questionnaires in 506 of these women at 20 weeks pregnancy and two months postpartum; and infant-mother attachment security was observed when infants were aged 14 months. A history of maternal depressive disorder, regardless of severity or psychiatric comorbidity, was not associated with an increased risk of infant attachment insecurity or disorganization. Likewise, maternal peri- and postnatal depressive symptoms were not related to attachment insecurity or disorganization at 14 months. These results are important because mothers from otherwise low risk backgrounds often have previously been depressed or are struggling with non-clinical depressive symptoms during pregnancy and after giving birth. Our findings are discussed in terms of protective factors that may limit the potentially negative effects of maternal depressive symptoms on the infant-mother attachment relationship in the general population. The role of selective attrition and lack of information about the mothers' attachment status for the current null-findings are also discussed.     

Structure and variability in the developmental trajectory of children's externalizing problems: impact of infant attachment, maternal depressive symptomatology, and child sex

This study explores the developmental trajectory of externalizing problems in a sample of 101 children of adolescent mothers from preschool through third grade using hierarchical linear models (HLM). First, a detailed assessment of the structure of the developmental trajectory of externalizing problems is provided. Second, the impact of three risk factors (infant attachment, maternal depressive symptomatology, and child sex) on the developmental course of externalizing problems is assessed. Both avoidant and disorganized attachment and higher levels of maternal depressive symptomatology were associated with higher levels of externalizing problems at 9 years of age. Girls also showed higher externalizing problems relative to their same-sex peers than did boys. In addition, maternal depressive symptomatology related to the rate of change in these problems over time: the greater the mother's depression, the faster externalizing problems tended to increase. Although the overall level of maternal depressive symptomatology was related to children's externalizing problems for secure, avoidant, and disorganized groups, changes in maternal depressive symptomatology over time predicted levels of externalizing problems only for children with avoidant insecure attachments.     

A Step Beyond Maternal Depression and Child Behavior Problems: The Role of Mother–Child Aggression

Previous researchers have identified problematic mother–child interaction patterns as a potential pathway through which maternal depressive symptoms impact child behavior problems, but could not establish the temporal precedence of these associations. This longitudinal study investigated mother–child aggression as a mechanism in the association between maternal depressive symptoms that occurred during infancy and subsequent child behavior problems among high-risk families. Two hundred thirty-four socioeconomically disadvantaged families were recruited from neighborhoods with high rates of family violence. During infancy (12–18 months), early childhood (4 years), and middle childhood (6 years), mothers reported their current depressive symptoms and use of psychological and physical aggression with their child. During early and middle childhood, mothers reported their children’s behavior problems. Using path analyses, a temporal process was identified in which mother–child aggression during early childhood mediated the association between maternal depressive symptoms during infancy and higher levels of externalizing behavior problems during middle childhood. Mother–-child aggression did not mediate the association between maternal depressive symptoms during infancy and higher levels of internalizing behavior problems during middle childhood. Early maternal depressive symptoms that occur during infancy are important risk factors for subsequent mother–child aggression, which, in turn, contributes to more child externalizing behavior problems. Therefore, screening mothers for depressive symptoms and providing intervention and prevention services to improve mother–child interactions may be crucial to preventing the exacerbation of externalizing behavior problems. Additional research is needed to identify pathways to child internalizing behavior problems.     

The roles of behavioral adjustment and conceptions of peers and emotions in preschool children's peer victimization

Ninety-four low- and middle-income preschoolers (48 boys, 46 girls) were recruited from two sites in a large southwestern city. Children's positive attributions of peer intent, social problem-solving decisions, and attributions of peers' feelings about the provocation were evaluated from individual interviews. In addition, children's anger perception accuracy and their global emotion situation knowledge were assessed. Teachers and their assistants reported on the children's social competence, internalizing and externalizing behavior, and the degree to which children were physically and relationally victimized. Social competence was a negative predictor of relational and physical victimization, and externalizing behavior was a positive predictor of both types of victimization. Anger perception accuracy was negatively related to physical victimization, and global emotion situation knowledge and attributions of sorrow to provoking peers were positive predictors. Results support a conceptual framework that emphasizes the importance of social and emotion-related social cognitive variables for understanding young children's peer-related victimization.     

Early mother-child separation, parenting, and child well-being in Early Head Start families

Drawing on theories of attachment and family instability, this study examined associations between early mother-child separation and subsequent maternal parenting behaviors and children's outcomes in a sample of 2080 families who participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, the vast majority of whom were poor. Multiple regression models revealed that, controlling for baseline family and maternal characteristics and indicators of family instability, the occurrence of a mother-child separation of a week or longer within the first two years of life was related to higher levels of child negativity (at age three) and aggression (at ages three and five). The effect of separation on child aggression at age five was mediated by aggression at age three, suggesting that the effects of separation on children's aggressive behavior are early and persistent.     

Predicting children's separation anxiety at age 6: the contributions of infant-mother attachment security, maternal sensitivity, and maternal separation anxiety

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the precursors and familial conditions which sustain school-aged children's separation anxiety. In a prospective, longitudinal study of 99 mother-child dyads, infancy measures of infant-mother attachment security, maternal separation anxiety, and maternal sensitivity were used to predict children's self-reported symptoms of separation anxiety at age 6. Insecurely attached children reported more separation anxiety than securely attached children. Insecure-ambivalent children reported marginally more separation anxiety than securely attached children, but not more than insecure-avoidant attached children. Regression analysis showed infant-mother attachment security and mother's sensitivity added uniquely to the prediction of children's separation anxiety, but mother's separation anxiety did not. Mediation tests show that the effect of mother's separation anxiety on children's separation anxiety may be mediated by maternal sensitivity. Research and clinical implications are discussed.     

Early predictors of boys' antisocial trajectories

Despite the large number of studies tracing patterns of youth antisocial behavior (AB) during adolescence, few have prospective data on the developmental precursors of AB beginning during infancy. Using a cohort of 268 low-income boys first assessed at 18 months, the current study examined predictors of early- and late-starting trajectories of AB assessed during early childhood and early adolescence. Four trajectory groups were identified, including early- and late-starting groups, a low stable group, and a high decreasing group, characterized by multiple risk factors during early childhood and early adolescence. During early childhood, parenting and maternal depression discriminated two AB trajectory groups, an early-starting and a high decreasing group, who would go on to demonstrate a high preponderance of juvenile court involvement (60% to 79%) and elevated rates of clinical depression 13 to 15 years later. The results were discussed in reference to targeting malleable family risk factors during early childhood associated with patterns of AB and mental health disorders during adolescence.     

Continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns across two generations

This study examined the intergenerational continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns within a higher-risk longitudinal sample of 55 female participants born into poverty. Infant attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation when participants were 12 and 18 months as well as several decades later with participants’ children. Paralleling earlier findings from this sample on the stability of attachment patterns from infancy to young adulthood, results provided evidence for intergenerational continuities in attachment disorganization but not security. Children of adults with histories of infant attachment disorganization were at an increased risk of forming disorganized attachments. Although changes in infant attachment patterns across the two generations were not correlated with individuals’ caregiving experiences or interpersonal stresses and supports during childhood and adolescence, higher quality social support during adulthood was associated with intergenerational changes from insecure to secure infant–caregiver attachment relationships.     

The quality of early infant-caregiver relational attachment and longitudinal changes in infant inflammation across 6 months

The quality of early caregiver–infant relationships has powerful implications for health trajectories across the lifespan, including associations with adult inflammation. However, because relatively few studies have examined this association during infancy, it remains unclear when this impact occurs and whether it is associated with longitudinal changes in salivary concentrations of inflammation across infancy. In 45 infants, we investigated whether the quality of infant-caregiver attachment (secure vs. insecure) was associated not only with levels of salivary C-reactive protein (sCRP) cross-sectionally, but also with changes in sCRP across 6 months. Interestingly, while there were no cross-sectional associations between infant-caregiver attachment and inflammation at 12 months of age, infant-caregiver attachment security predicted lower levels of sCRP 6 months later. In addition, attachment security predicted decreasing levels of sCRP from 12 months to 18 months of age. Implications for understanding the influence of the quality of early relationships on biological mechanisms related to disease are discussed.     

Differentiating among insecure mother-infant attachment classifications: a focus on child-friend interaction and exploration during solitary play at 36 months

Utilizing data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, the primary objective of the current report was to examine how avoidant and resistant mother - infant attachment classifications at 15 months were differentially associated with children's interaction with a same-sex friend and exploration during solitary play at 36 months. The added contributions of attachment security at 36 months and maternal sensitivity from 6 to 36 months to the prediction of child outcomes were also explored. As hypothesized, an avoidant attachment history was related to more instrumental aggression during child-friend interaction, whereas a resistant attachment history was associated with less self-assertion/control among friends and less attention and pretend play during exploration. Maternal sensitivity and concurrent attachment security also made unique contributions to the prediction of child outcomes at 36 months, although associations with 15-month attachment remained significant when these subsequent measures of the mother - child relationship were considered. Few differences emerged for the disorganized mother - infant attachment category in this relatively low-risk sample. Results underscore the need to differentiate between avoidant and resistant attachment groups and illustrate how early attachment history and subsequent indices of the mother - child relationship contribute to children's functioning.     

Individual differences in the development of early peer aggression: integrating contributions of self-regulation, theory of mind, and parenting

This prospective longitudinal study focused on self-regulatory, social-cognitive, and parenting precursors of individual differences in children's peer-directed aggression at early school age. Participants were 199 3-year-old boys and girls who were reassessed following the transition to kindergarten (5.5-6 years). Peer aggression was assessed in preschool and school settings using naturalistic observations and teacher reports. Children's self-regulation abilities and theory of mind understanding were assessed during a laboratory visit, and parenting risk (corporal punishment and low warmth/responsiveness) was assessed using interview-based and questionnaire measures. Individual differences in children's peer aggression were moderately stable across the preschool to school transition. Preschool-age children who manifested high levels of aggressive peer interactions also showed lower levels of self-regulation and theory of mind understanding, and experienced higher levels of adverse parenting than others. Our main finding was that early corporal punishment was associated with increased levels of peer aggression across the transition from preschool to school, as was the interaction between low maternal emotional support and children's early delays in theory of mind understanding. These data highlight the need for family-directed preventive efforts during the early preschool years.     

Associations among maternal depressive symptomatology,state of mind and parent and child behaviors: Implications for attachment-based interventions

Associations among maternal depressive symptomatology, maternal state of mind with regard to attachment, and mother and child behaviors were examined in the treatment groups of an attachment-oriented intervention for primiparous women at high risk for parenting difficulties. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was completed by 48 intervention and 62 control subjects when their children were 19 months old and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Inventory (CES-D) and parent-child laboratory tasks were completed by the same subjects when their children were 24 months old. In the control group, preoccupied tendencies were repeatedly associated with poor outcome; in theintervention group coherence of mind was associated with positive outcome. Maternal depression tended to be associated with hostility in the intervention group. Results suggest that maternal state of mind may exert powerful effects on parenting behavior and that an attachmentoriented intervention may influence these associations, particularly among preoccupied subjects. Results also demonstrated potential benefits of using AAI scales in addition to the traditional categories.