Parent–child attachment security is associated with preschoolers’ memory accuracy for emotional life events through sensitive parental reminiscing

Children acquire and develop emotional regulatory skills in the context of parent-child attachment relationships, nonetheless empirical studies have focused mainly on mother and less information is available regarding the role of both parent-child attachment relationships. Furthermore, despite its importance, there is no information regarding preschool years. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the potential influences of both mother-child and father-child attachments on preschooler's later emotion regulation observed in the peer group. Fifty-three Portuguese nuclear families (mother, father and focal child) participated in the study; 47% of the children were boys and 53% were girls. Attachment Security was assessed at home using the Attachment Behavior Q-set when children were 3 years of age, and emotion regulation was observed in the preschool classrooms attended by the children at age 5, using the California child Q-sort to derive an Emotion Regulation Q-Scale. Results showed that the combined influence of both parent-child attachment security predicted better emotion regulation results, than did the specific contributions of each parent per se. Findings are consistent with integrative approaches that highlight the value of including both mother- and father-child attachment relationships, as well as their combined effect, when studying emotion regulation.

Download Full-text

THE EFFECT OF SAME-AGE AND MIXED-AGE GROUPING IN DAY CARE ON PARENT-CHILD ATTACHMENT SECURITY

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.2000.28.6.595 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 28 (6) ◽

pp. 595-602 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marina M. Pool ◽

Catrien C.J.H. Bijleveld ◽

Louis W.C. Tavecchio

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Attachment Security ◽

Attachment Relationships ◽

Daycare Centers ◽

Child Attachment ◽

Age Range ◽

Mixed Age ◽

Q Sort ◽

Parent Child

This pilot study investigates the effect on parent-child attachment relationships of same-age versus mixed-age grouping in daycare centers in the Netherlands. For 45 children in the age range of 2 to 6 years, parent-child attachment relationships were assessed by means of the Attachment Q-Sort. It was found that attachment security did not differ significantly for children who had been in mixed-age or in same-age grouping, or who had experienced a change of daycare center.

Download Full-text

Parent–child attachment and internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence: A review of empirical findings and future directions

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579409990344 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 177-203 ◽

Cited By ~ 261

Author(s):

Laura E. Brumariu ◽

Kathryn A. Kerns

Keyword(s):

Internalizing Problems ◽

Internalizing Symptoms ◽

Attachment Security ◽

Insecure Attachment ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Future Directions ◽

Child Attachment ◽

Key Questions ◽

Parent Child

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the theory and evidence for the links of parent–child attachment with internalizing problems in childhood and adolescence. We address three key questions: (a) how consistent is the evidence that attachment security or insecurity is linked to internalizing symptoms, anxiety, and depression? (b) How consistent is the evidence that specific forms of insecurity are more strongly related to internalizing symptoms, anxiety, and depression than are other forms of insecurity? (c) Are associations with internalizing symptoms, anxiety, and depression consistent for mother–child and father–child attachment? The current findings are consistent with the hypothesis that insecure attachment is associated with the development of internalizing problems. The links between specific insecure attachment patterns and internalizing problems are difficult to evaluate. Father–child and mother–child attachments have a comparable impact, although there are relatively few studies of father–child attachment. No moderators consistently affect these relations. We also propose two models of how attachment insecurity may combine with other factors to lead to anxiety or depression.

Download Full-text

The Association Between Peer Victimization and Attachment Security: A Meta-Analysis

Canadian Journal of School Psychology ◽

10.1177/0829573517715737 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 193-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michelle A. Ward ◽

Kylee Clayton ◽

Jennifer Barnes ◽

Jennifer Theule

Keyword(s):

Peer Victimization ◽

Attachment Security ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Child Attachment ◽

Key Variables ◽

The Relationship ◽

Significant Moderator ◽

Modest Effect ◽

Parent Child

Numerous studies have explored the relationship between parent–child attachment and peer victimization, a problem for many Canadian children and youth; however, research in this area has been mixed. The present study utilized meta-analytic procedures to clarify the relationship between parent–child attachment and peer victimization. A random effects model was used to complete these analyses. Following extensive database searches, 16 studies were found to be eligible for inclusion. A significant relationship was found between attachment security and peer victimization, r = −.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [−.18, −.10], p < .001. Sample ethnicity was the only significant moderator; samples with higher proportions of White participants had a stronger relationship between attachment and peer victimization. Although the results of this study highlight the existence of a relationship between attachment relationships and peer victimization, modest effect sizes suggest that this relationship is likely indirect, with other key variables mediating this relationship.

Download Full-text

Testing the Incremental Value of a Separate Measure for Secure Attachment Relative to a Measure for Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000264 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 5-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Katrijn Brenning ◽

Bart Soenens ◽

Caroline Braet

Keyword(s):

Early Adolescence ◽

Middle Childhood ◽

Attachment Security ◽

Attachment Anxiety ◽

Secure Attachment ◽

Avoidant Attachment ◽

Child Attachment ◽

Incremental Value ◽

Parent Child

Abstract. Research on attachment in middle childhood and early adolescence has typically relied on either unidimensional measures of attachment security (vs. insecurity) or on differentiated measures of attachment anxiety and avoidance. This study addressed the question whether there is a need to add an explicit measure of security when operationalizing parent-child attachment in terms of anxiety and avoidance. Both dimensional (i.e., regression analyses) and person-centered analyses (i.e., cluster analysis) are used in this study (N = 276, 53% boys, mean age = 10.66) to examine the incremental value of a scale for attachment security (in this study, the Security Scale) in addition to a scale for attachment anxiety and avoidance (in this study, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised – Child version; ECR-RC). The present results suggest that an assessment of anxious and avoidant attachment (using the ECR-RC) may suffice to capture the quality of parent-child attachment in middle childhood and early adolescence.

Download Full-text

Interparental conflict, children's security with parents, and long-term risk of internalizing problems: A longitudinal study from ages 2 to 10

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579415000279 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 45-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Rebecca L. Brock ◽

Grazyna Kochanska

Keyword(s):

Marital Conflict ◽

Internalizing Problems ◽

Process Model ◽

Interparental Conflict ◽

Attachment Security ◽

Longitudinal Design ◽

Child Attachment ◽

The Impact ◽

Parent Child

AbstractAlthough the negative impact of marital conflict on children has been amply documented, few studies have examined the process of risk in a long-term, longitudinal design. We examined parent–child attachment security as a mechanism that may account for the impact of interparental conflict on children's long-term risk of internalizing problems. Sixty-two community mothers, fathers, and children were followed from ages 2 to 10. Parents reported on their conflicts when their children were 2. Trained observers produced parent–child attachment security scores (Attachment Q-Set, Waters, 1987), based on lengthy naturalistic observations of the child with each parent. Parents rated children's internalizing problems at age 10. A conditional process model and bootstrap approach were implemented to examine conditional indirect effects of conflict on child internalizing problems through attachment security for girls versus boys. Maladaptive marital conflict (destructive strategies, severity of arguments) increased internalizing problems 8 years later due to the undermined security for girls, whereas negative emotional aftermath of conflict (unresolved, lingering tension) increased internalizing problems for both boys and girls. The emotional aftermath of conflict is often overlooked, yet it appears to be a key dimension influencing emotional security in the family system, with significant consequences for children's development.

Download Full-text