Atypical maternal behavior, maternal representations, and infant disorganized attachment

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUSAN GOLDBERG ◽  
DIANE BENOIT ◽  
KIRSTEN BLOKLAND ◽  
SHERI MADIGAN
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Behavior ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Maternal Attachment ◽  
Disorganized Attachment ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Attachment Representations ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Infant Attachment ◽  
Maternal Representations ◽  
Risk Categories

The data for 197 mother–infant pairs from two longitudinal studies were analyzed to assess relations between maternal attachment representations; atypical maternal behavior, coded with a new tool, Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE), and infant attachment. Both maternal and infant attachment were systematically related to atypical maternal behavior: mothers who were Unresolved on the Adult Attachment Interview and those whose infants were disorganized in the Strange Situation Procedure engaged in more atypical behaviors than those who were not Unresolved and whose infants showed organized patterns of attachment, respectively. Regression analyses indicated that when tested as a mediator, atypical maternal behavior as measured on the AMBIANCE did not reduce the association between maternal Unresolved status and infant disorganized attachment. This may, in part, reflect the fact that our low-risk sample did not include enough cases in the risk categories. These data provide preliminary empirical validation for the AMBIANCE and strengthen the evidence for links between atypical maternal behavior and disorganized attachment but indicate that in addition to maternal attachment representations, other factors must contribute to atypical maternal behavior.

scholarly journals Maternal Attachment Representations during Pregnancy, Perinatal Maternal Depression, and Parenting Stress: Relations to Child’s Attachment

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Cristina Sechi ◽  
Laura Elvira Prino ◽  
Luca Rollé ◽  
Loredana Lucarelli ◽  
Laura Vismara
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Depression ◽  
Parenting Stress ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Maternal Attachment ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Attachment Representations ◽  
Contextual Risk ◽  
Maternal Representations

Background: This paper aimed to explore the associations between maternal representations of attachment evaluated during pregnancy, pre and postnatal maternal depression, parenting stress and child’s attachment at 15 months after childbirth. Methods: Mothers (n = 71), and their infants participated in a longitudinal study of maternal attachment, pre and postnatal depression, parenting stress and child attachment. Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was conducted between 24 and 26 weeks of pregnancy (Time 1), depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale (EPDS) (at Time 1 and 6 months after childbirth, i.e., Time 2), parenting stress was assessed using the Parenting Stress Index—Short Form (PS-SF) (at Time 2) and the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) at child’s 15 months of age (Time 3). Results: Free-autonomous maternal classification of attachment increases the likelihood of secure child classification in her offspring, while decreases that of avoidance and ambivalence. Insecure maternal representation of attachment evaluated during pregnancy and higher levels of parenting stress at six months after childbirth was associated with higher rates of infant insecure attachment at 15 months. Conclusions: Our study validates the importance of considering maternal representations of attachment crucial in determining the quality of the caregiving environment, thereby the healthy development of children, despite the presence of other contextual risk.

Major depression as a predictor of the intergenerational transmission of attachment security: Findings from a pregnancy cohort study

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110607
Author(s):  
Megan Galbally ◽  
Stuart J Watson ◽  
Anne Tharner ◽  
Maartje Luijk ◽  
Gaynor Blankley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depression ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Attachment Security ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Parent Attachment ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Infant Attachment ◽  
Strange Situation Procedure

Objective: Understanding the relationship between attachment and mental health has an important role in informing management of perinatal mental disorders and for infant mental health. It has been suggested that experiences of attachment are transmitted from one generation to the next. Maternal sensitivity has been proposed as a mediator, although findings have not been as strong as hypothesised. A meta-analysis suggested that this intergenerational transmission of attachment may vary across populations with lower concordance between parent and infant attachment classifications in clinical compared to community samples. However, no previous study has examined major depression and adult attachment in pregnancy as predictors of infant–parent attachment classification at 12 months postpartum. Methods: Data were obtained on 52 first-time mothers recruited in early pregnancy, which included 22 women who met diagnostic criteria for current major depression using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The Adult Attachment Interview was also administered before 20 weeks of pregnancy. A history of early trauma was measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and maternal sensitivity was measured at 6 months postpartum using the observational measure of the Emotional Availability Scales. Infant–parent attachment was measured using the Strange Situation Procedure at 12 months. Results: Overall, we found no significant association between the Adult Attachment Interview and the Strange Situation Procedure classifications. However, a combination of maternal non-autonomous attachment on the Adult Attachment Interview and major depression was a significant predictor of insecure attachment on the Strange Situation Procedure. We did not find that maternal sensitivity mediated parental and infant attachment security in this sample. Conclusion: While previous meta-analyses identified lower concordance in clinical samples, our findings suggest women with major depression and non-autonomous attachment have a greater concordance with insecure attachment on the Strange Situation Procedure. These findings can guide future research and suggest a focus on depression in pregnancy may be important for subsequent infant attachment.

scholarly journals Ecological Constraints for Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment

1997 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Sagi ◽  
Marinus H. van IJzendoorn ◽  
Miri Scharf ◽  
Tirtsa Joels ◽  
Nina Koren-Karie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intergenerational Transmission ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Attachment Representations ◽  
Ecological Constraints ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Sleeping Arrangements

To determine whether the transmission of attachment across generations is free from contextual constraints, adult attachment representations were assessed in two kibbutz settings, home-based and communal sleeping. It was hypothesised that under extreme child-rearing circumstances, such as the communal sleeping arrangement, the transmission of attachment is not evident, whereas in the more regular home-based environment the expected transmission of attachment will be found. The participants were 45 mothers and 45 infants, about equal numbers of boys and girls, from 20 kibbutz infant houses with communal sleeping arrangements, and from 25 kibbutz infant houses with home-based sleeping arrangements. Mothers were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and infants were assessed through the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Among the home-based pairs, a correspondence of 76% was found between AAI and Strange Situation classifications, whereas the correspondence was only 40% in the communal sleeping group. It is argued that living in a communal sleeping arrangement reduces the expected transmission of attachment.

Attachment and selective attention: Disorganization and emotional Stroop reaction time

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Atkinson ◽  
Eman Leung ◽  
Susan Goldberg ◽  
Diane Benoit ◽  
Lori Poulton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Distributed Processing ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Disorganized Attachment ◽  
Emotional Stroop ◽  
Internal Working Model ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Working Model ◽  
Internal Working

AbstractAlthough central to attachment theory, internal working models remain a useful heuristic in need of concretization. We compared the selective attention of organized and disorganized mothers using the emotional Stroop task. Both disorganized attachment and emotional Stroop response involve the coordination of strongly conflicting motivations under conditions of emotional arousal. Furthermore, much is known about the cognitive and neuromodulatory correlates of the Stroop that may inform attempts to substantiate the internal working model construct. We assessed 47 community mothers with the Adult Attachment Interview and the Working Model of the Child Interview in the third trimester of pregnancy. At 6 and 12 months postpartum, we assessed mothers with emotional Stroop tasks involving neutral, attachment, and emotion conditions. At 12 months, we observed their infants in the Strange Situation. Results showed that: disorganized attachment is related to relative Stroop reaction time, that is, unlike organized mothers, disorganized mothers respond to negative attachment/emotion stimuli more slowly than to neutral stimuli; relative speed of response is positively related to number of times the dyad was classified disorganized, and change in relative Stroop response time from 6 to 12 months is related to the match-mismatch status of mother and infant attachment classifications. We discuss implications in terms of automatic and controlled processing and, more specifically, cognitive threat tags, parallel distributed processing, and neuromodulation through norepenephrine and dopamine.

The development of attachment in new relationships: Single subject analyses for 10 foster infants

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. CHASE STOVALL ◽  
MARY DOZIER
Keyword(s):  
Foster Parents ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Attachment Behavior ◽  
Foster Mother ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Infant Attachment ◽  
Diary Data ◽  
Daily Data ◽  
State Of Mind

This paper presents single-subject analyses of newly developing attachment relationships in 10 foster infant–caregiver dyads. Using a diary methodology, at least 2 months of daily data were provided by foster parents on infants' attachment behaviors. Foster infant attachment was also assessed using the Strange Situation. Foster mother state of mind regarding attachment was measured using the Adult Attachment Interview. For eight infants, diary data revealed predominant patterns of attachment behavior emerging within 2 months of placement. In most cases, diary data predicted Strange Situation classifications. Both Strange Situation and diary data indicated that the three children placed in foster care before 12 months of age with foster parents having primary or secondary autonomous states of mind were classified as having secure attachments. The five children placed after 12 months of age showed predominantly insecure attachment behavior in the diary and were classified as insecure in the Strange Situation. Contingency analyses of behavioral sequences reported in the diary revealed that foster parents tended to complement their foster childrens' attachment behaviors.

scholarly journals Is attachment transmitted across generations? The plot thickens

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prachi E. Shah ◽  
Peter Fonagy ◽  
Lane Strathearn
Keyword(s):  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Third Trimester ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Maternal Representations ◽  
Strong Relation ◽  
Type C ◽  
Maternal Responses ◽  
First Time ◽  
Significant Match

Studies have demonstrated a strong relation between adult attachment security, using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and infant security, using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). This suggests that a mother’s representations of attachment may influence the development of her infant’s attachment to her. This study both confirms and modifies that finding in a cohort of 47 first-time mothers and their infants. The AAIs were administered during the third trimester of pregnancy and the SSPs were performed when the infant was 14 months of age. The AAIs were classified using Crittenden’s Dynamic-Maturational Model (DMM) and the SSPs using both the DMM and also Main and Solomon’s ABC+D methods. There was a significant match of patterns for secure mothers and babies, but a tendency for inversion of insecure patterns of attachment, that is Type A mothers often had infants with a Type C pattern and vice versa. No significant relation was seen between the DMM adult and ABC+D infant patterns of attachment. A significant, but modest, association was found between the DMM and ABC+D infant SSP classifications. These findings may help guide treatment of insecure mother—infant dyads by individualizing interventions to include a focus on maternal representations of the infant and maternal responses to infant behavior.

scholarly journals Contributions of attachment theory and research: A framework for future research, translation, and policy

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4pt2) ◽  
pp. 1415-1434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jude Cassidy ◽  
Jason D. Jones ◽  
Phillip R. Shaver
Keyword(s):  
School Readiness ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Child Psychopathology ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Translation ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Infant Attachment ◽  
Attachment Patterns ◽  
Attachment Research

AbstractAttachment theory has been generating creative and impactful research for almost half a century. In this article we focus on the documented antecedents and consequences of individual differences in infant attachment patterns, suggesting topics for further theoretical clarification, research, clinical interventions, and policy applications. We pay particular attention to the concept of cognitive “working models” and to neural and physiological mechanisms through which early attachment experiences contribute to later functioning. We consider adult caregiving behavior that predicts infant attachment patterns, and the still-mysterious “transmission gap” between parental Adult Attachment Interview classifications and infant Strange Situation classifications. We also review connections between attachment and (a) child psychopathology; (b) neurobiology; (c) health and immune function; (d) empathy, compassion, and altruism; (e) school readiness; and (f) culture. We conclude with clinical–translational and public policy applications of attachment research that could reduce the occurrence and maintenance of insecure attachment during infancy and beyond. Our goal is to inspire researchers to continue advancing the field by finding new ways to tackle long-standing questions and by generating and testing novel hypotheses.

scholarly journals Maternal sensitivity and mother-infant attachment are associated with antibiotic uptake in infancy

2020 ◽  
pp. 135910532094124
Author(s):  
Marina Fuertes ◽  
Joana L Gonçalves ◽  
Anabela Faria ◽  
Pedro Lopes-dos-Santos ◽  
Inês C Conceição ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Maternal Behavior ◽  
Attachment Security ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Antibiotic Consumption ◽  
Symptom Reporting ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Infant Attachment

Attachment security has been associated with health status and symptom reporting. In this longitudinal study, we investigated the association between antibiotics uptake by infants at 9-months and mother-infant attachment at 12-months. Logistic regression analyses indicated that lower maternal sensitivity was associated with increased odds of antibiotic uptake. Furthermore, 89.7% of insecure-ambivalent infants consumed antibiotics, which contrasted with 32.5% of avoidant infants and 21.5% of secure infants. This study suggests that maternal behavior and mother-infant attachment impact on antibiotic consumption, which is worrying because antibiotics may lead to several health problems later in life and antibiotic-resistance.

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