Caregiving antecedents of secure base script knowledge: A comparative analysis of young adult attachment representations.

Abstract Background: Children with attachment disorder show prosocial behavior problems. Prosocial behavior problems are an operationalization of the symptom of inhibited and emotionally withdrawn behavior in children with attachment disorder symptoms. However, the underlying mechanism between attachment disorder symptoms and prosocial behavior problems is still unclear and findings in literature are mixed.Methods: The current study investigated the role of children’s attachment representations in this association. Attachment representations reflect knowledge about a cognitive script regarding the attachment figure as a source for support (Secure Base Script). We tested whether secure base script knowledge 1) mediates or 2) moderates the link between attachment disorder symptoms and prosocial behavior problems in 67 children (6-11 years; 83.1% boys) recruited from special education schools for children with behavioral problems. Children completed a pictorial Secure Base Script Test. Their attachment disorder symptoms were assessed during an interview with the primary caregivers. Primary caregivers and teachers filled out a prosocial behavior questionnaire about the child. Results: Results did not support the mediation hypothesis, but evidence for the moderation hypothesis was found. Secure base script knowledge attenuated the negative association between attachment disorder symptoms and prosocial behavior.Conclusions: These findings contribute to the discussion about the link between attachment representations and attachment disorders.

Reactive Attachment Disorder Symptoms and Prosocial Behavior in Middle Childhood: The Role of Secure Base Script Knowledge

10.21203/rs.3.rs-31642/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Bien Cuyvers ◽

Eleonore Vervoort ◽

Guy Bosmans

Keyword(s):

Behavior Problems ◽

Prosocial Behavior ◽

Primary Caregivers ◽

Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽

Secure Base ◽

Attachment Representations ◽

Attachment Disorder ◽

Secure Base Script ◽

Reactive Attachment

Abstract Background: Children with attachment disorder show prosocial behavior problems. Children with a reactive attachment disorder show inhibited and emotionally withdrawn behavior. Consequently, these children typically display prosocial behavior problems. However, the underlying mechanism between reactive attachment disorder and prosocial behavior problems is still unclear and findings in literature are mixed. Methods: The current study investigated the role of children’s attachment representations in this association. Attachment representations reflect knowledge about a cognitive script regarding the attachment figure as a source for support (Secure Base Script). We tested whether secure base script knowledge 1) mediates or 2) moderates the link between reactive attachment disorder and prosocial behavior problems in 83 children (6-11 years; 83.1% boys) recruited from special education schools for children with behavioral problems. Children completed a pictorial Secure Base Script Test. Their reactive attachment disorder symptoms were assessed during an interview with the primary caregivers. Primary caregivers and teachers filled out a prosocial behavior questionnaire about the child. Results: Results did not support the mediation hypothesis, but evidence for the moderation hypothesis was found. Secure base script knowledge attenuated the negative association between attachment disorder symptoms and prosocial behavior. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the discussion about the link between attachment representations and attachment disorders.

Mothers’ electrophysiological, subjective, and observed emotional responding to infant crying: The role of secure base script knowledge

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579414000881 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 27 (4pt1) ◽

pp. 1237-1250 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Ashley M. Groh ◽

Glenn I. Roisman ◽

Katherine C. Haydon ◽

Kelly Bost ◽

Nancy McElwain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Positive Emotion ◽

Emotional Responses ◽

Secure Base ◽

Attachment Representations ◽

Infant Crying ◽

Infant Distress ◽

Emotional Responding ◽

Secure Base Script ◽

Eeg Activation

AbstractThis study examined the extent to which secure base script knowledge—reflected in the ability to generate narratives in which attachment-relevant events are encountered, a clear need for assistance is communicated, competent help is provided and accepted, and the problem is resolved—is associated with mothers’ electrophysiological, subjective, and observed emotional responses to an infant distress vocalization. While listening to an infant crying, mothers (N= 108,Mage = 34 years) lower on secure base script knowledge exhibited smaller shifts in relative left (vs. right) frontal EEG activation from rest, reported smaller reductions in feelings of positive emotion from rest, and expressed greater levels of tension. Findings indicate that lower levels of secure base script knowledge are associated with an organization of emotional responding indicative of a less flexible and more emotionally restricted response to infant distress. Discussion focuses on the contribution of mothers’ attachment representations to their ability to effectively manage emotional responding to infant distress in a manner expected to support sensitive caregiving.

Increasing secure base script knowledge among parents with Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579420001765 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

K. Lee Raby ◽

Theodore E. A. Waters ◽

Alexandra R. Tabachnick ◽

Lindsay Zajac ◽

Mary Dozier

Keyword(s):

Child Protective Services ◽

Low Risk ◽

Secure Base ◽

Attachment Representations ◽

Protective Services ◽

Parental Sensitivity ◽

Control Intervention ◽

Secure Base Script ◽

Catch Up ◽

To Receive

Abstract This study evaluated whether Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), a parenting intervention, altered the attachment representations of parents (average age of 34.2 years) who had been referred to Child Protective Services (CPS) due to risk for child maltreatment when their children were infants. Approximately 7 years after completing the intervention, parents who had been randomized to receive ABC (n = 43) exhibited greater secure base script knowledge than parents who had been randomized to receive a control intervention (n = 51). Low-risk parents (n = 79) exhibited greater secure base script knowledge than CPS-referred parents who had received a control intervention. However, levels of secure base script knowledge did not differ between low-risk parents and CPS-referred parents who had received the ABC intervention. In addition, secure base script knowledge was positively associated with parental sensitivity during interactions with their 8-year-old children among low-risk and CPS-referred parents. Mediational analyses supported the idea that the ABC intervention enhanced parents’ sensitivity 7 years later indirectly via increases in parents’ secure base script knowledge.

Does Secure Base Script Knowledge Mediate Associations Between Observed Parental Caregiving During Childhood and Adult Romantic Relationship Quality and Health?

10.31234/osf.io/gxbvh ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Or Dagan ◽

Renate S. M. Buisman ◽

Marissa D Nivison ◽

Theodore Waters ◽

Brian E. Vaughn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Relationship Quality ◽

Youth Development ◽

Romantic Relationship ◽

Secure Base ◽

Attachment Representations ◽

Early Child Care ◽

Secure Base Script ◽

Basic Features ◽

Romantic Relationship Quality

Increasingly, attachment representations are being assessed via secure base script knowledge—the degree to which individuals show awareness of the temporal-causal schema that summarizes the basic features of seeking and receiving effective support from caregivers during times of need. Limited research has assessed the links between secure base script knowledge and aspects of adult functioning or the role that secure base script knowledge may play in accounting for associations between early caregiving quality and adulthood functioning. We used follow-up assessments of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development cohort (N = 585) to examine whether secure base script knowledge as measured by the adolescent version of the Attachment Script Assessment at age 18 years: (a) is associated with later romantic relationship quality (assessed via perceived partner’s warmth and hostility), depressive symptoms, and body mass index (BMI) at age 26 years, and (b) mediates expected associations between the quality of maternal and paternal sensitivity across the first 15 years of life and age-26 outcomes. More access to and elaborated knowledge of the secure base script predicted less extreme hostility with romantic partners, and better emotional and physical health (i.e., fewer depressive symptoms and lower BMI). Moreover, secure base script knowledge mediated links between early maternal and paternal sensitivity and both later romantic partner hostility and depressive symptoms, but not BMI.

Reactive Attachment Disorder Symptoms and Prosocial Behavior in Middle Childhood: The Role of Secure Base Script Knowledge

10.21203/rs.3.rs-31642/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Bien Cuyvers ◽

Eleonore Vervoort ◽

Guy Bosmans

Keyword(s):

Behavior Problems ◽

Prosocial Behavior ◽

Primary Caregivers ◽

Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽

Secure Base ◽

Attachment Representations ◽

Attachment Disorder ◽

Secure Base Script ◽

Reactive Attachment

Abstract Background: Children with attachment disorder show prosocial behavior problems. Children with a reactive attachment disorder show inhibited and emotionally withdrawn behavior. Consequently, these children typically display prosocial behavior problems. However, the underlying mechanism between reactive attachment disorder and prosocial behavior problems is still unclear and findings in literature are mixed. Methods : The current study investigated the role of children’s attachment representations in this association. Attachment representations reflect knowledge about a cognitive script regarding the attachment figure as a source for support (Secure Base Script). We tested whether secure base script knowledge 1) mediates or 2) moderates the link between reactive attachment disorder and prosocial behavior problems in 83 children (6-11 years; 83.1% boys) recruited from special education schools for children with behavioral problems. Children completed a pictorial Secure Base Script Test. Their reactive attachment disorder symptoms were assessed during an interview with the primary caregivers. Primary caregivers and teachers filled out a prosocial behavior questionnaire about the child. Results : Results did not support the mediation hypothesis, but evidence for the moderation hypothesis was found. Secure base script knowledge attenuated the negative association between attachment disorder symptoms and prosocial behavior. Conclusions : These findings contribute to the discussion about the link between attachment representations and attachment disorders.

Childhood abuse and neglect are prospectively associated with scripted attachment representations in young adulthood

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579420000528 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Marissa D. Nivison ◽

Christopher R. Facompré ◽

K. Lee Raby ◽

Jeffry A. Simpson ◽

Glenn I. Roisman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Childhood Abuse ◽

Young Adulthood ◽

Middle Childhood ◽

Maternal Sensitivity ◽

Adult Attachment Interview ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Secure Base ◽

Attachment Representations ◽

Published Evidence ◽

Secure Base Script

Abstract Waters, Ruiz, and Roisman (2017) recently published evidence based on the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA) that sensitive caregiving during childhood is associated with higher levels of secure base script knowledge during the Adult Attachment Interview (AAIsbs). At present, however, little is known about the role of variation in atypical caregiving, including abuse and/or neglect, in explaining individual differences in AAIsbs. This study revisited data from the MLSRA (N = 157) to examine the association between experiencing abuse and/or neglect in the first 17.5 years of life and secure base script knowledge measured at ages 19 and 26 years. Several aspects of abuse and/or neglect experiences were assessed, including perpetrator identity, timing, and type. Regressions revealed that childhood abuse and/or neglect was robustly associated with lower AAIsbs scores in young adulthood, above and beyond previously documented associations with maternal sensitivity and demographic covariates. Follow-up analyses provided evidence that the predictive significance of abuse for secure base script knowledge was specific to perpetration by parental figures, rather than non-caregivers. Exploratory analyses indicated that abuse and/or neglect: (a) in middle childhood and adolescence (but not infancy and early childhood) and (b) physical abuse (but not sexual abuse or neglect) were uniquely associated with lower AAIsbs scores.