Disrupted maternal communication and disorganized attachment in the Arab society in Israel.

Abstract

Disrupted maternal communication during mother-infant interaction has been found to be associated with infants' disorganized attachment, but has been studied primarily in North American and European samples and not in Arab samples. To address this gap the study examined the association between disrupted maternal communication and infant attachment in a sample of 50 Arab mothers and their one-year-old infants in Israel. Attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), and disrupted communication with the AMBIANCE. Disrupted communication was higher in mothers of infants with disorganized and ambivalent attachment than in mothers of securely attached infants. The findings support the link between disrupted communication and disorganized attachment in the Arab society in Israel and add to our understanding of maternal behavior associated with ambivalent attachment.