Early Attachment to Mothers and Fathers: Contributions to Preschoolers' Emotional Regulation.

Carla Fernandes,Brian E Vaughn,Marilia Fernandes,Lígia Monteiro,Manuela Verissimo,Marta Antunes,António J Santos

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.660866

Abstract

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.

Highlights

Developmental scientists have long recognized that emotion regulation (ER) is a critical influence on development and competent functioning in childhood (Cole et al, 1994; Saarni, 1999)
No significant differences between boys and girls were found for either mother– child (MS) or father–child attachment security, neither for emotion regulation (ER)
This study was designed to explore the potential influences of both parent–child attachments assessed early in the preschool period on ER observed in peer groups, at the end of preschool

Summary

Introduction

Developmental scientists have long recognized that emotion regulation (ER) is a critical influence on development and competent functioning in childhood (Cole et al, 1994; Saarni, 1999). Self-regulation processes do not occur in a vacuum, and early relational experiences are thought to shape and guide these processes during childhood (e.g., Goldberg, 2000; Birmingham et al, 2017). No study examining the association between both parent-child attachments and emotional regulation has focused on preschool years. The present study aims to contribute to bridging this gap by analyzing the independent and joint contributions of early relational experiences with both mothers and fathers at the beginning of the pre-school years (age 3) to children’s emotional regulation at the end of this period (age 5)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion