Parental stress, coping, and attachment in families with an 18-month-old infant

Abstract

Competing data exist regarding the influence of child care arrangements on infant social development. Yet, a large amount of within-group variability for both nonmaternally cared for infants and infants cared for in their homes by their mothers has been found with regard to such social developmental outcomes as attachment. The present study assessed coping as a mediator in the relationship between parenting stress and attachment for 32 families consisting of a mother, father, and their 18-month-old infant. The Attachment Q-Set, Parenting Stress Index, and Ways of Coping were administered. Parenting stress was significantly associated with insecure attachment to mothers and fathers. It was indicated that psychological separation (due to stress) more than actual physical separation (due to child care arrangements) may be a salient variable in considering the impact of child care on the relationship between infants and their parents. Positive reappraisal, as a coping strategy, was related to substantial reductions in the associations between parenting stress and attachment security. Although the results are not causal, implications for prevention efforts were suggested based on the coping strategies that were adaptive in mediating parenting stress versus those that were not.