Abstract
Parenting styles vary in levels of both warmth and control, with evidence that type of parenting behavior is linked with social-emotional and other developmental outcomes for children. There are well-established associations between adult attachment and parenting styles. Given emerging evidence that people with different attachment patterns vary in how they receive and modulate sensory information, there are potential implications for parenting which have rarely received research attention. This cross-sectional study investigates the links between parenting style and parental sensory sensitivity, and the possible mediating role of parental sensory sensitivity in the relationship between adult attachment and parenting styles. A convenience sample of 155 parents of children aged 4–12 years old completed an online survey measuring: adult attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships-Modified 16-item Scale), sensory sensitivity (Highly Sensitive Persons Scale-Shortened Version), and parenting styles (Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire). Correlation, regression and mediation analyses were conducted. Analyses revealed that parents who reported more attachment insecurity also reported higher levels of parental sensory sensitivity, and more authoritarian and/or permissive (non-optimal) parenting styles. Parental sensory sensitivity was found to fully mediate the relationship between attachment avoidance and permissive parenting, and to partially mediate the relationship between attachment anxiety and both authoritarian and permissive parenting. This study represents the first quantitative evidence for associations between parental sensory sensitivity and parenting styles, and the mediating effect of parental sensory sensitivity on the known relationship between attachment insecurity and parenting. Awareness of a parent’s level of sensory sensitivity, in addition to his/her attachment style, may assist in developing effective strategies to meet both the parent’s and child’s needs and support the parent-child relationship.
Highlights
Increasing evidence linking warm, responsive and democratic parenting behaviors to positive behavioral and developmental outcomes for primary-school aged children has highlighted the need for improved understanding of parental factors that influence effective parenting behaviors [1,2,3]
Authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were positively correlated with sensory sensitivity and attachment anxiety
Multivariate regression analyses examining the associations between parenting styles, sensory sensitivity and adult attachment, while controlling for demographic variables, were not conducted
Summary
Increasing evidence linking warm, responsive and democratic parenting behaviors to positive behavioral and developmental outcomes for primary-school aged children has highlighted the need for improved understanding of parental factors that influence effective parenting behaviors [1,2,3]. It is well established that adult attachment patterns are key determinants of parenting behaviors (for a review, see [4]), and emerging evidence reveals that different attachment patterns vary in how they receive and modulate sensory information [5,6,7,8]. With recent increases in evidence for sensory-informed interventions [13, 14], gaining an improved understanding of these relationships may highlight interventions to promote more effective coping strategies and parenting behaviors, potentially leading to more positive outcomes for children in the short and longer term. Each of these factors will be discussed below
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