Abstract
The activation relationship refers to the emotional bond a child develops with a parent that helps ensure the regulation of risk-taking during child exploration of the surrounding environment. As a complement to Bowlby’s attachment theory, activation relationship theory provides a greater understanding of the impact of fathering on child development, focusing primarily on parental stimulation of risk-taking and control during child exploration. The overarching objective of this article is to better understand the association between children’s relationship quality with both parents, via the activation to father and the attachment to mother relationships, and child externalizing behaviors in a clinical sample. Fifty two-parent families (40 boys and 10 girls) were recruited at random from a population of children receiving treatment at the perinatal and early childhood psychiatry clinic. Results with 44 children (with complete cases) showed that overactivated preschoolers displayed more externalizing behaviors than did children with either an activated or an under-activated relationship with their father. Results also showed that children with a disorganized-controlling caregiving attachment to their mother marginally presented with higher levels of externalizing behavior.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilExternalizing behavior is a form of behavior that encompasses physical aggression, defiance, angry outbursts, hyperactivity and inattention
Our results confirm the hypothesis of an association between father–child overactivation and externalizing behaviors in preschoolers, at least in this clinical sample composed essentially of boys referred to a child psychiatry clinic primarily for externalizing behaviors
Boys generally have a higher externalizing behavior mean score than girls [38], no significant difference can be noted in our clinical sample
Summary
Externalizing behavior is a form of behavior that encompasses physical aggression, defiance, angry outbursts, hyperactivity and inattention This construct is observable in infants from the age of eight months onwards and is remarkably stable over time [1]. Using a clinical sample of preschoolers, the overarching objective of this article is to better understand whether children’s relationship quality with both parents, via the activation to father and the attachment to mother relationships, is associated with child externalizing behaviors. Both the attachment and activation relationship theories are rooted in an evolutionary perspective.
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