Child Attachment Relationship Research Articles

Child and Teacher Attachment Relationship

The attachment relationship between children and teachers consists of three types of relationships, namely secure attachment relationships, insecure attachment relationships, and ambivalent or insecure resistant attachment relationships. In forming a good bond with children, teachers must have a secure attachment with children. Attachment or attachment is a relationship between two people who have a strong relationship and a good emotional bond. A secure attachment between children and teachers will have a positive impact on children until children become adults.

Destructive interparental conflict affects Chinese children's emotional and behavioral problems: Indirect pathways via parent-child attachment and emotional insecurity.

Previous studies have demonstrated that destructive interparental conflict (IPC) is closely related to the emergence of emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents. In addition, in the family system, such conflict also affects the patent-child attachment relationship and emotional insecurity of adolescents. This study mainly explores the relationship between destructive interparental conflict and adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems, focuses on the role of parent-child attachment and emotional insecurity, and analyzes whether this relationality plays multiple mediating roles in the influence of destructive interparental conflict on emotional and behavioral problems. Data for the study were obtained through a questionnaire survey conducted on 524 Chinese adolescents from primary and junior high school. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test direct and indirect pathways between destructive interparental conflict and Chinese adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems. Destructive IPC negatively predicted parent-child attachment and parent-child attachment negatively predicted emotional and behavioral problems. Destructive Interparental conflict positively predicted emotional insecurity and emotional insecurity positively predicted emotional and behavioral problems. The results show that: (1) Parent-child attachment negatively predicted emotional and behavioral problems, and emotional insecurity positively predicted the same. (2) Parent-child attachment and emotional insecurity act in a multiple mediating role between destructive IPC and adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems. (3) Parent-child attachment and emotional insecurity constitute two indirect pathways between destructive IPC and adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems, respectively. Destructive IPC can adversely affect emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents; destructive IPC plays a damaging role in their emotional security and parent-child attachment, consequently effecting emotional and behavioral problems.

‘I feel … I need to defend myself’: Exploring the influence of social worker’s attachment history on the social worker-client relationship

This paper offers a qualitative exploration of the influence of attachment patterns on individual social worker-client relationships. An attachment theory-informed IPA methodology is employed to gain insight into the experiences of three practicing social workers. The Adult Attachment Interview and Meaning of the Client interview (adapted version of the Meaning of the Child Interview) are used alongside Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, triangulating findings and common themes. We found evidence of specific childhood experiences and dangers replayed in interactions with their client, albeit in an individualised and context-dependent rather than uniform way. Also, the dangers inherent in the institutional context of child protection work can intensify tensions from workers’ past history, resulting in a more defensive and self-protective approach than might have been expected from considering the professional’s childhood attachment relationships alone. Therefore, expectations of the professional-client relationships in this context should be realistic on what can be achieved, focussing less on transformation and ‘certainty’, and more on increasing awareness and capacity to tolerate difficult feelings arising from past history that may be elicited in the professional-client relationship.

The Impact of Parent-Child Attachment on School Adjustment in Left-behind Children Due to Transnational Parenting: The Mediating Role of Peer Relationships.

In China’s eastern coastal areas, the transnational parenting of left-behind children creates a distinct form of left-behind child. Previous research has indicated that children who have been left behind have a low degree of school adjustment. The major purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of parent–child attachment on school adjustment in children left behind by migrant parents, as well as the mediating role of peer relationships in this process. The parent–child attachment section of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), the Adaptation subscale of the Adolescent Mental Health Quality Questionnaire—Chinese Version (AMHQQ-C), and the Student Peer Relationship Scale (SPRC) were used to survey 405 left-behind children in grades 3–6 of seven elementary schools in the hometowns of overseas Chinese parents from Zhejiang Province. It was discovered that, compared to non-left-behind children, left-behind children showed lower levels of parent–child attachment and school adjustment, while peer relationships appeared polarized. In addition, parent–child attachment and peer relationships considerably predicted the level of school adjustment in children left behind due to transnational parenting. More importantly, the mediation analysis revealed a partial mediating effect of peer relationships on the linkages between parent–child attachment and school adjustment among children who were left behind in transnational foster care.

Piloting the Circle of Security Parenting group with parents of children with a learning disability: An exploratory case study

AbstractBackgroundThe Circle of Security Parenting programme is a manualised parenting intervention that aims to enhance secure attachment and improve relationships between children and their caregivers. It is gaining global popularity and acquiring emerging support. Researchers are increasingly interested in its effectiveness in enhancing parent–child attachment, improving parent psychological flexibility and reducing parental stress. However, research to date has predominantly focused on parents of typically developing children, despite the Circle of Security Parenting intervention being used as a parenting programme in specialist services for children with learning disabilities. There is, however, no clear evidence that this programme meets the diverse needs of parents who encounter additional challenges that may impact on the development of secure parent–child attachment relationships. This case study aims to pilot a seven‐session Circle of Security Parenting programme for parents of children with learning disabilities.MethodsFour participants completed pre‐ and post‐intervention outcome measures specified by Circle of Security Parenting, including: the Parental Stress Scale, Parental Acceptance Questionnaire, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II and the Caregiver Helplessness Questionnaire.FindingsQuantitative results are mixed, and did not demonstrate the improvements in parental stress or psychological flexibility that might be expected. Qualitative accounts of participants' experiences offer potential explanations for the findings that may be unique to parents of children with learning disabilities.ConclusionThis paper recognises that further research is needed to identify evidence‐based programmes that meet the needs of this population.

The contributions of maternal oxytocin and maternal sensitivity to infant attachment security

ABSTRACT This study investigated links between maternal postnatal oxytocin, maternal sensitivity, and infant attachment security. At 3-months postpartum, participants (n=88) took part in a structured parent-infant interaction. Maternal oxytocin levels were assessed via blood, before and after the interaction. At 12-months postpartum, mother-child dyads completed the Strange Situation Procedure. Neither baseline oxytocin, oxytocin response, or maternal sensitivity were identified as significant independent predictors of infant attachment security or organisation. However, an interaction effect was identified, with higher maternal sensitivity being associated with secure infant attachment for mothers who showed an increase in oxytocin during parent–child interaction. Results indicate that maternal sensitivity, when accompanied by an increase in maternal oxytocin during parent–child interaction, is associated with the establishment of a positive early parent–child attachment relationship. This adds to the growing body of evidence highlighting maternal oxytocin response as a key adaptive process in the postpartum period.

Komplexe Traumafolgestörungen als Bindungsstörungen – (k)ein Thema der Systemischen Therapie?

The new ICD-11 will include the disorder «complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD)». This new disorder describes the more complex symptoms that are typical of individuals that have been exposed to chronic trauma – usually in the context of attachment relationships in childhood. The article reviews the history of this new diagnosis, its theoretical and empirical foundations, and describes guidelines of the clinical work with patients suffering from complex PTSD. It is discussed how this concept relates to the theoretical foundations and clinical practice of systemic psychotherapy

The Child Attachment Relationship Guide: Informing Child Protection and Fostering Social Work

ABSTRACT This article presents the novel Child Attachment Relationship (CAR) Guide for social workers in child protection and fostering. The Guide was created to promote social workers’ understandings of children’s attachment relationship and to identify the means through which those understandings might be enhanced towards their practice. The research and literature highlight a deficit in practical guidance intended to orient social workers towards attachment relationships. The guide uniquely encompasses six evidence-based dimensions intended to facilitate a deeper understanding of children’s attachment relationships. It was developed using central concepts in Attachment Theory, the key theory used in social work for explaining the child–parent relationship. The guide integrates attachment theories and approaches that are accessible, necessary, and applicable to all social workers working with children and families. The Guide was introduced to social workers in a 2-day workshop. The focus of this article is first to present the CAR Guide itself, and second to outline and assess social workers’ experiences of using the CAR Guide in their practice with children and caregivers.

Absence of Biological Mothers in Infancy in Children and Adolescents on Diagnosis of Mental Disorders at Ikeswar Outpatient Clinic, Prof. Dr. Soerojo Mental Hospital, Magelang

Introduction. Globally, psychopathological problems in children and adolescents will become one of five problems that cause disability, morbidity, and even mortality in the next 20 years. The quality of a child's early attachment relationship is closely related to future brain and personality development. Attachment disorders are associated with the development of psychopathology in childhood and adulthood. This study aims to describe mental disorders in children and adolescents due to mothers who leave their children in infancy on Java, especially around Magelang.
 Methods. The type of this research is cross-sectional, namely descriptive research. The sample in this study were all patients and their parents/guardians who came for a consultation to the Ikeswar Polyclinic, Mental Hospital Prof. Dr.Soerojo Mental Hospital started on February 18, 2019. The examination uses the mental status determined and guided by PPDGJ III (Guidelines for Classifying the Diagnosis of Mental Disorders).
 Results. Most of the research respondents was male, both in children with excellent or poor attachment. As much as 26.1% in the group with suitable attachment. The age of most respondents is ten years old. The fourth axis diagnosis regarding psychosocial and environmental problems that most respondents experienced was primary support group (family) problems
 Conclusion. The attachment of the biological mother to the child at the age of fewer than two years is essential for the emotional mentality of the child at the age afterward and there is no visible picture of the difference in diagnosing mental disorders in children with suitable attachment and poor attachment.

Parent-Child Attachment and Romantic Relationship among Young Adults in Malaysia

The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between Parent- Child Attachment on Romantic Relationship among Young Adults in Malaysia. In the present study, researcher established the correlation between the two variables which are Parent-child attachment and romantic relationship. Total of 100 participants (36= Male; 64: Female) participated in this study. Two (2) instruments have been used to measure the variables; Armsden and Greenberg’s Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) and Experiences in Close Relationships scale (ECR). Results indicated that there was a positive moderate significant relationship between parent child attachment and romantic relationship among young adults in Malaysia (r=.322, p<0.01). As a recommendation, a semi-structured interview can be administered to investigate the nature of attachment relationships in adult partnerships.

Talking with parents of children with learning disabilities: Parents’ ideas about the Circle of Security parenting programme

Accessible Summary The Circle of Security Parenting (COS‐P) programme can be helpful for some parents of children with learning disabilities to think about their relationship with their child. Parenting a child with learning disabilities is different, and COS‐P can highlight this difference. This can feel painful for parents and may stop them engaging with the programme. AbstractBackgroundBackground: The promotion of secure attachment relationships in childhood leads to better outcomes in later life (British Psychological Society 2017, Incorporating Attachment Theory into Practice: Clinical Practice Guideline for Clinical Psychologists Working with People who have Intellectual Disabilities). The Circle of Security Parenting Programme (COS‐P) provides a clear framework for reflecting on attachment relationships (Cooper et al 2009, Zero to Three, 37, 27).MethodsMethods: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with parents of children with learning disabilities who attended a COS‐P programme to find out about their experiences of the course and how applicable it was to them. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.FindingsFindings: Four key themes were identified: these related to (1) COS‐P concepts are relevant to all children but (2) parenting a child with a learning disability is different and (3) COS‐P can create a focus on their child as different, which can be painful, and (4) changes recommended to make COS‐P suitable for parents of children with learning disabilities.ConclusionsConclusions: This paper outlines the benefits and challenges of COS‐P in sharing concepts related to attachment, whilst highlighting differences for parents of children and young people with learning disabilities, which can be painful.

Validation and cross-cultural comparisons of the German Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS)

ABSTRACT Background: Child maltreatment is embedded in a complex system of familial, societal and cultural influences. However, the microsystemic framework in which child maltreatment occurs has not been sufficiently accounted for in previous measures of trauma history. In order to include this relational context, a novel survey method, the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS), was developed, focusing specifically on the familial environment and childhood attachment relationships. Prior validation studies of the English and Italian versions of the CARTS have tended to support its use. Objective: The current study aims at evaluating the psychometric properties of the German version of the CARTS as well as conducting cross-cultural comparison analyses. It is part of an international research project of the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress which was initiated by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). Method: The sample consisted of n = 140 participants from the German general population aged 18 or older. Further trauma specific measures (GPS, BSI-18, CTQ-SF, ECR-R, PBI) were included for validation. Cross-cultural comparisons were conducted with a German subsample of students in reference to Italian- and English-speaking student samples. Results: Most CARTS subscales showed acceptable internal consistency. Statistically significant relationships were observed with other measures of childhood trauma exposure and parental bonding, as well as PTSD- and other distress-related outcomes. Comparing the German-speaking sample with Italian- and English-speaking samples indicated significant differences with regard to childhood attachment and child maltreatment. Conclusion: The present findings are consistent with previous results concerning the CARTS and advance the validation of this novel survey method within German-speaking samples. Further, the CARTS appears to be sensitive to cross-sample differences in childhood attachment and child maltreatment. Further psychometric evaluations of the CARTS in other languages and within further German-speaking samples are needed.

Mediating role of depressive symptoms linking insecure attachment and disordered eating in adolescents: A multiwave longitudinal study.

Research has supported a link between insecure attachment and disordered eating in adolescents; however, how this influence is exerted remains unclear. This study explored whether depressive symptoms constitute a pathway through which insecure attachment to parents predicts subsequent development of disordered eating in the transition from childhood to adolescence. The study also examines whether there are differential effects regarding the attachment figure, child's gender, or reciprocity between variables. A community-based sample of Spanish youth (n = 904; 49.4% girls) was followed biennially from age 10 to 16 years. Attachment, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating were measured using the Inventory of Parental and Peer Attachment, Children's Depression Inventory, and Children's Eating Attitudes Test, respectively. Prospective data were analyzed using a dynamic panel model, which accounts for unmeasured time-invariant factors. Whereas insecure attachment to the father did not predict later depression or disordered eating, higher insecure attachment to the mother at ages 10 and 12 years predicted more disordered eating at ages 14 and 16 years via increased depressive symptoms at ages 12 and 14 years. No child's gender-specific or reverse mediational effects were found. This study suggests that an increase in depressive symptoms might be one mechanism by which insecure attachment exerts its influence on the development of eating disorders symptomatology in adolescence. Intervention efforts aimed at strengthening particularly the mother-child attachment relationship may reduce the vulnerability to develop depressive symptoms and disordered eating.

Attachment as a Moderator in the Relation Between Child Maltreatment and Symptoms of Depression.

Experiencing child maltreatment is a risk factor for later psychopathology; however, not all survivors of child maltreatment go on to develop mental health diagnoses. There are likely important risk factors that act as moderators interacting with child maltreatment to contribute to the development of psychopathology. The present study examined the attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance as potential moderators in the association between child maltreatment and depressive symptomatology in a sample of college students. An attachment style high in anxiety or avoidance was expected to exacerbate the effect of child maltreatment on depressive symptomatology across both primary and secondary caregiver attachment relationships. This study was conducted at a private university in the northeastern United States in a sample of college students (N = 203; 52% male; Mage = 19.85, SDage = 2.19). Participants completed online measures of attachment, current mood symptoms, and demographic information. Two moderation models were tested, one for attachment to primary caregivers and one for attachment to secondary caregivers. Anxious attachment to primary caregivers moderated the relationship between child maltreatment and depressive symptoms (B = -0.16, p < .01, R2 =.44). However, moderation was not significant in the secondary caregiver attachment relationship. Maladaptive attachment styles, as well as child maltreatment itself, may result in disruptions in the development of positive internal working models of the self and others and adaptive emotion regulation. In cases of child maltreatment, interventions focused on the parent-child attachment relationship may have long-lasting effects and implications for the child's future mental health. This research highlights important areas of intervention in cases of child maltreatment as well as important differences in the anxiety and avoidance dimensions of attachment.

Narrative review of interventions suitable for well-baby clinics to promote infant attachment security and parents' sensitivity.

The aim of this narrative review was to evaluate the evidence for interventions for children's secure attachment relationships and parents' caregiving sensitivity that could potentially be implemented in the context of a well-baby clinic. Literature search on programmes for parental caregiving sensitivity and secure attachment for infants aged 0-24months. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published 1995-2018 with interventions starting from one week postpartum, and with a maximum of 12 sessions (plus potential booster session) were included. We identified 25 studies, of which 22 studied effects of home-based programmes using video feedback techniques. Positive effects of these interventions in families at risk were found on parental caregiving sensitivity and to a lesser extent also on children's secure or disorganised attachment. The effects of two of these programmes were supported by several RCTs. Three intervention studies based on group and individual psychotherapy showed no significant positive effects. Most of the interventions targeted mothers only. The review found some evidence for positive effects of selective interventions with video feedback techniques for children's secure attachment and strong evidence for positive effects on parental caregiving sensitivity. Important knowledge gaps were identified for universal interventions and interventions for fathers and parents with a non-Western background.

Early father–child and mother–child attachment relationships: contributions to preschoolers’ social competence

ABSTRACT The main goal of this study was to explore the contributions of early father–child and mother–child attachment relationships to children’s later social competence with their preschool peers; possible unique and shared contributions were tested. Using a multi-method design and focusing on direct observation, attachment was assessed at home at age 3 with the Attachment Behavior Q-sort (AQS) and two years later social competence was assessed at classrooms of 5-year-olds using a set of seven measurement indicators that are part of the Hierarchical Model of Social Competence. Results show that attachment to each parent made unique and significant contributions to children’s social competence and suggested the possibility that each caregiver may have somewhat different patterns of influence on the different indicators of children’s social competence. Findings also suggest the possibility that a secure attachment with one parent may buffer the impact of having an insecure relationship with the other. Due to sample size, these results should be seen as a starting point to generate new and larger studies.

Young children’s perspectives on their social interactions within early childhood settings

ABSTRACT This paper presents findings from mixed-method research exploring 3–5-year-old children’s social interaction experiences while attending one of three different early childhood settings: a therapeutic family support program; a supported playgroup; or a preschool. Thematic analysis of child interviews revealed differences in how children experienced peers, parents and staff depending on the setting, potentially reflecting differences in the composition and goals of the programs and the quality of the children’s peer interactions. Quantitative results suggested preschool children were more advanced in their social development than family support program and supported playgroup children. The parent–child attachment relationship, opportunities to practise appropriate social skills, language ability, and staff qualifications may also be influencing factors in child experiences of peer interaction. This research contributes to literature on how young children experience service environments and the need to respect children as important stakeholders whose perspectives can inform and support the programs they attend.

Investigating Attachment Status Effects on Preschoolers’ Empathic Perspective-Taking

Attachment theory emphasizes that parents’ responses to children’s emotional distress might shape their ability to empathize with others. Previous research showed that securely attached preschoolers are prone to exhibiting more empathy towards others’ distress compared to insecurely attached children, but less is known about the way attachment influences a particular empathy-related skill, namely perspective-taking. The current study’s aim was to evaluate attachment status effects on preschool children’s empathic perspective-taking employing a multi-component conceptualization including affective, cognitive and behavioral perspective-taking. The sample included 212 children aged between 3 and 5. The attachment story completion task was employed to assess children’s internal working models concerning the quality of the parent–child attachment relationship. Additionally, a modified version of the Kid’s Empathic Development Scale was administered to evaluate children’s self-reported affective, cognitive and behavioral empathic perspective-taking. The results consistently revealed that the insecure avoidant group, but not the insecure ambivalent group, scored significantly lower on all dimensions of empathic perspective-taking compared to the secure category. These findings suggest that in typically developing preschoolers, insecure avoidant attachment patterns might be associated with overall difficulties in perspective-taking abilities, whereas insecure ambivalent attachment patterns could be responsible for more specific perspective-taking difficulties related to eliciting prosocial behaviors (i.e., behavioral perspective-taking). These findings could have implications for designing interventions aimed at enhancing parents’ ability to support the development of their children’s empathic perspective-taking skills.

VIII. CONCLUSION: CO-CONSTRUCTING A SECURE BASE PARTNERSHIP: MOTHER-CHILD INTERACTIONS, COMMUNICATION, AND SCRIPT REPRESENTATIONS.

Using the secure base construct, the evidence presented indicates that interactional experience continues to be a central factor in the organization of mother-child attachment relationships. The parent-child codetermination process that establishes their relationship in infancy expands during the preschool years. Furthermore, with the increasingly relevant role of language, parent-child verbal communication during this time plays an important part in structuring children's attachment behavior and knowledge. Parents help their children construe attachment-related information, control and regulate emotional experience, and guide behavior during attachment-related experiences. That is, during early childhood, parent and child continue the process of constructing a secure base partnership through their gradually more complex interactions that take advantage of children's behavioral, emotional, representational, and language advances. Although the studies are interrelated and contribute to a coherent understanding of attachment relationships during this time period, they represent small-scale studies. Further, some of the effect sizes presented are small. Thus, future research should include tests of replication as well as explorations of links to early and later development and parallel findings in more diverse samples.

An Integrative EMDR and Family Therapy Model for Treating Attachment Trauma in Children: A Case Series

This case series study investigated the effectiveness of an integrative eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and family therapy model, specifically the Integrative Attachment Trauma Protocol for Children (IATP-C), for improving traumatic stress, attachment relationships, and behaviors in children with a history of attachment trauma; specifically, adopted children with a history of maltreatment and foster or orphanage care. Of the 23 child participants, one family dropped out at 6 months, and 22 completed treatment in 6–24 months. Mean treatment length was 12.7 months. Statistical analysis demonstrated significant improvement in scores on children's traumatic stress symptoms, behaviors, and attachment relationships by the end of treatment. Statistical analysis of secondary measures showed significant improvement in mothers' scores related to symptomology and attitudes toward their child. Gains were maintained for the 15 families who complied with completion and returning of follow-up measures. Limitations of the study include the lack of a control group and small sample size. Future directions include controlled efficacy studies with larger sample sizes as well as exploration of application of the model to a similar population of children in other cultures and to children who are not residing in permanent placements.