Child Attachment Security Research Articles

The attachment antecedents of shame: mothers’ representations of the shamed self

This study was designed to explore the intergenerational roots of shame in the context of attachment. The sample comprised sixty-nine mothers with four- and five-year-old children (54 girls, M = 58 months) drawn from a study of parenting risk. The mothers (age range 25–48) were culturally diverse, educated, partnered, and middle to upper-middle class. Mothers completed the Adult Attachment Projective (AAP) (George & West, 2012) and children completed the Attachment Doll Play Assessment (ADPA) (Solomon et al., 1995). The dyad was also videotaped interacting with a realistic baby doll and maternal behaviour was rated using Britner et al.’s (2005) maternal scales. The authors developed a coding system to capture three shame-related variables from mothers’ narratives of parent–child conflict in response to one of the AAP stimuli (Child in Corner): 1) evidence of shame; 2) parental socialisation actions; and 3) parental efforts to regulate the child’s shame. Results showed that three-quarters of mothers referred to implicit or explicit shame, but socialisation depicting shame was unrelated to child attachment security. Most mothers described harsh socialisation practices and incomplete efforts to repair the child’s shame. Only mothers of securely attached children described socialisation actions to emotionally repair the relationship. The shame measures were partially validated with the maternal parent–child interaction observation rating variables. The utility and limitations of the new measures are discussed in terms of their potential usefulness to research, clinical assessment, and treatment.

Changes in children's attachment security to mother and father after the birth of a sibling: Risk and resilience in the family.

Changes in children's attachment security to mother and father were examined for 230 firstborn children (M = 31.17 months), their mothers and fathers participating in a longitudinal investigation starting in the last trimester of the mothers' pregnancy and 1, 4, 8, and 12 months after the birth of an infant sibling. Both parents completed the Attachment Q-set at prenatal, 4, and 12 months. Growth mixture models revealed four latent classes in which children's attachments were (a) both secure with a modest decline to both parents (68.3%); (b) more secure with father than mother with a steep decline for both (12.6%); (c) both insecure with no change (10%); and (d) more secure with mother than father with a modest increase for both (9.1%). Multi-group latent growth curve analyses revealed that parenting and coparenting differed across families. Children had lower externalizing behavior problems in families with two secure attachments than in families with one secure attachment, either to mother or to father, who, in turn, had fewer problems than children with two insecure attachments. Findings underscore the strengths of a family systems framework to understand attachment relationships with multiple caregivers and the family risks and protective factors that covary with children's behavioral adjustment after the birth of a sibling.

Maternal secure base scripts predict child attachment security in an at-risk sample

Accumulating evidence indicates that individuals possess attachment, or secure base, scripts based on experiences with attachment figures, and these attachment scripts predict important outcomes such as caregiving behaviors and offspring social-emotional adjustment. However, less is known about the association between parents’ secure base scripts and child attachment security within at-risk samples, i.e., those known to be at greater risk for insecurity. The current study examined the relation between maternal secure base script representations and child attachment security by extending the use of the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA; Waters & Rodrigues-Doolabh, 2004) to an at-risk sample. One-hundred mother-child pairs from a larger longitudinal study participated; the larger study focused on psychosocial risks related to parenting in a primarily low-income sample. In the present study, overall ASA script scores were first compared with two independent middle-class samples, one from a U.S. study, the other an international study. Scores and statistical patterns were comparable across all samples, indicating that the ASA was successful in tapping into maternal secure base script knowledge in our at-risk sample. The relation between maternal script scores and children’s Attachment Q-Set (AQS; Waters, 1995) security scores were examined at ages 1 and 2 years. Dependency scores from the AQS were also included to establish discriminant validity for the script scores. Results indicated that maternal script knowledge predicted child security, while showing no relation to dependency scores. Findings indicate that the ASA can be an important and viable measure for assessing attachment representations in at-risk samples of caregivers.

Maternal Reflective Functioning and Attachment Security in Girls and Boys: A Closer Look into the Middle Childhood.

Child attachment undergoes major changes during middle childhood. Maternal reflective functioning (RF) is hypothesized to be an important correlate of a child’s attachment security during this period; however, the child’s gender role in this association has not been examined yet. In the present study, we used 64 mother-child (6–11 years old) dyads from a community sample to analyze the association between maternal RF and child attachment security and whether this link is moderated by gender. Maternal RF was assessed on the Parent Development Interview Revised (PDI-R2) and child attachment classifications were examined by the Child Attachment Interview (CAI). Results revealed the positive and statistically significant association between maternal RF and child attachment security in the whole sample. Further evaluations of this link in the groups of girls and boys separately indicated its significance for girls only. Finally, moderation analysis demonstrated the relation between child attachment security and maternal RF to be moderated by gender. These findings provide a new knowledge on gender role in attachment security in relation to maternal RF as well as suggest possible differentiation in the correlates on the pathway of secure attachment between girls and boys during middle childhood.

The association between maternal sensitivity/availability and attachment in children with autism Spectrum disorder: A systematic review and Meta-analysis.

The association between maternal sensitivity and attachment security has long been established among normative samples. However, less is known about how this association operates among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This meta-analytic review is the first to address the association between maternal sensitivity/availability and attachment security in a population of children with ASD (aged 1 to 7 years) and to explore if this association is moderated by child chronological age, mental age, ASD-related symptoms severity. The objective was also to assess the role of methodological moderators, including the informant of the attachment measure, country and publication year. A systematic search was performed on relevant databases. Seven studies were retained. Meta-analytic results showed a significant medium effect size between maternal sensitivity/availability and attachment security in children with ASD (r = .47; 95% CI: 0.32–.60; p < .001), which is a stronger association than in the general population (r = .24). Moderation analyses did not show any significant effect of child chronological age and publication year on effect sizes. The categorical moderators (e.g., informant, country) could not be tested due to the limited number of studies. More research is needed to better understand the way mothers adapt to their children with autism and identify the nuances regarding how maternal sensitivity/availability relates to child attachment in the context of ASD.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02227-z.

Examining Links Between Infant Parasympathetic Regulation during the Still-Face Paradigm and Later Callous-Unemotional Traits.

Although research suggests that callous-unemotional (CU) traits are underpinned by deficits in social affiliation and reduced sensitivity to threat, there has been little investigation of the biophysiological regulatory mechanisms underlying these processes in infancy. The current study uses data from the Durham Child Health and Development Study (DCHD; n = 206) to examine whether and how the combination of infants' behavioral reactivity and levels of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an indicator of parasympathetic nervous system functioning, during the still-face episode of the still-face paradigm at 6months differentiates risk for CU traits and oppositional defiant behaviors (ODD) at age 3years, as well as whether these relations vary by children's attachment security. Results indicate that reduced negative affect during the still-face episode at 6months predicts higher CU traits (B = -0.28, β = -0.27, p = 0.003) and ODD (B = -0.35, β = -0.24, p = 0.007) at 3years. Results also show that comparatively lower RSA, i.e. engaged parasympathetic system, predicts higher CU traits (B = -0.10, β = -0.34, p = 0.013), but not ODD. Tests of moderation suggest the combination of blunted negative affect but comparatively lower RSA levels during a social stressor constitutes risk for later CU traits for children who are also insecurely attached (simple slope = -0.70, t = 2.88, p = 0.006 at -1 SD). Findings contribute to our understanding of the complex and interactive risk processes which precede the development of CU traits.

Non-verbal and verbal parental mentalization as predictors of infant attachment security: Contributions of parental embodied mentalizing and mind-mindedness and the mediating role of maternal sensitivity

Interest in studying the relative contributions of verbal (e.g., maternal mind-mindedness [MM]) and non-verbal dimensions (i.e., parental embodied mentalizing [PEM]) of parental mentalization to child socio-emotional development is relatively recent. To date, only one study has addressed this issue in relation to child attachment security, suggesting a complementary and unique contribution of each one. The purpose of the present study was to further examine the specific contribution of PEM to infant attachment security by considering MM. In addition, this study aimed to explore the mediating role of maternal sensitivity linking PEM, MM to infant attachment security within 110 mother-infant dyads at moderate psychosocial risk. The two dimensions of parental mentalization (PEM and MM) were assessed on the basis of observations made during a videorecorded sequence of mother-child interactions in a context of free play with and without toys when the infants were 8 months old. The Maternal Behavior Q-Sort was used to measure the mothers’ sensitivity in a natural setting based on observations of daily mother-child interactions, also when the infants were about 8 months old. Attachment security was measured using The Strange Situation Procedure at infant age 16 months. The results showed positive correlations between maternal sensitivity and both verbal and non-verbal measures of parental mentalization. The mediation analyses first revealed that PEM had a significant indirect effect on attachment security, with sensitivity being identified as a mediator in this association. No indirect effect linking MM and attachment security via sensitivity was observed. These results highlight the contribution of PEM to maternal sensitivity and show maternal sensitivity to be a factor that partly explains the influence of PEM on attachment security in children.

Effects of an attachment-based parent intervention on mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder: preliminary findings from a non-randomized controlled trial

BackgroundCaregivers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often experience difficulties in responding appropriately to the needs of those children, who typically express attachment in distinct and nonconventional ways. This highlights the need for an attachment-based approach targeted at caregivers of children with ASD. Circle of Security Parenting (COSP), an attachment-based parenting program, is designed to increase caregivers’ sensitivity to children’s attachment needs. The aim of this study was to provide verification of the effectiveness of COSP in mothers of children with ASD.MethodsThis study was a non-randomized controlled trial. Sixty mothers of children with ASD aged 4–12 were recruited. Twenty mothers received the COSP intervention, while 40 did not. The characteristics of children in the control group were matched with those of the intervention group. To evaluate the outcomes of the intervention, changes in parental self-efficacy and mental health were assessed using the Tool to Measure Parenting Self-Efficacy (TOPSE) and the General Health Questionnaire-30 (GHQ-30). The children’s improvement in emotional and behavioral problems was assessed from the mothers’ perspective using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Both groups completed the assessments in parallel. Evaluations were compared between baseline (T1) and 6-month follow-up (T2).ResultsScores for self-efficacy and mental health of mothers and behavior of children were significantly improved from T1 to T2 in the intervention group, but not in the control group. Participants’ mental health was markedly worsened in the control group.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that the COSP program for mothers of children with ASD improved their parental self-efficacy and mental health, and reduced their subjective sense of difficulties related to their children’s behaviors. Our findings support the effectiveness of the attachment-based program for mothers of children with ASD, providing the groundwork for further studies of the attachment-based intervention for children with ASD and their families. Future studies with larger samples and randomization are also needed for direct evaluation of the improvement of children's attachment security, and for exploration of the synergistic relationship between various family support strategies and COSP.Trial Registration This trial was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trial Registry (No. UMIN000039574)

Predictive Role of Attachment Styles and Personality Traits in Marital Adjustment

In this study, it was aimed to examine the predictive role of attachment styles and personality traits on marital adjustment. 247 married individuals (127 women, 120 men) participated in the study. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory, Five Factor Personality Scale and Personal Information Form prepared by the researcher were used as data collection tools. The obtai-ned data were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient, one-way MANOVA and multiple regression analysis methods. Neuroticism and insecure forms of attachment (anxious and avoidant) were found to be significant predictors of marital adjustment. It was determined that women had a higher level of anxious attachment style. In addition, there was a negative relationship between anxious attachment style and neuroticism and marital adjustment, while a positive significant relationship was found between avoidant attachment style and marital adjustment. The results obtained contribute to a better understanding of the relationships between marital adjustment, attachment and personality traits. Once again, the effect of attachment style on emotional relationship has been revealed. Those working in the field of family and marriage counseling may benefit from these results. While working with couples or married clients, considering their attachment patterns and personality traits can contribute significantly to the therapeutic process. In studies with parents, awareness studies can be conducted on how to develop secure attachment in children.

Reflective functioning and empathy among mothers of school-aged children: Charting the space between.

Parental child-focused reflective functioning (RF)-understanding children's behavior as a function of mental states-and parental empathy-understanding, resonating with, and feeling concern for children's emotions-have each been linked to sensitive caregiving and children's attachment security in separate studies, but they have been neither directly compared nor have researchers tested whether they interact in predicting child outcomes. In this article, we offer theoretical perspectives regarding differences between the constructs, potential points of connection, and ways in which these constructs may function together. Then we test these ideas empirically with 2 samples of mothers of school-age children, exploring their unique and interactive associations with parenting sensitivity, children's attachment security, and children's emotion regulation. In Study 1, mothers (N = 105) watched their children completing a stressor task (i.e., an impossible puzzle); mothers then answered interview questions, from which separate teams coded state-like RF and empathy. In Study 2, mothers (N = 72) completed the Parent Development Interview, coded separately for trait-like parental RF and empathy. Results of the 2 studies converged, revealing moderate positive associations between parental RF and empathy. Further, both RF and empathy were positively associated with specific child outcomes (e.g., attachment security); also, there were unique patterns of association (e.g., parental empathy was uniquely associated with child physiological regulation [neuroendocrine reactivity]) and evidence that critical levels of both are important (e.g., for supportive parenting, accuracy of emotion judgment). Parental RF and empathy might be related to each other and to distinguishable capacities that contribute to attachment and related outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The manifestations and correlates of dissociation amongst looked-after children in middle childhood

ObjectiveTo explore the manifestations and correlates of dissociation amongst a sample of primary school-aged children looked-after children (LAC) in the care of their local authority. MethodsIn part one, the Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Relationship Problems Questionnaire (RPQ) were administered to 91 primary school-aged LAC under the care of Five Rivers (an independent fostering agency). Variables pertaining to participants’ background and placement history were examined in relation to CDC scores. In part two, a subsample of children (n=34) with identified psychosocial difficulties were administered the Story Stems Assessment Procedure (SSAP). Relationships between dissociative symptoms and SSAP constructs were explored using Spearman's correlation and K-means clustering. ResultsPart 1. Forty-one LAC (45%) scored on or above the CDC's clinical threshold suggestive of sustained pathological dissociation. Children who had experienced sexual abuse were more likely than others to display dissociative behaviours, as were children placed alone compared to those placed with a related sibling. Total CDC scores were positively correlated with SDQ total difficulties, and RPQ disinhibited and inhibited subscores. Part 2. Dissociative symptoms were negatively correlated with features of attachment security and positive parent representations in children's narratives. Three clusters were identified in the dataset: two groups showed clinically significant levels of dissociation but differed with respect to their representations. ConclusionsChildren who have suffered maltreatment are at high risk of pathological dissociation, especially those who have experienced sexual abuse. Placing LAC with their siblings may mitigate against dissociative symptoms. Dissociation covaries with psychosocial problems, yet dissociative children are a heterogenous group. High levels of dissociation may be accompanied by the relative absence of positive or negative attachment representations, or by the dominance of negative representations, including features of disorganisation.

Parent–child attachment security is associated with preschoolers’ memory accuracy for emotional life events through sensitive parental reminiscing

There is considerable controversy regarding the accuracy and suggestibility of children’s autobiographical memory for emotionally salient life events. Attachment perspectives of autobiographical memory development identify the attachment security of parent–child dyads and parents’ emotional support and coherence during reminiscing with their children as critical mechanisms underlying children’s memory accuracy and suggestibility. In the current investigation, 72 preschool-aged children (M = 4.01 years, SD = 0.85; 44 female) reminisced with their parents about times they felt happy, sad, scared, and angry. Children were then independently interviewed about these experiences by an unfamiliar researcher using free recall, specific questions (i.e., questions about factual details), and misleading questions (i.e., questions suggesting false details). Parents completed an assessment of their children’s attachment security within the parent–child relationship. Results revealed significant indirect effects of parent–child attachment security on children’s memory accuracy through parental sensitive guidance during reminiscing when cognitive (i.e., intelligence) and behavioral (i.e., temperament, behavior problems) covariates were statistically controlled. Parent–child attachment security was positively associated with parental sensitive guidance during reminiscing, which, in turn, was positively associated with the accuracy of children’s independent reports. The findings support attachment perspectives of autobiographical memory by identifying emotionally sensitive and coherent reminiscing as a parenting behavior that explains in part associations between parent–child attachment security and children’s independent memory accuracy for emotional life events.

Maternal pre- and postnatal substance use and attachment in young children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Maternal substance use has often been associated with insecure and disorganized child attachment. We evaluated this association with a meta-analysis of young children and, further, systematically reviewed mediating and moderating factors between maternal substance use and child attachment. We performed a systematic database search of quantitative English language studies on child attachment that included substance-using mothers and their children below 6 years of age. Eleven studies (N = 1,841) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis of attachment security and seven (N = 1,589) studies were included in the meta-analysis of attachment disorganization. We found that maternal substance use was negatively associated with secure attachment in children, but the effect size was small (r = -.10). The association with disorganized attachment was not significant (r = .15). Related to moderating and mediating factors (k = 6), we found evidence on the role of teratogenic and sociological factors on child attachment. Most importantly, the impact of cumulative risks was vital. However, literature was scarce, and studies varied in risk of bias, leaving many unanswered questions on other potential factors underlying the development of attachment in these high-risk children. We discuss the results considering clinical implications and future directions.

The terrible twos: How children cope with frustration and tantrums and the effect of maternal and paternal behaviors

Experimental Frustration Procedures with 158 children (15-39months) of two-parent families were conducted, with each parent separately involved. We examined diverse characteristics of children's frustration and focused on specific behaviors of how children coped and parents supported them. In addition, external observers measured child attachment security (via Attachment Q Sort) toward the mother and the father during two home visits. Children with high attachment security became frustrated later and for a shorter time, and fathers, as compared to mothers, relieved these frustration patterns and reduced them. Although 22.2% children exhibited intense frustration responses up to tantrums, levels remained unaffected by child gender, but decreased with child age. Time-lag analyses revealed that children's self-comforting behaviors reduced frustration responses only by around 20%, but self-distracting (in younger children) and pretend-playing (in older children) by around 50% and 70%. Of the parent behaviors, demonstrating reduced children's frustration by up to 40% whereas distracting and reframing by around 60% (mothers) and 80% (fathers). In general, mothers tended to protect the child from distress, whereas fathers assisted the child in coping with frustration. However, if mothers soothed and fathers encouraged, children's frustration intensified.

Self‐esteem as a mediator of parental attachment security and social anxiety

AbstractThis study examined the mediating role of self‐esteem on the relationship between parental attachment security and social anxiety in children, separating maternal and paternal attachment. A total of 298 Korean children in 5th and 6th grade participated. Using structural equation modeling, results showed that the research model fit the data well and the mediating effects of self‐esteem were statistically significant. Self‐esteem fully mediated both relationships between maternal and paternal attachment security and social anxiety. This finding suggests the importance of maternal and paternal attachment security and self‐esteem as protective factors against social anxiety in children. Implications for practice and future research directions are discussed.

Attachment security and striatal functional connectivity in typically developing children

Attachment security is formed through interactions with a main caregiver during the first three years of life and reflects inter-individual differences in mental representations for the relationship. The striatum is known to be a key structure to initiate attachment behaviours and maintain attachment relationships as well as to modulate reward-related processing as part of the approach module in current neurobiological models of human attachment. Although findings have suggested critical roles of the striatum in inter-individual differences in attachment, most studies were based on a wide variety of tasks and very few have investigated these associations in intrinsic brain connectivity in typically developing children. In the present study, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the striatal functional connectivity according to children’s attachment security in 68 nine-year-olds (Secure attachment = 39, Insecure attachment = 29, mean age/SD = 9.62/0.69). Children with secure attachment demonstrated increased functional connectivity in the tempro-limbic region, compared to children with insecure attachment. In addition, the child-reported attachment security scores were negatively associated with the caudate-prefrontal connectivity, but positively with the putamen-visual area connectivity. These data demonstrate that inter-individual differences in attachment can be captured in striatal functional connectivity organization in the typical brain.

Attachment-based intervention improves Japanese parent-child relationship quality: A pilot study

As attachment-based interventions are widely practiced in the community, more evidence of intervention effect is necessary and there are few studies in non-Western contexts. This pilot study aimed to test the effectiveness of the attachment-based intervention, the Circle of Security Parenting (COSP) program, in an urban community in Japan. A one-group pretest, post-test, follow-up design was used. Twenty-six mothers with 1- to 6-years-old children attended group intervention sessions that consisted of COSP and additional individual video review sessions. The assessments were conducted four times for each participant: before COSP, after COSP, after the first phase of video review sessions, and 6-months after the intervention. COSP was effective in reducing parenting stress in the child domain, and the additional video reviews improved the quality of child attachment over time, as the number of children classified as secure increased at 6 months after the intervention. Mothers’ attachment representations and mothers’ stress in the parent domain did not change over time. The current pilot study provides the groundwork for further tests of the effectiveness of attachment-based interventions in Japan and other non-Western countries. Future studies with larger samples, control group, and randomization are needed including the addition of follow-up assessments to capture sleeper effects in the improvement of child attachment security, as well as the use of dimensions to capture subtle changes in attachment quality in the shorter term.

Връзката между родителската рефлексивна функция, привързаността и развитието на психопатология при децата

This article presents a theoretical overview of the relationship between parental reflective function, attachment style and the development of child psychopathology. The concept of parental reflective function was developed by Peter Fonaghi and his colleagues. Reflexive functioning is defined as the ability to imagine our mental states, emotions and desires, as well as those of others. The ability to interpret and integrate past relational experience is seen as a high capacity for parental reflection. Central constructs in the theory of attachment are: the sensitive response of the mother, the internal working models and representations, the quality of attachment and the sense of security. In the process of developing attachment, the child builds Internal working models, which are formed on the basis of real relationships and participate in building representations of relationships. Arieta Slade and her colleagues believe that higher levels of reflective functioning are associated with secure attachment in children and conversely lower levels of reflective functioning are associated with insecure attachment in children, such as mothers of children who resist and are disorganized, they have the lowest levels of reflective functioning. Low levels of reflective functioning allow the baby's adaptive mechanisms to be distorted and to develop the pathological ways of interaction with the parent.

Commentary on Guild et al. (2020): The Importance of Well-Designed Intervention Studies for Advancing Attachment Theory and its Clinical Applications.

Guild and colleagues (this issue) report results of a long-term follow up after a randomized trial of the effectiveness of an attachment-theory-informed psychotherapeutic intervention for mothers with depression and their toddlers. Their paper shows the intervention can increase the likelihood of secure attachment in children of depressed mothers and that secure attachment explains more optimal social-emotional functioning in middle childhood in the treated group. This commentary discusses the contribution of the paper by Guild and colleagues and their broader body of work to our evolving understanding of developmental processes underpinning social-emotional competence in children of depressed parents, and to several ongoing controversies in the field: 1) the relevance of attachment-theory-informed interventions in the context of maternal depression; 2) the evidence gap regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of attachment-theory-informed interventions, particularly with respect to sustained benefits; 3) cost-benefits of early interventions; and 4) the need for theory driven research that explains how and under what circumstances attachment is related to later child outcomes.

Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Preschoolers’ Helping, Sharing, and Comforting: The Moderating Role of Child Attachment

ABSTRACT Maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) are inconsistently associated with lower rates of child prosocial behavior. Studies typically examine prosocial behavior as a unitary construct rather than examining its multiple dimensions, and rarely consider how the quality of the parent-child relationship could influence this association. Objective: The current study examines whether the security of the parent-child attachment relationship moderates the association between MDS and children’s helping, sharing, and comforting behaviors. Method: Participants were 164 low-income, majority African American mothers and their preschool-aged children recruited from Head Start centers. Mothers reported the frequency of depressive symptoms at baseline; child attachment security and helping, sharing, and comforting behavior were observationally assessed 5 to 8 months later. Results: Moderation analyses revealed a positive main effect of security (but not MDS) on children’s comforting behavior, a main effect of MDS on sharing, and no main effects of MDS or security on children’s helping behaviors. Significant interactions between MDS and security predicted comforting and (marginally) helping behaviors, such that MDS were associated with both more helping and more comforting behavior only when children were more secure. No such interaction was observed for sharing. Conclusions: These findings suggest that children may adapt to maternal depressive symptoms in prosocial ways, but that this depends at least in part on the quality of the parent-child relationship, underscoring the importance of examining attachment quality as a moderator of parental influences on children’s social-emotional development. We discuss potential explanations for these findings, as well as their implications for intervention.