Development Of Secure Attachment Research Articles

The Effects of Chinese Parenting Belief on Preschoolers' Temperament and Secure Attachment.

In the past, there were a few studies investigating the effects of parenting belief on preschoolers' temperament and secure attachment. There were some inconsistencies; some effects were also unclear. A total of 2164 parents of three-year-old preschoolers were selected for a panel study named National Longitudinal Study of Child Development and Care. At first, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine construct validity of Chinese parenting belief, preschoolers' temperament, and secure attachment. Consecutively, the effects of Chinese parenting belief on preschoolers' temperament and secure attachment were investigated through structural equation modeling. Results showed: (1) construct validity of Chinese parenting belief (composed of Guan, Jiao, achievement, and Chi beliefs), preschoolers' temperament (composed of extraversion, effortful control, and negative affection temperament) and secure attachment were good. (2) The Guan belief showed no effects on all temperaments and secure attachment. (3) Only Jiao belief contributed to the development of extraversion, effortful control, negative affection, and secure attachment. (4) The Achievement belief had a detrimental effect on the development of secure attachment, but it had no effects on others. (5) The Chi belief can increase the development of negative affection temperament, but it had no effects on the rest.

Effects of family risk on early attachment security: Gender-specific susceptibility and mediation by parenting behavior

Growing up in high-risk environments is detrimental to children’s development of attachment security. Parenting behavior is hypothesized to be the mechanism through which risks exert their influence. However, risk influences can vary between individuals by gender. Aim of this study was to explore specific pathways of family risk on early attachment security and additionally examine the transmission via parenting behavior. The sample consisted of 197 children and their primary caregivers. Children’s age ranged between 10 and 21 months ( M = 15.25, SD = 3.59). Data assessment included 21 distal and proximal family risk factors, children’s attachment security, and parental responsivity and supportive presence. Whereas distal risk factors had an adverse effect only on girls’ attachment security, proximal risks negatively affected only boys’ attachment security. Additionally, patterns of risk factors occurring in our sample were analyzed using an exploratory principal component analysis. Regardless of the child’s gender, a low socio- economic status was negatively related to attachment security of all children. Migration and crowding and a high emotional load of the primary caregiver both negatively predicted girls’ but not boys’ attachment security. However, the attachment security of boys was affected by a negative family climate. Most of the adverse risk effects on attachment security were mediated by parental responsivity and supportive presence so that the transmission of risk occurs through parenting behavior. Results revealed a different susceptibility of family risks for girls and boys. The consideration of a gender-sensitive approach in developmental psychopathology and interventions of developmental child welfare services is recommended.

ATTACHMENT STYLES & SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ADDICTIONS AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

Attachment is a complex system that provides the proximity and care necessary for the child’s survival and fulfills the child’s innate need for safety. From the earliest interactions when parents (attachment figures) comfort the child when she/he feels in danger, each new experience helps her/him to develop secure attachment, and thus the child learns to regulate his emotions and acquire strategies to cope with fear or suffering. If an insecure attachment style (preoccupied/avoidant/disorganized) is acquired, in adulthood people may face difficulties in regulating emotions and stress or may have difficulties in establishing and maintaining relationships. Empirical evidence from cross-sectional, longitudinal and review studies support the assumption that insecure attachment is a risk factor for addictions, but also for other psychopathological disorders. There is growing evidence that addictive disorders can be viewed as a possible expression of an attachment disorder, and the development of secure attachment can lead to better results in the prevention and early interventions of drug-related disorders. Recommended interventions include efficient parenting styles (authoritative/ permissive) training for parents, strengthening the parent-child relationship, ameliorating psychological dysregulation in mid-adolescence, developing adolescents’ abilities to self-regulate emotions and to resist to peer pressure.

Attachment Development in Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Conceptual Model

AbstractRomantic relationships provide a meaningful context from which individuals can develop attachment security and find fulfillment for their emotional and physical attachment needs. The process for developing attachment security in adolescent romantic relationships is not well documented. A new model is proposed outlining the context and processes wherein adolescent romantic attachment security can develop. The contextual role of one's family of origin, cognitive development, and romantic competency is noted. Within this context, it is hypothesized that the relational processes of physical affection and emotional disclosure interact as direct influences on the development of attachment security. These facets of the conceptual model are outlined in light of the current literature on both attachment and adolescent romantic relationships. It is concluded that adolescent romantic attachment warrants further study, as adolescent romantic relationships have strong implications for future relationships.

Influence of Breastfeeding in the Adaptation of and Absenteeism of Infants in Early Childhood Centers: A Preliminary Study.

Schooling of children between 0 and 3 years old involves a process of adaptation and increases their exposure to infectious diseases, which leads to school absenteeism. Breastfeeding facilitates the development of secure attachment and protects the infant against infections. This study aimed to determine whether breastfeeding facilitates the adaptation of infants between 0 and 3 years old to early childhood center and decreases school absenteeism. A cross-sectional study was carried out by collecting data through a questionnaire, which was filled out by the parents and the childcare professionals. 160 infants participated. 40% of the infants who received infant formula from birth showed dependency behaviors (inconsolable crying or do not leave the caregiver for a long time) at the time of pick-up from the center, compared with 10%, 2.7%, and 2.6% of children breastfed between 0 and 6 months, and more than 6 and 12 months, respectively (p = 0.001). The interquartile range of absenteeism days per episode was 2–3 days for infants fed infant formula versus 1–2 days for those who were breastfed for more than 12 months (p = 0.041). Breastfeeding seems to be associated with fewer dependency behaviors at the time of collection and with fewer days of absence.

Réflexions autour de la notion de fonction réflexive parentale dans l’adoption

While the literature on international adoption has mostly focused on children's outcomes, studies focused on international adoption are now increasingly focusing on the subjective experience of parents and the relational processes at work in adoptive families. BackgroundIn that perspective, the aim of this study is to explore the representations of adoptive parents in order to initiate a reflection about the impact of parents’ reflective functioning (PRF) in the experience of adoptive parenthood. Defined as the parent's ability to assign a meaning to his or her own behavior and to his or her child's within their relationship, PRF plays a key role in relational parent-child adjustment and in the development of secure attachment in children. This parenting ability presented as a considerable protective factor in parent-child relationships and as a major resilience factor in stressful and traumatic situations, has been little studied in the context of intercountry adoption. Yet adoptive parenthood exposes both parents and children to specific risk factors and stresses that can affect relationships. Based on the speeches of adoptive parents, this qualitative study aims to consider the influence of PRF on the specific experience of adoptive parenthood. Population and methodTen French parents who adopted at least one child abroad participated in two semi-structured interviews. The first one covers their experiences specifically related to adoption; the second interview is the Parent Development Interview (PDI), which explores parents’ representations of themselves as parents, of their child, and of their relationship with the later. The interviews are analysed using the qualitative method of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. ResultsThe interviews’ phenomenological analysis highlights three main types of representations influencing the experience of our participants’ parenthood: the representations of the first parent-child meetings, the representations of life with this particular child, as well as the place of adoption as a filial particularity. ConclusionA developed PRF appears to be an important protective factor for adoptive parenthood. The capacity of the parent to give a meaning to his or her own experience and that of his or her child in the context of the relationship ensures in fact a mediating function on the representations forged during the first and subsequent relational experiences with the child by promoting positive representations of themselves as a parent, of the child and of the relationship. The PRF then supports a positive experience of parenthood despite the difficulties encountered, as well as the building of strong bonds of affection and parenthood to the child.

Early Maternal Employment Status and Attachment Quality: An Investigation of a Conditional Process Model

This study examined how maternal employment status during the first year of a child’s life influenced later attachment quality. A sample of 1,364 mothers participated in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development was categorized into five groups including consistent working, transition to working, transition to nonworking, consistent nonworking, and multiple transitions. Results supported the hypothesized model by showing two interrelated mediating mechanisms of depressive symptoms and maternal sensitivity. Mothers who have not worked consistently and experienced transition to nonworking showed higher levels of depressive symptoms when compared with mothers who have worked consistently, which in turn negatively influenced maternal sensitivity. Tests of moderated mediation indicated that among nonworking mothers, only those with negative attitudes toward employment showed lower levels of depressive symptoms compared with the consistent working group. Findings suggest different mechanisms involved in the relationship between early maternal employment and the development of secure attachment.

Attachment in family foster care: Literature review of associated characteristics

Foster children often had negative experiences in the past, which can contribute to attachment problems. In their meta-analysis, van den Dries et al. found that foster children were more often disorganized attached when compared to the general population. It is to be expected that the quality of attachment between the foster children and their foster parents is related to various factors. However, research into which factors are associated with the development of secure attachment is scarce. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method, a total of 13 articles were included in this review. This review provides an overview of the associated characteristics with the quality of attachment between foster carers and foster children. In the articles included in this review, the foster carers’ characteristics were often described as more important than characteristics of the foster child and placement when it comes to developing a secure attachment. The most consensus, although not unanimous, existed on the finding that a positive, sensitive parenting style of foster parents was positively related to a secure attachment between the foster children and their foster carers.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Emotion Dysregulation - Report of Two Cases.

Emotion dysregulation is the inability to control and modulate one's affective state, and it might be associated with mental disorders. The development of secure attachment with significant others, in early childhood, has been theorized to be essential to the development of emotional regulation. Disruption of the formation of secure internal representations may, therefore, substantially compromise the acquisition of emotional-regulation capacities in childhood and lead to social maladjustment in later life. It is a pre-post case study design of two adolescents who presented with acts of self-harm and history indicating a provisional diagnosis of personality disorder. However, an in-depth assessment revealed emotional dysregulation. The model of Dialectical Behavior therapy (DBT) recommended for non-clinical populations was delivered in 12-16 sessions, resulting in a positive outcome that sustained for 12-24 months follow-up, improving interpersonal effectiveness. The role of DBT as an early intervention in emotional dysregulation is highlighted, as it enhances social adjustment by altering the attribution style.

Resilience Factors in Women with Severe Early-Life Maltreatment

Introduction: Early-life maltreatment (ELM) has long-lasting negative consequences and is the most important general risk factor for mental disorders. Nevertheless, a number of maltreated children grow up to become healthy adults and have therefore been called ‘resilient'. The aim of the current study is to investigate ‘resilience factors' in the context of severe ELM. Method: The study was part of the large multicenter project Understanding and Breaking the Intergenerational Cycle of Abuse (UBICA). A total of 89 women were examined, 33 with ELM and at least one lifetime mental disorder (nonresilient), 19 with ELM but without lifetime mental disorders (resilient), and 37 without ELM and without lifetime mental disorders (controls). ELM and other circumstances before the age of 18 years were assessed with the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA) Interview. Additional relevant person and situation factors were measured with the Structured Clinical Interview for Mental Disorders (SCID-I), International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Vulnerable Attachment Style Questionnaire (VASQ), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Multiple-Choice Vocabulary Intelligence Test (MWT-B). Factor analyses and paired t tests were performed to identify those variables which differentiate best between the three groups. In addition, a discriminant analysis was conducted to detect the accuracy of assigning women to their specific group. Results: The factor analyses revealed 10 resilience factors based on which we could correctly assign 80% of the women to their group in the discriminant analysis. t tests of factor scores showed that resilient and nonresilient maltreated women mainly differed in current individual attributes (e.g. impulsivity, attachment style), while resilient and nonresilient maltreated women differed from controls in both their current individual attributes and their view of their situation as a child. Conclusion: The 4 variables neuroticism, extraversion, vulnerable attachment, and perceived loneliness during childhood were identified as most important in differentiating all three examined groups. Therefore, prevention and intervention programs focusing on the individual's development of secure attachment and social competence may be of particular importance in the context of ELM.

Hypersensitivity to Contingent Behavior in Paranoia: A New Virtual Reality Paradigm.

Contingency in interpersonal relationships is associated with the development of secure attachment and trust, whereas paranoia arises from the overattribution of negative intentions. We used a new virtual reality paradigm to experimentally investigate the impact of contingent behavior on trust along the paranoia continuum. Sixty-one healthy participants were randomly allocated to have a social interaction with a pleasant virtual human (avatar) programmed to be highly responsive or not (high/low contingency). Perceived trustworthiness and trusting behavior were assessed alongside control variables attachment and anxiety. Higher paranoia and dismissive attachment were associated with larger interpersonal distances. Unexpectedly, extremely paranoid individuals experienced the highly contingent avatar as more trustworthy than their low contingency counterpart. Higher dismissive attachment was also associated with more subjective trust in both conditions. Extreme paranoia is associated with hypersensitivity to noncontingent behavior, which might explain experiences of mistrust when others are not highly responsive in everyday social situations.

Mental disease postpartum - Social competence, work efficiency and behaviour problems in eight-year-old children

In a longitudinal study, children of 14 mentally ill women, admitted to hospital within six months after delivery, were compared to children of 23 women who had been somatically ill postpartum, and to a matched sample of children of 22 healthy women. Also, children in the somatic sample were compared to another matched sample of healthy children (n=41). Questionnaires measuring social competence, work efficiency and child behavior problems were given to parents and teachers, when the child was eight years old. Children in the psychiatric sample were rated, by teachers as well as by parents, to have low work efficiency as compared to the matched healthy psychiatric controls. In the somatic sample, teachers rated the children to have low work efficiency as compared to the matched healthy somatic controls. In all samples, teachers rated the children as being less prosocially oriented, as having less social initiative and less work efficiency as compared to parent ratings. Children who had been separated from their mother during her stay in hospital did not differ from children who had not been separated on any of the scales, neither on teacher nor on parent ratings. A possible interpretation of our data is that maternal mental illness during a sensitive period for the development of secure attachment may have long term effects on the child's development.

The role of infant-generated stimulus-contingencies in affect regulation and the development of attachment security

The role of infant-generated stimulus-contingencies in affect regulation and the development of attachment security

Attachment within family systems: An overview

A family systems approach provides a context for the development and maintenance of dyadic attachment relationships. An attachment approach provides a focus on the expression of and response to attachment behavior within a family. Uniting the two approaches has implications for both research and intervention. Characteristics of attachment theory and family systems theory are briefly outlined: Both involve systemic thinking. Different styles of interacting at the level of the family as a whole, working models of relationships, and dyadic interactions appear to correspond in a coherent way. Further research is needed in order to identify which dimensions of family functioning are relevant to the development of secure attachments, and how the relevant dimensions may change with age and stage in the family life cycle. This will provide targets for preventive interventions, with the development of secure relationships as a primary goal.