Predictors Of Attachment Research Articles

Maternal trauma but not perinatal depression predicts infant-parent attachment

Understanding if maternal depression is a predictor of infant-parent attachment classification is important to furthering knowledge about the early pathways and predictors of socio-emotional development. Yet few studies that have utilised the Strange Situation Procedure, the gold standard for measurement of infant-parent attachment, have examined antenatal depression as a predictor of attachment, and none has also included a measure of maternal trauma. This study uses data on 224 women recruited in early pregnancy and followed up until 12months postpartum. Maternal depression was measured in pregnancy using the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM and repeat Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as well as Stressful Life Events scale across pregnancy and postpartum including items on domestic violence. A past history of trauma was measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Attachment was measured using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) at 12months postpartum. We found that maternal depression was not associated with insecure or disorganized attachment. However, a maternal history of childhood trauma and current domestic violence both predicted insecure-avoidant attachment at 12months, whereas increased number of stressful life events prior to conception and in pregnancy was associated with insecure-resistant attachment. Neither trauma, past or current, nor depression predicted disorganized attachment. In the first study to have included measures of antenatal depression, maternal childhood trauma, and current stressful events as predictors of infant attachment measured using the SSP, we found maternal experiences of past and current trauma but not depression were significant predictors of infant-parent attachment security.

A statistical approach for modelling the physical process of bacterial attachment to abiotic surfaces

A statistical approach using a polynomial linear model in combination with a probability distribution model was developed to mathematically represent the process of bacterial attachment and study its mechanism. The linear deterministic model was built based on data from experiments investigating bacterial and substratum surface physico-chemical factors as predictors of attachment. The prediction results were applied to a normal-approximated binomial distribution model to probabilistically predict attachment. The experimental protocol used mixtures of Streptococcus salivarius and Escherichia coli, and mixtures of porous poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethyl dimethacrylate) and aluminum sec-butoxide coatings, at varying ratios, to allow bacterial attachment to substratum surfaces across a range of physico-chemical properties (including the surface hydrophobicity of bacterial cells and the substratum, the surface charge of the cells and the substratum, the substratum surface roughness and cell size). The model was tested using data from independent experiments. The model indicated that hydrophobic interaction was the most important predictor while reciprocal interactions existed between some of the factors. More importantly, the model established a range for each factor within which the resultant attachment is unpredictable. This model, however, considers bacterial cells as colloidal particles and accounts only for the essential physico-chemical attributes of the bacterial cells and substratum surfaces. It is therefore limited by a lack of consideration of biological and environmental factors. This makes the model applicable only to specific environments and potentially provides a direction to future modelling for different environments.

The Relationship Between Neuroticism Facets, Conscientiousness, and Human Attachment to Pet Cats

ABSTRACTGaining knowledge about the diverse correlates of human–pet attachment will help us better understand the nature of this bond. Previous research found that the personality dimensions of neuroticism and conscientiousness positively predicted human attachment to multiple types of pets. To address a literature gap, the current study focused on people’s attachments to cats. We had two primary goals: first, to replicate earlier findings of associations between neuroticism, conscientiousness, and three attachment variables: attachment anxiety (one’s sense of worthiness of love), attachment avoidance (one’s sense of trustworthiness of the attachment figure), and general attachment to a pet; and second, we assessed how neuroticism facets (anger, anxiety, depression, immoderation, self-consciousness, vulnerability) are individually related to attachment to cats. Participants (n = 1,239) completed an online survey including the Pet Attachment Questionnaire, the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale, and items from the International Personality Item Pool and the Big Five Inventory. Neuroticism, conscientiousness, and facet level anxiety were negative predictors of attachment avoidance and positive predictors of general attachment. Attachment anxiety toward cats was moderately associated with all neuroticism facets. From these results, incorporating findings from past research on human relationships, we compared associations between neuroticism facets and attachment for three different types of relationships: romantic, friendship, and human–cat. Associations between neuroticism facets and the view of one’s worthiness of love (attachment anxiety) were similar across the different relationship types, but the association between neuroticism facets and attachment avoidance depended on the type of relationship (romantic, friendship, or human–cat). Conscientiousness may be a helpful trait in pet owners. Future research could investigate relations between measures of attachment and actual behavior toward pet cats and between neuroticism facets and attachment to other pets, such as dogs.

Does higher place difficulty predict increased attachment? The moderating role of identity

In a contribution conducted in the French Southern Alps, Hinojosa et al. (2016) suggested that place attachment is relatively higher where it is difficult to live. We examine whether this figure holds in other environments bringing insight on a likely general tenet. A study using comparable survey data in two different ecosystems of Ecuador (the mountains and the subtropics) reveals, indeed, that higher place difficulty predicts increased attachment. Nevertheless, our results show that place difficulty is not significant when considered solely, that is, regardless of an additional element: place identity. In the Andean mountains, place attachment is found to be higher in more difficult areas only when place identity plays a role in individuals' views of their local community (their district). In the subtropical area of Intag, place difficulty is found to be a predictor of attachment regardless of place identity.

An examination of motivation, satisfaction, attachment, and loyalty using structural equation modeling

A seasonal rail pass for youth travelers, Rail-ro has become a cultural travel phenomenon among young Korean. Considering the significant influence of Rail-ro passes on domestic tourism, the travel behaviors of Rail-ers who take train trips with Rail-ro passes deserve attention. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among Rail-ers’ motivation, satisfaction, loyalty, and their attachment to the country using the structural equation modeling (SEM). An online survey was conducted via By Train, the online community for rail travelers, with 218 Korean travelers who had traveled with a Rail-ro pass. According to the findings, a modified theoretical model was found acceptable and the results provided support for proposed hypotheses: (a) the motivation of ‘experience Korea and feel Koreanness’ significantly influenced satisfaction; (b) satisfaction was found to be an important antecedent of loyalty to Rail-ro; (c) satisfaction with the Rail-ro experience was a predictor of attachment to the country; and (d) loyalty to domestic tourism was influenced by place dependence while the influence of place identity was not found to be significant. Based on the model tested in this study, theoretical and practical implications are discussed for sustainable and successful operation of Rail-ro.

Parental rearing style as a predictor of attachment and psychosocial adjustment during young adulthood

Parental rearing styles are crucial for psychosocial adjustment both during childhood and adulthood. The current study examined whether (a) parental rearing styles predicted psychosocial adjustment in young adulthood, (b) this relationship was mediated by attachment styles, and (c) gender differences occur in these relationships. A total of 240 (103 male, 132 female, and 5 unknown) university students completed measures assessing parental rearing style, current attachment style, romantic relationship satisfaction, friendship quality, self-esteem, and social competence. Multigroup structural equation modelling, conducted separately by gender, revealed that parental rearing style predicted psychosocial adjustment during young adulthood. Furthermore, there was also evidence of gender differences and that self-models and other models of attachment mediated this relationship. Together, these findings reinforce the importance of perceived parental rearing style for subsequent psychosocial adjustment.

Formation of attachment to possessions in compulsive hoarding

Hypersentimentality to possessions has been proposed to play an important role in the development and maintenance of compulsive hoarding. The current study prospectively examined the formation of attachment to a newly acquired object in an OCD sample ( n = 62) to determine whether specific hoarding symptoms moderated the development of attachment to an object over time. Participants rated their level of attachment to a keychain immediately upon receipt (time 1) and one week later (time 2). We hypothesized that individuals with a tendency to hoard and strong beliefs about the value of possessions would exhibit greater attachment to the object over time. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that a person's initial attachment to the object was the best predictor of attachment one week later. Although emotional attachment increased similarly for all participants independent of their hoarding symptoms, specific hoarding-related beliefs and behaviors uniquely predicted initial attachment to the keychain.

Adolescent Parenting and Attachment During Infancy and Early Childhood

Objective. Prenatal parenting attitudes and parenting behaviors during infancy and early childhood were used as predictors of attachment in children of adolescent mothers at ages 1 and 5. Design. Seventy-eight adolescent mother - child dyads participated. Data were collected at five time points from the third trimester of pregnancy through the children's 5th year. Results. A high percentage of children exhibited disorganized and insecure attachment during both infancy and early childhood; only 30% were securely attached at 1 year and 41% at 5 years. Quality of maternal interactions and cognitive readiness to parent predicted attachment stability; however, only verbal encouragement-stimulation predicted the transition from insecure to secure attachment. Prenatal cognitive readiness to parent independently predicted attachment security at 1 year and accounted for the relation between early maternal interactions and 1-year attachment. Maternal interactions during infancy but not early childhood, predicted 5-year attachment security. Conclusions. Early parenting had a unique and persistent effect on attachment security. However, verbal stimulation during early childhood attenuated the effects of early maternal unresponsiveness on attachment security at age 5.

Early Predictors of Attachment in Infants with Cleft Lip and/or Palate

Early Predictors of Attachment in Infants with Cleft Lip and/or Palate

Maternal and infant temperamental predictors of attachment: a meta-analytic review.

Maternal and infant temperamental predictors of attachment: a meta-analytic review.