Secure Parent-child Attachment Research Articles

An attachment‐based program for parents of youth with clinically significant mental health problems: Scaling up and drilling down to mechanisms of change

AbstractBackgroundGiven the prevalence and recent increases in youth mental health problems, there is a pressing need for interventions that target transdiagnostic protective factors that could be targeted as mechanisms of change in treatment. Such interventions are most likely to succeed in meeting population needs if they are scalable, sustainable, and effective. Connect is a manualized, 10‐session trauma‐informed and attachment‐based parent program that is structured, emotion‐focused and skills‐oriented. Developed for broad implementation by community mental health workers, Connect is designed to promote parent–child attachment security, a well‐established transdiagnostic protective factor for youth mental health.MethodsWe examined whether parent–youth attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted reductions in internalizing and externalizing problems in a large one‐group clinical sample of youth (N = 527; ages 8–18 years) of parents (N = 690) who completed the Connect program in a longitudinal study with 6 time points (pre‐, mid‐, and post‐treatment; 6‐, 12‐ and 18‐month follow‐up).ResultsFindings confirmed that parent and youth reports of attachment anxiety and avoidance, as well as internalizing and externalizing problems, significantly declined over the course of the intervention. Parent reported reductions in youth attachment anxiety, but not avoidance, predicted declining levels of youth internalizing problems. As well, parent reported reductions in youth attachment avoidance and anxiety predicted declining youth externalizing behavior. In contrast, youth reports of reductions in youth attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance, were associated with declines in youth externalizing problems.ConclusionOur findings support the role of attachment as an important transdiagnostic mechanism of change in attachment‐based programs for parents of teens with clinically significant mental health problems.

Maternal attachment security modulates the relationship between vulnerability to anxiety and attentional bias to threat in healthy children

This study aimed to investigate whether attentional bias to threat, commonly observed in clinically anxious children, also manifests in healthy children, potentially aiding the early detection of at-risk individuals. Additionally, it sought to explore the moderating role of parent–child attachment security on the association between vulnerability factors (anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, perseverative cognitions) as indicators of vulnerability to anxiety, and attentional bias towards threat in healthy children. A total of 95 children aged 8 to 12 years completed the Visual Search Task to assess attentional bias. Vulnerability to anxiety was measured using a composite score derived from the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children, and Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire. Parent–child attachment security was assessed using the Security Scale-Child Self-Report. Analyses revealed that higher vulnerability to anxiety was associated with faster detection of anger-related stimuli compared to neutral ones, and this association was further influenced by high maternal security. These findings in healthy children suggest an interaction between specific factors related to anxiety vulnerability and the security of the mother–child relationship, leading to cognitive patterns resembling those seen in clinically anxious individuals. These results hold promise for early identification of children at risk of developing anxiety disorders.

The Effects of Parent-child Attachment Style and Parenting Style on Children's Emotional Competence

Emotional competence refers to an individual's ability to recognize, understand, and regulate emotions. It has a significant impact on an individual's adaptability, overall well-being, social connectivity, and career success. The emotional competence of children is largely influenced by the environment in which children are raised, family dynamics and parental upbringing. The present study aims to explore the effects of parent-child attachment style and parenting style on children's emotional competence. Through a systematic review of studies involving different age groups and experimental methods, the results consistently show that children's emotional competence is positively correlated with secure parent-child attachment and authoritative parenting style. The practical significance of the present study is to promote a greater awareness of children's emotional competence within families and society. By enhancing parental understanding of the impact of parent-child attachment relationship and parenting style on children's emotional competence, this research aims to facilitate the adoption of more effective and reasonable family education methods.

The Role of Parent-Child Attachment, Hostile Attribution Bias in Aggression: A Meta-Analytic Review.

Parent-Child Attachment (PCA) and Hostile Attribution Bias (HAB) are closely related to aggression, but findings regarding their relationships are inconsistent. There is a lack of understanding of the underlying mechanism between PCA and aggression. This review employed meta-analysis approaches to investigate the associations between PCA and aggression, as well as between HAB and aggression, and the mechanism for the PCA-aggression association. An article search was conducted in CNKI, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. Totally, 118 studies involving general populations and those at high risk for aggression were included. Results revealed negative associations between Parent-Child Attachment Security (PCAS) and aggression (ρ = -.267, p < .001) and positive associations between Parent-Child Attachment Insecurity (PCAI) and aggression (ρ = .240, p < .05). HAB and aggression were found to be positively associated (ρ = .303, p < .001). As for the PCAS-aggression association, a larger effect size was found in females than in males. The HAB-reactive aggression association was stronger than the HAB-proactive aggression association. In Eastern culture, the association between HAB and aggression was stronger than in Western culture. HAB mediated the association between PCAS and aggression. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the occurrence and development of aggression by establishing an association between attachment theory and the social information processing model. The practical implications include interventions targeting cultivating PCAS and alleviating HAB, which might serve as effective ways to reduce aggression, yet aggression type, gender, and cultural background should be taken into consideration.

Developing a secure base in family intervention: using the adult attachment projective system to assess attachment in family relationships.

Families are core to human well-being. Therapeutic intervention may be needed in the context of family disruptions. Attachment theory conceptualizes parents as the secure base and safe haven that support children's optimal development. Parents who have experienced their own attachment difficulties or traumas may not provide quality caregiving necessary for balanced secure parent-child attachment relationships. Following Bowlby's original thinking (1988), an attachment approach to family intervention views the therapist as a secure base that enables families to explore individual and system problems to restore equilibrium. Attachment informed therapy uses attachment theory to understand family functioning. However, the unavailability of valid economical assessment for examining attachment representations has constricted the practical utility of attachment theory in family therapy beyond applications of general concepts. This chapter describes the Adult Attachment Projective Pictures System (AAP) and explores its use as an efficient manner for assessing attachment representations within families that allows therapists to understand problematic interactions, disabling defensive processes, make predictions concerning negative patterns, and create targets for change and restorative intervention. Consolidating three decades of attachment and caregiving system research, we describe how distinct patterns of AAP responses for each adult attachment group map onto expected parenting and family system expectations and behaviors to provide a concise and informative framework. In addition to the traditional adult attachment patterns (Secure, Dismissing, Preoccupied, Unresolved), we describe for the first time expectations for two additional forms of incomplete pathological mourning (Failed Mourning and Preoccupied with Personal Suffering) that have been overlooked in the field.

Social and emotional determinants of parental reflective functioning in a multinational sample.

Parental reflective functioning refers to parents' capacity to consider their child's internal experiences and is associated with secure parent-child attachment, sensitive parenting behavior, and positive child socioemotional development. However, research into determinants of parental reflective functioning in large diverse samples has been scarce. Therefore, using a large multinational sample and longitudinal design, we aimed to: (a) identify sociodemographic determinants of parental reflective functioning; (b) investigate whether parental emotion regulation is a psychological determinant of parental reflective functioning; and (c) assess whether child negative affect, parent stress, and child age moderate longitudinal associations between parent emotion regulation and parental reflective functioning. Data were two time points of the Child and Parent Emotion Study following 2,208 parents (68% female) of a child aged 0-10 years residing in English-speaking countries. Parent emotion dysregulation, parent male cisgender status, speaking a language other than English, younger parent age, and older child age were associated with lower parental reflective functioning 12 months later, as indicated by higher levels of prementalizing. Child negative affect moderated the association between parent emotion dysregulation and parental reflective functioning, whereas child age and parent stress did not. Specifically, parent difficulty controlling impulses when distressed was associated with higher levels of prementalizing modes of reflective functioning only when child negative affect was moderate-to-high. The interplay between parent emotion dysregulation and child negative affect highlights the importance of considering both parent and child characteristics in intervention planning and suggests that personalizing parenting support according to these characteristics may be beneficial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Improving Attachment Security in Early Childhood Intervention: A Framework From Constructivist Grounded Theory

This study explored how early childhood intervention (ECI) professionals could support the development of secure attachment in children with developmental delay or disability (DD) within the context of ECI in Australia. Secure parent–child attachment is conducive to the aims of ECI to enhance the development, well-being, and participation of children with DD. Constructivist grounded theory methodology was applied to collect and analyze data from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with three parents and 18 professionals. Seven conceptual categories were selected: (a) Importance; (b) Challenges; (c) The System; (d) The Key Worker; (e) Assessment; (f) Strategies; and (g) Outcomes. Two dominant themes were identified: the quality of the relationship between the ECI professional and the family and self-regulation. An attachment-focused ECI framework is proposed, aligned with the ecological system model.

Parent–Child Attachment and Dynamic Emotion Regulation: A Systematic Review

Although there is evidence parent–child attachment security is associated with trait-like emotion indices, trait perspectives do not fully capture children's responses to context, an important emotion regulation component. This paper evaluates whether attachment is associated with two dynamic emotion indicators: emotion reactivity and emotion recovery. We review conceptual and empirical connections, describe the dynamic emotion perspective, discuss hypotheses, and review evidence. Our review (15 studies) shows that secure attachment was more consistently related to recovery than reactivity, avoidant attachment was related to low emotion reactivity and recovery, ambivalent attachment was associated with greater emotion reactivity, and disorganized attachment was related to high reactivity and recovery difficulties. We close by comparing trait-like and dynamic emotion conclusions then propose future research directions.

Parent-Child Attachment Security and Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescence: The Mediating Roles of Gratitude and Forgiveness.

Although greater parent-child attachment security is linked with children's lower levels of depressive symptoms, little research has evaluated potential explanatory mechanisms. We investigated whether dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness explain the relation between attachment security with parents and early adolescents' depressive symptoms. Early adolescents (N = 105; M age = 12.3 years; 51% girls) completed questionnaires assessing their attachment security to mother and father figures, depressive symptoms, and dispositional gratitude, and an interview assessing interpersonal forgiveness. Results revealed that greater attachment security to mothers and fathers was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and greater levels of dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness. Further, dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Dispositional gratitude emerged as a mediator between attachment security with each parent and depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that greater parent-child security may promote early adolescents' appreciation of positive events, which in turn may relate to fewer depressive symptoms.

Infants’ attachment security and children’s self-regulation within and outside the parent–child relationship at kindergarten age: Distinct paths for children varying in anger proneness

Research in developmental psychology has robustly documented positive associations between parent–child attachment security and the child’s self-regulation (SR). This study of 102 community mothers, fathers, and infants contributes to that research by examining the role of attachment security, observed at 15 months using the Attachment Q-Set, as a predictor of two distinct aspects of self-regulation at 67 months: executive functioning (SR-EF), observed in abstract Stroop-like tasks (Day/Night & Snow/Grass and Tapping), and parent-related (SR-PR), observed within the context of the parent–child relationship in response to the mother’s (SR-MR) and father’s (SR-FR) requests and prohibitions. We also examined child anger proneness, observed at 7 months, as a moderator of those associations. In both mother–child and father–child dyads, child security predicted SR-EF; More secure children performed better in executive functioning tasks. In mother–child dyads, security also predicted SR-MR, but the effect was qualified by the interaction of security and anger proneness, such that the effect was significant only for highly anger-prone children. The effect reflected differential susceptibility: Compared with lower-anger peers, highly anger-prone children developed worse SR-MR if their security was low, but they developed better SR-MR if their security was high. The findings highlight the benefits of a nuanced approach to self-regulation, considering child individuality as interacting with security and examining processes in both mother–child and father–child dyads.

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.

Early Attachment to Mothers and Fathers: Contributions to Preschoolers' Emotional Regulation.

Children acquire and develop emotional regulatory skills in the context of parent-child attachment relationships, nonetheless empirical studies have focused mainly on mother and less information is available regarding the role of both parent-child attachment relationships. Furthermore, despite its importance, there is no information regarding preschool years. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the potential influences of both mother-child and father-child attachments on preschooler's later emotion regulation observed in the peer group. Fifty-three Portuguese nuclear families (mother, father and focal child) participated in the study; 47% of the children were boys and 53% were girls. Attachment Security was assessed at home using the Attachment Behavior Q-set when children were 3 years of age, and emotion regulation was observed in the preschool classrooms attended by the children at age 5, using the California child Q-sort to derive an Emotion Regulation Q-Scale. Results showed that the combined influence of both parent-child attachment security predicted better emotion regulation results, than did the specific contributions of each parent per se. Findings are consistent with integrative approaches that highlight the value of including both mother- and father-child attachment relationships, as well as their combined effect, when studying emotion regulation.

A literature review of gratitude, parent–child relationships, and well-being in children

Positive psychology has highlighted the importance of personal positive qualities such as gratitude for human thriving. Reviews of research on gratitude are predominantly based on work with adults. We address this gap by considering the familial roots and well-being implications of gratitude in children. We conducted two systematic reviews examining children’s gratitude as it relates to parent–child relationships (N = 10) and children’s gratitude and well-being (N = 38). Children’s gratitude was higher when parents modeled gratitude, there was a more secure parent–child attachment, and parents employed more supportive, autonomy granting, and warm parenting. These findings align with attachment theory, social learning and emotion socialization theories, and the find-remind-and-bind theory. Additionally, children’s gratitude was positively related to greater life satisfaction, positive affect, and mental well-being in cross-sectional and intervention studies. These findings provide some support for the broaden-and-build theory, the adaptive cycle model, and the schematic hypothesis. The reviewed theoretical frameworks and empirical findings formed the basis of our proposed model whereby children’s gratitude is posited to mediate the relation between parent–child relationship factors and children’s well-being. Further, we identified several testable mechanisms that might explain why gratitude is related to well-being. Our proposed model is an important contribution to the current literature because it provides a novel, overarching synthesis of existing work on children’s gratitude that is intended to be a framework for future research to test potential mechanisms relevant to children’s gratitude development and well-being outcomes.

Ecological Predictors of Parental Beliefs about Infant Crying in a Randomized Clinical Trial of ABC

ABSTRACT Objective: Attachment theory suggests that parent responsiveness to infant distress predicts secure parent–child attachment and subsequent healthy child development. While much is known about microsystem factors that interfere with responsive caregiving, there is a paucity of research investigating how exosystem factors, such as neighborhood crime, affect parenting. Method: In a sample of 200 diverse caregivers and their 5- to 21-month-old infants (M = 11.82; 49% male), we leveraged data from a randomized clinical trial of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), an attachment-based intervention, to assess whether individual level burden (indicated by single-parent status, low income, residential instability, young parenthood, parental psychopathology, and own history of early adversity) and neighborhood crime density (geocoded within a 500 ft radius of parent’s residence) were associated with their beliefs about infant crying, an indicator of responsive parenting. Results: Consistent with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems' theory of development, both greater exposure to individual burden indicators and greater neighborhood crime density predicted greater maladaptive beliefs about infant crying, suggesting that contextual factors outside the household are associated with parenting cognitions. Further, when accounting for the effect of crime and individual burden on parental beliefs about infant crying, participation in the ABC intervention was effective in reducing maladaptive parenting beliefs. Conclusions: We consider implications for multi-level intervention approaches that target family processes, neighborhood-level factors, and policy initiatives to promote community wellbeing and positive child development.

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.

Parent-Child Relationship Quality in the Family of Origin and Later Romantic Relationship Functioning: A Systematic Review.

A large and diverse literature has shown that parent-child relationship quality shapes development to affect later romantic relationship functioning. Guided by the developmental psychopathology framework, the current systematic review aimed to characterize the links between two major subtypes of parent-child relationship quality (parent-child attachment security and interaction quality) and several romantic relationship outcomes (i.e., adjustment, attachment security, aggression, and observed interaction quality), as well as to identify mechanisms accounting for these associations. We focused on studies that included both members of a couple/partnership for dyadic assessment of romantic relationship functioning, to more accurately and fully capture both partners' perspectives. A total of 40 articles met inclusion criteria, most of which sampled early/emerging adult couples between the ages of 18 and 26 years. Findings suggest that parent-child attachment security and interaction quality have similar associations with dyadic romantic relationship functioning, with the strongest evidence of effects on romantic relationship adjustment and observed interactions between romantic partners. Many studies found gender differences in effects, as well as cascading effects across development and over the course of a relationship. We argue that it is important for future studies to explore effects of one partner's parent-child relationship quality history on the other partner's romantic relationship adjustment and behavior, and to evaluate the extent to which parent-child attachment security mediates associations between parent-child interaction quality and romantic relationship functioning.

Parent-Child Attachment: A Principle-Based Concept Analysis.

IntroductionExtensive evidence indicates that the quality of parent-child attachment is related to later socio-emotional and physical health outcomes. Yet, despite its clinical relevance, the parent-child attachment concept has been inconsistently applied across the disciplines of nursing, medicine and psychology and is often conflated with parent-child bonding in nursing literature.ObjectivesTo provide readers with a critical analysis of the concept of parent-child attachment. Using a principle-based concept analysis, we clarify how parent-child attachment is understood from a multidisciplinary perspective to advance the use of this concept in nursing practice.Concept Description: Attachment is an affectionate, mutually satisfying relationship between a child and a caregiver that serves the purpose of making the child feel safe, secure, and protected.DiscussionIn this principle-based concept analysis, each definitional (i.e., epistemological, pragmatic, linguistic, and logical) principle contributes to an understanding of the strengths and limitations of the state of science about this concept. The discussion highlights how applying the concept of parent-child attachment security may offer exciting and promising opportunities for nursing clinical work with families.ConclusionThe understanding of the concept of parent-child attachment differs among disciplines of nursing, medicine and psychology and offers exciting and promising opportunities for clarity and collaborative, multi-disciplinary work.

Clinical Assessment of Prementalizing Modes of Psychic Functioning in Children and Their Parents in the Context of Trauma

ABSTRACTAs psychoanalytic psychotherapy for children depends on their capacity to mentalize, it is essential to integrate this dimension in their psychological assessment. Mentalization refers to the capacity to identify and comprehend the mental states (feelings, thoughts and intentions) underlying and explaining one’s own behaviors and those of others. This vital ability, which develops during the first five or six years of life in the context of a secure parent-child attachment, is often impaired in children subjected to neglect and maltreatment. Based on rigorous and systematic clinical observations made in youth protection and child psychiatry services, the authors suggest that the children in these settings, along with their parents, frequently present a prementalizing mode of psychic functioning. Further, the authors propose operationalizing the teleological, psychic equivalence, and pretend modes as they might be observed in older children and their parents. To this end, they begin by identifying behaviors, attitudes, and relational patterns potentially linked to each of these modes within a theoretical framework. Next, they describe the characteristics of these children’s narratives, play, and artistic productions. Lastly, three clinical vignettes are used to illustrate how the prementalizing modes are manifested. The results of this clinical assessment can guide the choice of techniques to be used in child psychotherapy.

Correction to: Parental Mindfulness and Preschool Children’s Emotion Regulation: the Role of Mindful Parenting and Secure Parent-Child Attachment

Correction to: Parental Mindfulness and Preschool Children’s Emotion Regulation: the Role of Mindful Parenting and Secure Parent-Child Attachment

Parental Mindfulness and Preschool Children’s Emotion Regulation: the Role of Mindful Parenting and Secure Parent-Child Attachment

Dispositional mindfulness has been demonstrated to play a key role in influencing individuals’ psychological functioning. Recently, the effects of dispositional mindfulness have been extended to interpersonal processes within the family context. Research has shown that parents’ dispositional mindfulness also has implications for children’s development. However, the mechanisms through which parental mindfulness contributes to child development outcomes need to be further elucidated. The present study aimed to examine the influence of parents’ dispositional mindfulness on preschool children’s emotion regulation and the role of mindful parenting and parent-child attachment in explaining this association in a Chinese sample. A total of 472 parents (74.4% mothers) of preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years reported on their dispositional mindfulness, mindful parenting, parent-child attachment, and their children’s emotion regulation. Dispositional mindfulness was related to higher levels of mindful parenting (β = .61, p < .001), which in turn facilitated parent-child attachment (β = .59, p < .001), thereby contributing to preschoolers’ lower emotional lability/negativity (β = − .24, p = .005) and higher adaptive emotion regulation (β = .49, p < .001). Bootstrapping indicated that the indirect paths from parental mindfulness to children’s emotional lability/negativity (95% CI = − .30, − .10) and adaptive emotion regulation (95% CI = .27, .50) through mindful parenting and parent-child attachment were significant. The association between parental mindfulness and preschoolers’ emotion regulation was serially explained by mindful parenting and parent-child attachment.