Maternal sensitivity assessed during the Strange Situation Procedure predicts child's attachment quality and reunion behaviors

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 378-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuko Y. Behrens ◽  
Andrea C. Parker ◽  
John D. Haltigan
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Attachment Quality ◽  
Strange Situation Procedure

Infant–Father Attachment in Infants Born Preterm - A Brief Report

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Ruediger Kissgen ◽  
Sebastian Franke ◽  
Nino Jorjadze ◽  
Bernhard Roth ◽  
Angela Kribs
Keyword(s):  
Preterm Infants ◽  
Full Term ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Term Infants ◽  
Attachment Quality ◽  
Attachment Research ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Problems ◽  
Strange Situation Procedure ◽  
Father Attachment

This study examines the infant–father attachment in infants born preterm (<  1500 g at birth and/or <  37 weeks gestation) in comparison to full-term infants. The infant–father attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation Procedure at a (corrected) age of 15 months. We found at least half of preterm and full-term infants (50.0% and 56.5 % respectively) securely attached to their fathers, and no significant overall difference was observed concerning the distribution of attachment quality comparing the two groups. In light of the fact that preterm infants tend to have numerous neurodevelopmental problems, it is encouraging that significant differences were not found in the distribution of the attachment quality among the groups. Therefore, from the perspective of attachment research, it would be highly beneficial to include fathers in the care of their preterm infants.

Major depression as a predictor of the intergenerational transmission of attachment security: Findings from a pregnancy cohort study

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110607
Author(s):  
Megan Galbally ◽  
Stuart J Watson ◽  
Anne Tharner ◽  
Maartje Luijk ◽  
Gaynor Blankley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depression ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Attachment Security ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Parent Attachment ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Infant Attachment ◽  
Strange Situation Procedure

Objective: Understanding the relationship between attachment and mental health has an important role in informing management of perinatal mental disorders and for infant mental health. It has been suggested that experiences of attachment are transmitted from one generation to the next. Maternal sensitivity has been proposed as a mediator, although findings have not been as strong as hypothesised. A meta-analysis suggested that this intergenerational transmission of attachment may vary across populations with lower concordance between parent and infant attachment classifications in clinical compared to community samples. However, no previous study has examined major depression and adult attachment in pregnancy as predictors of infant–parent attachment classification at 12 months postpartum. Methods: Data were obtained on 52 first-time mothers recruited in early pregnancy, which included 22 women who met diagnostic criteria for current major depression using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The Adult Attachment Interview was also administered before 20 weeks of pregnancy. A history of early trauma was measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and maternal sensitivity was measured at 6 months postpartum using the observational measure of the Emotional Availability Scales. Infant–parent attachment was measured using the Strange Situation Procedure at 12 months. Results: Overall, we found no significant association between the Adult Attachment Interview and the Strange Situation Procedure classifications. However, a combination of maternal non-autonomous attachment on the Adult Attachment Interview and major depression was a significant predictor of insecure attachment on the Strange Situation Procedure. We did not find that maternal sensitivity mediated parental and infant attachment security in this sample. Conclusion: While previous meta-analyses identified lower concordance in clinical samples, our findings suggest women with major depression and non-autonomous attachment have a greater concordance with insecure attachment on the Strange Situation Procedure. These findings can guide future research and suggest a focus on depression in pregnancy may be important for subsequent infant attachment.

scholarly journals Attachment status and mother–preschooler parasympathetic response to the strange situation procedure

2016 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 39-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin D. Smith ◽  
Susan S. Woodhouse ◽  
Caron A.C. Clark ◽  
Elizabeth A. Skowron
Keyword(s):  
Strange Situation ◽  
Strange Situation Procedure

scholarly journals The development of the cortisol response to dyadic stressors in Black and White infants

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1995-2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Dismukes ◽  
Elizabeth Shirtcliff ◽  
Christopher W. Jones ◽  
Charles Zeanah ◽  
Katherine Theall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Life ◽  
First Year ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Cortisol Reactivity ◽  
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal ◽  
Black And White ◽  
First Year Of Life ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Still Face Paradigm ◽  
Strange Situation Procedure

AbstractAcute reactivity of the stress hormone cortisol is reflective of early adversity and stress exposure, with some studies finding that the impact of adversity on the stress response differs by race. The objectives of the current study were to characterize cortisol reactivity to two dyadically based stress paradigms across the first year of life, to examine cortisol reactivity within Black and White infants, and to assess the impact of correlates of racial inequity including socioeconomic status, experiences of discrimination, and urban life stressors, as well as the buffering by racial socialization on cortisol patterns. Salivary cortisol reactivity was assessed at 4 months of age during the Still Face paradigm (N = 207) and at 12 months of age across the Strange Situation procedure (N = 129). Infants demonstrated the steepest recovery after the Still Face paradigm and steepest reactivity to the Strange Situation procedure. Race differences in cortisol were not present at 4 months but emerged at 12 months of age, with Black infants having higher cortisol. Experiences of discrimination contributed to cortisol differences within Black infants, suggesting that racial discrimination is already “under the skin” by 1 year of age. These findings suggest that race-related differences in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal reactivity are present in infancy, and that the first year of life is a crucial time period during which interventions and prevention efforts for maternal–infant dyads are most likely able to shape hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal reactivity thereby mitigating health disparities early across the life course.

Is attachment at ages 1, 6 and 16 related to autonomy and relatedness behavior of adolescents in interaction towards their mothers?

2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 372-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabienne Becker-Stoll ◽  
Elisabeth Fremmer-Bombik ◽  
Ulrike Wartner ◽  
Peter Zimmermann ◽  
Klaus E. Grossmann
Keyword(s):  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Attachment Behavior ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Attachment Representation ◽  
Attachment Quality ◽  
Infancy And Childhood ◽  
Adolescent Attachment ◽  
Childhood Attachment ◽  
Adolescent Autonomy

This study investigates whether attachment quality at ages 1, 6 and 16 is related to autonomy and relatedness behavior in adolescence. In a follow-up of the Regensburg Longitudinal Study, forty-three 16-year-old adolescents and their mothers were assessed in a revealed differences task and a planning a vacation task. Attachment was assessed during infancy using the Ainsworth Strange Situation and at age six with the reunion procedure. Adolescent attachment representation was assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview. Results provided no evidence for significant continuity between infant or childhood attachment behavior and adolescent attachment representation. Instability of attachment organization, however, was linked to a higher number of experienced risk factors. Substantial relations between adolescent attachment representation and adolescent autonomy and relatedness behavior were found in both interaction tasks with their mothers. Further, significant relations between attachment qualities at ages 1 and 6 and adolescent interaction behavior during the planning a vacation task at age 16 were found. Thus, independent of attachment stability or instability, both early attachment in infancy and childhood and concurrent attachment representation were significantly related to autonomy and relatedness behavior in adolescence.

Attachment and the Mother's Perception of Support from the Father

1984 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Ellen Durrett ◽  
Midori Otaki ◽  
Phyllis Richards
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Support ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Perception Of Support ◽  
Japanese Infants ◽  
Strange Situation Procedure

Thirty-four Japanese infants and mothers were observed in the Strange Situation procedure when the infants were 12 months old. The mothers completed the Taylor Inventory of mother's perception of emotional support from the father. Mothers of securely attached infants perceived greater support from the father than mothers of anxiously attached/avoidant infants and anxiously attached/resistant infants. The findings were interpreted in terms of the cultural context.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to Assess the Bond between Dogs and Humans

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e56938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Therese Rehn ◽  
Ragen T. S. McGowan ◽  
Linda J. Keeling
Keyword(s):  
Strange Situation ◽  
Strange Situation Procedure

Similarities and Differences in Mothers’ and Observers’ Descriptions of Attachment Behaviours

1997 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
George M. Tarabulsy ◽  
Effie Avgoustis ◽  
Jennifer Phillips ◽  
David R. Pederson ◽  
Greg Moran
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Parental Stress ◽  
Attachment Security ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Infant Temperament ◽  
Strange Situation ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Different Sources

This report concerns the similarities and differences between maternal and observer Attachment Q-Set (AQS) security scores for 41 preterm and 38 fullterm infants. The following variables were assessed: maternal sensitivity (8 months); parental stress (8 months); mother- and observer-derived AQS measures of attachment security and dependency (12 months); and infant temperament (18 months). “Strange situations” were recorded at 18 months. Previous analyses of these data had shown that although mother and observer AQS security scores were correlated ( r = .55), only observer scores converged with the strange situation. Two additional series of analyses were carried out. The first revealed that AQS security scores of sensitive mothers, but not those of less sensitive mothers, are correlated with those of observers. Maternal sensitivity was unrelated to the lack of correspondence between mothers’ AQS scores and strange situation classification. Second, a factor analysis of the above variables revealed that while observers’ sensitivity and attachment security scores and mothers’ security scores loaded on to a Relationship Security factor, mothers’ security ratings also loaded on to an Infant Fussiness factor. This finding suggests that although both mothers and observers focus on items indicative of security when completing the AQS, mothers may place an additional emphasis on fussiness-related items. Further support for this suggestion was found in an analysis of covariance. When variance attributed to fussiness-related items of the AQS was partialed out of the mother-derived security score, the residual mapped on to the secure/nonsecure distinction in the strange situation. However, fussiness was unrelated to the mother-observer AQS correlation, indicating that different sources of variance may be involved in the mother-observer AQS correlation and in the correspondence between mothers’ AQS scores and the strange situation.

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