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

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.

Inheriting Mary Ainsworth and the Strange Situation: Questions of Legacy, Authority, and Methodology for Contemporary Developmental Attachment Researchers

Mary Ainsworth’s legacy continues to shape the social and developmental sciences well after her death. The Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure has, for decades, not only provided the underpinning methodology of attachment research, but also the frame of reference for theory. This has produced conditions where, as in psychoanalysis, debates about the future of the paradigm also entail a struggle to claim and negotiate the legacy of a founding figure. To date, historians have only looked at attachment research up to the 1980s. Interviews with 15 leading contemporary attachment researchers revealed Ainsworth’s importance to later research, but also laid bare the challenges of claiming her inheritance in responding to the current challenges facing this area of research.

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

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.

Reduced caregiving quality measured during the strange situation procedure increases child’s autonomic nervous system stress response

Background Dysfunctional maternal behavior has been shown to lead to disturbances in infant’s regulatory capacities and alterations in vagal reactivity. We aim to investigate the autonomic nervous system (ANS) response of the child during the strange situation procedure (SSP) in relation to the quality of maternal behavior. Methods Twelve month after birth, 163 mother–child-dyads were investigated during the SSP. Heart rate (HR) and both, the parasympathetic branch (PNS) via the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and the sympathetic branch (SNS) via the left ventricular ejection time (LVET) of the ANS were continuously determined during the SSP using electrocardiogram (ECG) and impedance cardiogram (ICG) measures. Maternal behavior was assessed by using the AMBIANCE measure. Results The ANS response in infants of mothers with disruptive behavior compared to infants of non-disruptive mothers was significantly altered during the SSP: HR increased especially when infants of disruptive mothers were alone with the stranger (F (1, 161) = 4.15, p = .04) with a significant vagal withdrawal when being in contact with the stranger despite of presence of the mother (F (1, 161) = 5.11, p = .03) and a significant increase in vagal tone during final reunion (F (1, 161) = 3.76, p = .05). HR increase was mainly based on a decrease in LVET (F (1, 161) = 4.08, p = .05) with a maximum infant’s HR when the stranger came into the room instead of the mother. Conclusion Both, SNS and PNS branches of the child are significantly altered in terms of an ANS imbalance, especially during contract to a stranger, in relation to dysfunctional maternal behavior. Our findings suggest the importance of supporting high quality caregiving that enables the infant to adapt adequately to stressful interpersonal situations which is likely to promote later health.