Antecedents of attachment states of mind in normative-risk and high-risk caregiving: cross-race and cross-sex generalizability in two longitudinal studies.

BACKGROUND: Longitudinal investigations of relatively large typical-risk (e.g., Booth-LaForce & Roisman, 2014) and higher-risk samples (e.g., Raby et al., 2017; Roisman et al., 2017) have produced evidence consistent with the claim that attachment states of mind in adolescence and young adulthood, as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), are associated with the quality of caregiving experienced during childhood. None of these studies, however, has examined whether such associations are consistent across sex and/or race, as would be expected in light of the sensitivity hypothesis of attachment theory. METHODS: We examine whether sex or race moderates previously reported links between caregiving and AAI states of mind in two longitudinal studies (pooled N = 1,058) in which caregiving was measured either within (i.e., observed [in]sensitive care) or outside (i.e., childhood maltreatment) of the normative range of caregiving experiences. RESULTS: Hierarchical moderated regression analyses in both longitudinal cohorts provided evidence that maternal insensitivity and experiences of maltreatment were prospectively associated with dismissing and preoccupied states of mind in adolescence, as hypothesized. Moreover, these associations were generally comparable in magnitude for African American and White/non-Hispanic participants and were not conditional on participants' biological sex. CONCLUSIONS: Both maternal insensitivity and the experience of maltreatment increased risk for insecure attachment states of mind in adolescence. Moreover, our analyses provided little evidence that either participant race or participant sex assigned at birth moderated these nontrivial associations between measures of the quality of experienced caregiving and insecure attachment states of mind in adolescence. These findings provide support for the sensitivity hypothesis of attachment theory and inform the cultural universality hypothesis of attachment processes.

Attachment states of mind and inferred childhood experiences in maltreated and comparison adolescents from low-income families.

This paper reports the first large-sample investigation of the maltreatment-related correlates of low-income adolescents' narratives about their childhood experiences with primary caregivers, as assessed with a modified version of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and based on official reports of abuse and neglect (maltreated n = 214, nonmaltreated n = 140; M age = 16.7 years). Drawing on factor-analytic and taxometric evidence indicating that AAI narratives vary along two state of mind (i.e., dismissing and preoccupied) and two inferred childhood experience (i.e., maternal and paternal) dimensions, here we demonstrate that the experience of maltreatment, particularly when chronic, is associated with increased risk for dismissing and preoccupied states of mind and more negative inferred childhood experiences. Although such maltreatment-related associations were generally not specific to any of the four AAI dimensions, the experience of physical and/or sexual abuse was uniquely associated with preoccupied states of mind and negative inferred paternal experiences even after controlling for the other AAI dimensions. More extensive paternal perpetration of maltreatment also was uniquely related to more negative inferred paternal experiences.

Child-child similarity on attachment and temperament as predictors of positive interaction during acquaintanceship at age 3.

Child-child similarity on attachment and temperament were examined, in turn, as predictors of interaction quality between previously unacquainted children. At 33 months, child-mother attachment security was assessed, and parents reported on child temperament. At 39 months, 114 children were randomly paired into 57 same-sex dyads and observed during 3 laboratory visits over a 1-month period. Positive interaction (composed of ratings of dyadic coordination, social play complexity, and shared positive affect) was assessed from recordings of play sessions at each visit. Multilevel models revealed that child-child similarity on (a) attachment security predicted more rapid increases in positive interaction across the 3 visits for dyads averaging high security, (b) temperamental pleasure predicted more positive interaction, on average, for dyads averaging moderate to high pleasure, and (c) temperamental anger and fearfulness yielded equivocal results. Developmental and methodological implications of investigating child-child similarity on attachment and temperament as a window into the acquaintanceship process among young children are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record

Getting acquainted: Actor and partner effects of attachment and temperament on young children's peer behavior.

Guided by a dyadic view of children's peer behavior, this study assessed actor and partner effects of attachment security and temperament on young children's behavior with an unfamiliar peer. At 33 months of age, child-mother attachment security was assessed via a modified Strange Situation procedure, and parents reported on child temperament (anger proneness and social fearfulness). At 39 months, same-sex children (N = 114, 58 girls) were randomly paired, and child dyads were observed during 3 laboratory visits occurring over 1 month. Actor-partner interdependence models, tested via multilevel modeling, revealed that actor security, partner anger proneness, and acquaintanceship (e.g., initial vs. later visits) combined to predict child behavior. Actor security predicted more responsiveness to the new peer partner at the initial visit, regardless of partner anger proneness. Actor security continued to predict responsiveness at the 2nd and 3rd visits when partner anger was low, but these associations were nonsignificant when partner anger was high. Actor security also predicted a less controlling assertiveness style at the initial visit when partner anger proneness was high, yet this association was nonsignificant by the final visit. The findings shed light on the dynamic nature of young children's peer behavior and indicate that attachment security is related to behavior in expected ways during initial interactions with a new peer, but may change as children become acquainted.

Interpersonal and genetic origins of adult attachment styles: a longitudinal study from infancy to early adulthood.

One of the assumptions of attachment theory is that individual differences in adult attachment styles emerge from individuals' developmental histories. To examine this assumption empirically, the authors report data from an age 18 follow-up (Booth-LaForce & Roisman, 2012) of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a longitudinal investigation that tracked a cohort of children and their parents from birth to age 15. Analyses indicate that individual differences in adult attachment can be traced to variations in the quality of individuals' caregiving environments, their emerging social competence, and the quality of their best friendship. Analyses also indicate that assessments of temperament and most of the specific genetic polymorphisms thus far examined in the literature on genetic correlates of attachment styles are essentially uncorrelated with adult attachment, with the exception of a polymorphism in the serotonin receptor gene (HTR2A rs6313), which modestly predicted higher attachment anxiety and which revealed a Gene × Environment interaction such that changes in maternal sensitivity across time predicted attachment-related avoidance. The implications of these data for contemporary perspectives and debates concerning adult attachment theory are discussed.

Maternal and paternal perceptions of coparenting as a link between marital quality and the parent-toddler relationship.

The aim of this study was to examine coparenting perceptions of support and trust as a link between marital quality and parent-child relationship quality. Mothers and fathers with 33-month-old children (n = 122, 61 girls) independently reported on coparenting support and trust, marital quality, and attachment-relevant aspects of the parent-child relationship. Additionally, child-mother attachment security was assessed observationally. Marital quality was related to higher quality mother-son relationships (self-reported and observed) via more positive maternal coparenting perceptions, and marital quality was related to greater father-son and father-daughter relationship quality via more positive paternal coparenting perceptions. For partner effects, marital quality was related to higher mother-son relationship quality via fathers' perceptions of coparenting. Results highlight perceptions of coparenting of both mothers and fathers as a link between marital quality and mother-child relationship quality for families with toddler-aged boys. Further, findings suggest that marital quality fosters more positive paternal coparenting trust and support, which in turn has positive implications for father-son and father-daughter relationships during toddlerhood.

Child anger proneness moderates associations between child-mother attachment security and child behavior with mothers at 33 months.

Child-mother attachment security, assessed via a modified Strange Situation procedure (Cassidy & Marvin, with the MacArthur Attachment Working Group, 1992), and parent-reported child proneness to anger were examined as correlates of observed child behavior toward mothers during a series of interactive tasks (N = 120, 60 girls). Controlling for maternal sensitivity and child gender and expressive language ability, greater attachment security, and lower levels of anger proneness were related to more child responsiveness to maternal requests and suggestions during play and snack sessions. As hypothesized, anger proneness also moderated several security-behavior associations. Greater attachment security was related to (a) more committed compliance during clean-up and snack-delay tasks for children high on anger proneness, (b) more self-assertiveness during play and snack for children moderate or high on anger proneness, and (c) more help-seeking during play and snack for children moderate or low on anger proneness. Findings further our understanding of the behavioral correlates of child-mother attachment security assessed during late toddlerhood via the Cassidy-Marvin system and underscore child anger proneness as a moderator of attachment-related differences in child behavior during this developmental period.

Attachment states of mind and the quality of young adults' sibling relationships.

This report examines young adults' states of mind regarding their early attachment experiences in relation to the observed and perceived quality of their sibling relationships. Sixty sibling pairs (18-25 years of age) were (a) administered the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985), (b) videotaped during a conflict resolution task, and (c) asked to describe the quality of their relationship using the Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (Stocker, Lanthier, & Furman, 1997). As hypothesized, dismissing states of mind were associated with lower levels of positive and negative affect while participants attempted to resolve an area of conflict with a sibling as well as with relatively low levels of reported warmth in the relationship. In contrast-but also in line with predictions-preoccupied states of mind were associated with heightened expression of negative affect toward a brother or sister, and the siblings of highly preoccupied individuals reported more conflict in their relationships. Findings provide further support for the importance of young adults' representations of childhood attachment experiences with respect to the quality of their adult relationships. In addition, this study extends previous findings regarding the significance of dismissing versus preoccupied states of mind by demonstrating that these dimensions are differentially associated with behavioral and self-reported aspects of sibling relationship quality in early adulthood.

Adult attachment security and young adults' dating relationships over time: self-reported, observational, and physiological evidence.

This study examined the developmental significance of adult attachment security--as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview--for romantic relationship functioning concurrently and approximately 1 year later in a sample of heterosexual dating couples between the ages of 18 and 25 (115 dyads at Time 1 [T1] and 57 dyads at T2, 74% White). The authors assessed romantic relationship functioning at T1 and T2 using observers' ratings of emotional tone during a laboratory conflict resolution task and via participants' self-reports about their relationships, yielding evidence that adult attachment security prospectively predicted the observed and perceived quality of adults' romantic relationships even after prior levels of interpersonal functioning were controlled. Measures of autonomic responding were also acquired during the interactions, replicating prior evidence that insecurity is concurrently associated with electrodermal reactivity in attachment-relevant contexts.