This longitudinal study within the Generation R cohort (n = 1,085) examined how maternal, child, and contextual factors relate to maternal sensitivity across childhood. Maternal sensitivity was observed at child ages 1, 3, 4, and 10 using the Ainsworth and Erickson scales. Predictors included maternal history of childhood maltreatment, family functioning, prenatal psychopathology, child temperament, genetic predisposition to psychopathology, marital status, and education. Linear mixed-effects models revealed that no maternal, child, or contextual characteristics predicted baseline levels or linear changes in maternal sensitivity from ages 1 to 10 after correcting for multiple testing. However, post-hoc analysis identified a nonlinear decline in sensitivity, ocurring primarily during the child's first four years. Sensitivity analyses for ages 1 to 4 similarly showed no significant predictors, except child sex: mothers exhibted higher sensitivity toward daughters. Overall, maternal sensitivity appears largely independent of these background factors, highlighting the need for further replication beyond infancy.
Child maltreatment is a major public health concern in Iran, driven by complex socioeconomic and cultural factors. This quasi-experimental study examined whether a culturally adapted maternal sensitivity training program-inspired by the Video-Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD)-could improve sensitivity and reduce maltreatment risk among 60 Iranian mothers of children aged 0-5 years. Participants from urban and rural health centers were assigned to four groups: urban/rural experimental (n=15 each) and urban/rural control (n=15 each). The intervention included eight weekly group sessions with video feedback. Using the Persian Maternal Behavior Q-Sort and Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale, with depression and SES as covariates, repeated-measures ANCOVAs revealed significant improvements in sensitivity (partial η2=.72) and reduced maltreatment risk (partial η2=.66) for experimental groups, with stronger urban effects maintained at 3-month follow-up. Location moderated outcomes. Findings suggest program promise for promoting protective parenting, though non-randomization, small samples, and short follow-up limit causality; larger randomized trials are needed.
This study examines the possibility that the association between young motherhood and child aggressive behavior is mediated by maternal sensitivity and attachment security. Adolescent (n = 83) and adult (n = 44) mother-infant dyads were met at home when infants were 6-, 10-, 15- and 18-months-old. Sensitivity (6 and 10 months) and attachment security (15 and 18 months) were assessed based on two sets of 120-minute home observations. Child aggressiveness was reported by mothers at 18 months. Young motherhood was linked to lower levels of sensitivity and attachment security, and greater levels of aggressive behaviors. Sequential mediation analysis revealed mediation by attachment processes, after controlling for infant irritability (6- and 10-months). Discussion focuses on the way results support important postulates of attachment theory and argue in favor of attachment-based intervention and other strategies that addresses other challenges faced by young mothers.
Black youth face racial inequities in their communities that translate to more severe consequences for their displays of negative emotions than their White counterparts. Researchers propose that a balanced approach to emotion socialization, combining emotional support and suppression of youth's displays of negative emotions, engenders Black teens' confidence in their caregivers' availability to provide comfort, connection, and protection in times of need (i.e., perceptions of mother as a secure base). We examined associations among mothers' responses to Black teens' distress, teens' perceptions of their mothers as a secure base, and teens' emotional functioning. Participants were 79 Black adolescents (Mage = 13.10, SDage = .98; 51% female) and their mothers. Results indicated that the combination of mothers' high support and moderate suppression in response to teens' negative emotions predicted adolescents' perceptions of their mother as a secure base and, in turn, lower emotional reactivity. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Adolescents in residential care often experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and attachment difficulties that may affect relationships with professional caregivers ("mentors"). This study examined predictors of adolescent - mentor relationship quality from both adolescent and mentor perspectives. Participants were 35 adolescents and 25 mentors from eight residential facilities. Adolescents completed the ACE-IQ and adolescent Friends and Family Interview (FFI); mentors completed the mentor Adult Attachment Interview (AAI); both completed adolescent- and mentor-reported Psychological Availability and Reliance on Adult (PARA). Linear mixed-effects models showed that adolescent FFI attachment representations were associated with adolescent- and mentor-reported PARA scores. Higher adolescent FFI secure-autonomous attachment and narrative coherence predicted higher adolescent-rated relationship quality, whereas higher adolescent FFI insecure-dismissing scores predicted lower affectional bond. Mentor AAI attachment showed limited associations. Findings highlight the relevance of adolescent attachment representations for relationship quality with professional caregivers.
Initial molecular genetic studies identified specific genes that contribute to variation in associations between maternal sensitivity and infant attachment, but these findings from small samples failed to replicate in larger-sample investigations. A recent study shifted attention to a genetic marker of the opioid system, OPRM1 rs1799971, providing evidence for its role in moderating the association between maternal insensitivity and resistant attachment assessed via the Modified Strange Situation. This preregistered report attempted to replicate these results leveraging data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD). We also examined robustness to other attachment assessments (i.e. Strange Situation Procedure, Attachment Q-Sort) and more comprehensive assessments of maternal sensitivity utilizing data from the SECCYD and the Generation R Study. The previously reported results did not replicate, providing another replication failure in the candidate gene literature. We discuss avenues forward by highlighting genetically-informed research designs derived from current best practices.
Interoception - the perception of internal bodily states such as heartbeat, respiration, and visceral sensations - has been proposed to constitute a fundamental component of self-regulation. Current theorizing proposes that interoception consists of several dimensions: interoceptive accuracy, sensibility, and metacognitive awareness. From an attachment perspective, attachment representations are proposed to shape self-regulation across the lifespan, and are thus expected to influence the processing of bodily signals. We investigated the association between attachment representations and dimensions of interoception in an adult sample (N = 116, Mage = 40.43). Attachment was assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview. A heartbeat counting task with confidence ratings measured interoceptive accuracy, sensibility, and awareness. Analyses revealed that Coherence of Transcript and attachment category positively predicted interoceptive accuracy, but not sensibility or awareness. This pattern suggests that attachment-related processes primarily operate at the level of first-order bodily signal detection rather than metacognitive evaluation or beliefs.
Attachment theory was built on heterosexual, biologically related mother-infant dyads, leaving caregiving in sexual minority parent families peripheral to the field. This PRISMA 2020 systematic review synthesized empirical work applying attachment measures to lesbian mother and gay father families. Searches of PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to 28 February 2026 yielded 15 reports (8 cross-sectional, 6 longitudinal, 1 case study; from 12 studies) sampling families formed via donor insemination, gestational surrogacy, and adoption. Across measures, designs, and developmental periods, children of lesbian and gay parents did not differ from peers in attachment security or classification distributions; in adoptive gay father families, security exceeded comparison samples. Intergenerational transmission from parental coherence of mind to sensitive caregiving and child security operated as expected, regardless of within-couple biological relatedness. Caregiving role, reflective functioning, and minority stress were key moderators. This systematic review proposes five theoretical advancements and a 10-year research agenda.
The present study examines how children's behavioral problems and different dimensions of foster parents' sensitivity contribute to attachment security in foster children. The sample included 61 foster children, aged 33 to 90 months, and their foster mothers. Higher overall sensitivity, greater supportive presence, and lower hostility of foster mothers were associated with higher attachment security. Supportive presence emerged as a protective factor for attachment security in the context of externalizing behavioral problems. Cluster analysis identified three distinct parenting profiles. Children whose caregivers demonstrated high supportive presence, high respect for autonomy, and low hostility showed the highest attachment security. In contrast, parental hostility was consistently associated with lower security and emerged as a detrimental factor. The findings suggest that interventions for foster families should prioritize both enhancing parental sensitivity and reducing hostility. Moreover, foster parents of children with externalizing behavioral problems may require additional support and training.
Whereas attachment scholars argue that variations in crying in the SSP reflect the quality of child-parent relationships, temperament scholars contend that they primarily reflect temperamental traits. Few studies have examined this debate in preschoolers, who may display distinct crying responses. This paper explores whether preschoolers' crying behaviors reflect their attachment relationships or their negative affectivity. Attachment dimensions and crying behaviors were assessed in 144 preschoolers who completed Preschool-SSPs during independent visits with their mothers and fathers. Parents completed the CBQ to measure child negative affectivity. Results showed that children high on insecure-ambivalence with one parent tended to cry more with that parent, while higher security was linked to less crying. Crying with one parent was modestly associated with crying with the other. Parent-reported negative affectivity did not predict crying or concordant attachment to both parents, suggesting that crying in the Preschool-SSP is mostly related to attachment relationships rather than temperament.
The study examined the associations between maternal sensitivity and effortful control (EC) at 42 months in children born preterm. Sixty-one mother-infant dyads from a longitudinal study participated. Maternal sensitivity was assessed during mother-child interactions at 12 and 42 months, while EC was measured at 42 months using a multitask behavioral battery. Generalized estimating equations modeled the relationships, controlling for gestational age, neonatal risk, and family socioeconomic disadvantage. Maternal sensitivity at 42 months was concurrently associated with higher EC. The longitudinal link between sensitivity at 12 months and EF was not significant. However, in mothers with high sensitivity at 12 months, sensitivity at 42 months was associated with EC, whereas no association was observed in the low-sensitivity subgroup. These findings suggest that the stability of maternal sensitivity from early infancy may influence the development of EC in preterm children, highlighting potential targets for future research and early interventions.
Secure attachment to parents is known to promote children's self-regulation (SR), but the mechanisms explaining its associations with different aspects of SR, particularly in high-risk families, remain underexplored. We investigated maternal and child responsiveness as parallel mediators linking early attachment security to later SR, assessed within and outside mother-child relationships, with 186 low-income mother-child dyads. Attachment security was assessed using the Attachment Q-Set at 2.5 years, maternal and child responsiveness were observed during mother-child interactions at 3.5 years, and SR was measured at 7 years as mother-related (internalized compliance) and decontextualized (set-shifting tasks). Results demonstrated that both maternal and child responsiveness mediated the relations between attachment security and mother-related SR. Indirect relations were non-significant or weaker for decontextualized SR. Findings highlight the importance of mutually responsive interactions, with a particular focus on children's active contributions, in accounting for links between early parent-child relationships and later relational regulatory capacities.
The current study investigated the moderating effect of children's negative affectivity on the relationship between maternal trait empathy and emotional availability. Participants included 125 mother-child dyads examined at two time points (T1: MeanAge = 13.65 ± 2.62 months; T2: MeanAge = 18.25 ± 2.66 months). Maternal empathy was assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (empathic concern, perspective-taking, and personal distress) at both times. The child's negative affectivity was measured at T1 via the Infant Behavior Questionnaire, and maternal emotional availability was observed at T2 using the Emotional Availability Scales. Results showed that maternal perspective-taking positively predicted later emotional availability only for children with high negative affectivity, whereas empathic concern positively predicted later emotional availability only for children with low negative affectivity. No significant links were found with personal distress. These findings highlight maternal empathy's context-dependent role in caregiving.
Research on interactions between child and environmental factors in the development of infant disorganized attachment is relatively limited. Using predictive modeling, we explored how child, maternal, and family-related variables jointly predicted attachment disorganization in 204 infant-mother dyads. Almost all mothers were diagnosed with postpartum depression. We measured child, maternal, and family-related variables with validated questionnaires when infants were M = 2.94 months and attachment (dis)organization with the Strange Situation Procedure at M = 13.84 months. Lasso regression identified relevant predictors and classification trees explored their interactions. Classification trees achieved moderate overall accuracy (.65). Both methods converged on the interaction between firstborn status and high parenting stress attributed to child characteristics as particularly relevant. Findings require replication in larger pooled datasets including additional established risk factors for disorganized attachment. We highlight the value of predictive modeling in attachment research and evaluating non-linear associations between child and parental characteristics and attachment disorganization.
The transition to parenthood brings about changes in new parents' lives that may impact the attachment system. We examined how new mothers' internal, social and relational, and infant factors shaped initial levels and trajectories of attachment avoidance and anxiety from pregnancy through 2 years postpartum. Using a sample of 259 first-time mothers, we found that both attachment styles were relatively stable over time. Remembered supportive parenting experiences and relationship satisfaction were related to lower levels of initial attachment avoidance and anxiety, whereas depressive symptoms, were related to higher levels of initial avoidance and anxiety. Social support was related to a steeper decline in attachment avoidance over time. Observed infant distress and maternal-reported infant negative emotionality were related to a higher initial level of attachment avoidance, and infant distress was related to a steeper decline in attachment avoidance. Findings support need for multi-dimensional care of new mothers that begins during pregnancy.
This study examined associations among attachment states of mind (Adult Attachment Interview; AAI), reflective functioning (RF-AAI), and parenthood regret (Parenthood Regret Scale) in 165 cisgender, heterosexual Italian biological mothers (M = 39.00, SD = 10.40) of children aged 0-18 years. Mothers classified as dismissing or unresolved reported significantly higher parenthood regret than those classified as secure-autonomous or preoccupied. Unresolved abuse, but not unresolved loss, was significantly associated with higher parenthood regret. Mediation analyses indicated that greater AAI coherence of mind was associated with lower parenthood regret both directly and indirectly through higher RF. Overall, the findings support two attachment-related pathways to parenthood regret─fear of repetition/trauma (unresolved abuse) and defensive exclusion/identification (dismissing)─and highlight the clinical value of tailoring interventions to mothers' attachment states of mind. Specifically, interventions may focus on trauma integration for mothers with unresolved representations, increasing affect access for those with dismissing representations, and strengthening mentalization across groups.
Children in institutions often develop insecure attachments. Although recovery is observed in childhood and adolescence, evidence in adulthood is limited. This pre-registered study compared adoptees with institutional experience and non-adoptees from infancy to adulthood. Attachment was assessed in infancy (Strange Situation), preschool (Attachment Story Completion Task and Attachment Q-Sort), adolescence (Child Attachment Interview), and adulthood (Adult Attachment Interview; AAI). Adoptees at age 24 exhibited higher rates of insecurity (60% vs 31%) and lower coherence on the AAI compared to non-adoptees (Cohen's d = 0.51). Stressful life events predicted insecurity in adulthood (β = -0.33, p = .005). Disorganized attachment in infancy did not predict attachment insecurity in adulthood (OR = 1.32, 95% CI [0.47, 3.70]). Attachment catch-up appears incomplete for some adult adoptees with early institutional experience, particularly following serious stressful life events, highlighting the need to consider both early adversity and ongoing environmental stress in understanding adult attachment outcomes.
The present study aimed to enhance positive parenting and maternal sensitivity among mothers of children with cerebral palsy by examining the effects of the Video Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting adapted for Cerebral Palsy (VIPP-CP) on mother-child interaction. The study was designed as a pre-test-post-test randomized controlled trial including 40 mother-child dyads, who were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. The intervention group received VIPP-CP, whereas the control group participated in phone calls and face-to-face interviews. Maternal sensitivity and mother-child interaction behaviours were assessed using the Maternal Sensitivity Scale (MSS) and the Parent-Child Interaction Observation Form (PICCOLO). Data were analysed using repeated-measures ANOVA and Pearson correlation analyses. The findings indicated that VIPP-CP had a significant effect on the "Supporting the Child" subdimension of the MSS, as well as on the "Sensitivity" and "Encouragement" dimensions of the PICCOLO.
This longitudinal study examined the respective contributions of father-child and mother-child attachment to children's later executive functions (EF) during toddlerhood. The sample included 88 Canadian toddlers (51% boys) and their parents (89% White) visited in their homes at about 13 (T1) and 19 (T2) months of age. At T1, father-child and mother-child interactions were evaluated using the Attachment Q-Set. At T2, toddlers' hot and cool components of EF were assessed using behavioral tasks. Findings from two sets of analyses converged to suggest that developing secure attachment relationships with both parents may be optimal for the development of cool EF during toddlerhood.
