The Continuity of Attachment Development from Infancy to Toddlerhood: The Role of Maternal Sensitivity

The patterns of attachment between infants and mothers have far-reaching consequences for infants’ development; infants with secure attachments fare better socially and emotionally than those with non-secure attachments (Deklyen & Greenberg,2008). Theory suggests that differences in attachment quality result from differences in mother-child interactions: secure attachment results from a history of sensitive interactions and non-secure attachment from insensitive interaction. Since the attachment security is held to be a product of the quality of interactions; a change in the quality of interactions should theoretically lead to a change in attachment quality. Thus, a child in a secure relationship later encountering insensitive care should tend towards a non-secure relationship, and vice versa

Assessing Maternal Sensitivity from Videotaped Recordings: Validity and Practical Applications

This study examined the use of short, videotaped, mother-infant laboratory interactions instead of longer home visits to assess maternal sensitivity. Scores generated when toddlers were 24-months were found to be correlated with assessments of maternal sensitivity and attachment security from previous home visits The results suggest that coding from appropriate samples of recorded interactions may provide valid assessments of maternal sensitivity and attachment security but a number of important caveats must still be resolved

The Development of Disorganized Attachment in Infants of Adult and Adolescent Mothers

Attachment theory proposes that maternal sensitivity is the main developmental determinant of Organized attachment relationships (Ainsworth Blehar, Waters & Wall, 1978; DeWolff & van IJzendoorn, 1997); In contrast, Disorganized attachment relationships are held to be the product of frightened, frightening or atypical maternal behaviour (Lyons-Ruth, Bronfman, & Parson, 1999; Main & Hesse, 1990). However, recent research has identified associations between low levels of maternal sensitivity and Disorganized attachment in high-risk populations (Bernier & Meins, 2008; Moran, Forbes, Evans, Tarabulsy, & Madigan, 2008; van IJzendoorn, Scheungel & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 1999); This raises the possibility that maternal sensitivity may contribute to the development of Disorganized attachment relationships in high-risk groups. Such findings have yet to be replicated in low-risk samples, perhaps suggesting the association between maternal interactive behaviour and the development of Disorganized attachment may differ between high-risk and low-risk populations. To better understand differences in the origins of Disorganized relationships between high-risk and low- risk groups, it has been suggested that assessing various aspects of maternal interaction, in addition to overall sensitivity, may be beneficial (Moran et al., 2008)

The Relation of FR Behaviour to AAI Scales

Attachment theory describes the bonds between caregivers and children that serve a protective function for children. The FR theory developed by Main and Hesse (1990) proposes that unmonitored parental behaviour, or frightened, frightening and dissociative (FR) behaviour, stemming from a history of Unresolved/disoriented (U/d) trauma, disorganizes the attachment relationship. The parent is a source of fear and is thus unavailable as a source of safety and protection

Maternal State of Mind: How Does It Impact the Ability to Flexibly Adjust to Siblings\u27 Needs?

PURPOSE: To investigate the impact of maternal state of mind on the ability to adapt interactive behavior and perceptions of attachment behaviour across siblings. RESULTS: Maternal sensitivity and perceptions of siblings’ attachment behavior were highly correlated across children of non-Autonomous mothers, but not Autonomous mothers. Non- Autonomous mothers behaved similarly on eight domains of interactive behaviour, while Autonomous mothers behaved similarly on only two. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that maternal state of mind is implicated in the ability to flexibly adapt interactive style and relationship-specific attachment perceptions across siblings

Beyond Sensitivity: Patterns of Maternal Interaction in Secure vs. Non-Secure Attachment Relationships

Attachment theory proposes that the sensitivity of a mother’s interactions with her child is the main developmental determinant of the quality of their attachment relationship (Ainsworth et al., 1978; De Wolff & van Ijzendoorn, 1997). Empirical findings have generally supported this assertion; however, the strength of this association remains a matter of debate as the results of empirical findings have been highly variable (Atkinson et al., 2000; DeWolff & van IJzendoorn, 1997). Several researchers have suggested that assessing maternal behaviour as a single global dimension may fail to capture important variation in the quality of interactions that influence the developing attachment relationship (van IJzendoorn, 1995; Pederson et al., 1998). Consequently, assessing distinct aspects of maternal interactive behaviour may provide additional insight into the maternal contribution to the quality of the attachment relationship

Sibling Mother-Infant Attachment: Different Patterns of Interaction Lead to Similar Relationships

PURPOSE: To investigate the role of maternal sensitivity and interactive behavior in sibling attachment non-/concordance. RESULTS:1) Global measures of sensitivity suggest that mothers of concordant-secure and non-concordant infants demonstrate a similar degree of sensitivity towards each child. 2) Mothers with non-concordant infants interact more similarly with each child on domains of maternal sensitivity, compared to mothers whose infants are concordant. CONCLUSION: The quality of the attachment relationship in families with non-concordant mother-infant relationships –in contrast to families with concordant dyads –does not appear to be systematically affected by maternal sensitivity as typically assessed. More detailed assessment of the interactions suggest that mothers with non-concordant relationships with their infants may be unable to adapt their behaviour to suit the unique needs of each child

The Puzzle of Sibling Attachment Non-Concordance: Implications of Categorical versus Continuous Approaches to Attachment

PURPOSE OF THE CURRENT STUDY: To determine whether characterizing the quality of attachment as a continuous measure impacts the extent to which siblings’ attachment relationships are judged concordant. To investigate whether continuous measures of attachment provide additional information regarding the similarity of more specific aspects of siblings attachment relationships