Attachment behavior and representation across early childhood: Links to maternal behavior

Jill Marie Trumbell, Purdue University

Abstract

The developmental trajectory of child-mother attachment relationships across the preschool years was explored using behavioral and cognitive assessments of attachment to better understand the transition from behavioral manifestations to internalized modes of understanding attachment relationships that is posited to occur during this time frame. Eight-six (N = 86) mother-child dyads participated in the study when children were approximately 3.5 years old (M = 3.73), and again (n = 74) when children were approximately 5 years of age (M = 5.35). At each time, maternal sensitivity and child secure base behavior were observed across three visits conducted in naturalistic settings (one home and two park visits). During the home visit at each time, children's representations of attachment relationships were also assessed through examination of their use of the secure base script. Findings revealed that both maternal sensitivity and the organization of children's secure base behavior remained somewhat stable from 3.5 to 5 years of age, both in terms of global composites of behavior and for more specific behavioral domains, though some behaviors showed mean level differences and were more descriptive of sensitivity or secure base use at 3.5 versus 5 years of age (and vice versa). Path analysis also revealed that sensitivity was a significant predictor of children's secure base behavior concurrently at age 3.5 and also at age 5, though no direct longitudinal associations between sensitivity and secure base behavior were found. Additionally, as revealed through multi-level modeling, when changes in children's secure base behavior did occur, they were related to changes in maternal sensitivity over time; not only did mothers who were more sensitive have children who showed greater secure base behavior, but on occasions when mothers were even more sensitive than their own average their children also exhibited greater secure base use. In contrast to findings regarding children's secure base behavior, children's attachment representations showed instability across the preschool years. Maternal sensitivity was only a marginally significant predictor of children's concurrent attachment representations at 5 years of age, with no earlier association found at age 3.5. Furthermore, contrary to what was expected, changes in sensitivity from 3.5 to 5 years of age did not predict changes in attachment representations during this time. Findings are discussed in light of attachment theory and suggest the continued importance of ongoing sensitive care across the preschool years above and beyond what is provided at earlier ages in order to promote secure child-mother attachment relationships over the preschool period. Findings also underscore the need for further research utilizing secure base script methodology in young children to validate its use during early childhood. Lastly, the need to include multi-method assessments (both behavior and representations) of attachment relationships during this transitional time is stressed given that the consolidation of the behavioral and cognitive systems informing attachment relationships may not happen as early as previously thought.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Posada, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Developmental psychology

COinS