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An unsettled question in attachment theory and research is the extent to which children's attachment patterns with mothers and fathers jointly predict developmental outcomes. In this study, we used individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to assess whether early attachment networks with mothers and fathers are associated with children's internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Following a pre-registered protocol, data from 9 studies and 1,097 children (mean age: 28.67 months) with attachment classifications to both mothers and fathers were included in analyses. We used a linear mixed effects analysis to assess differences in children's internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems as assessed via the average of both maternal and paternal reports based on whether children had two, one, or no insecure (or disorganized) attachments. Results indicated that children with an insecure attachment relationship with one or both parents were at higher risk for elevated internalizing behavioral problems compared with children who were securely attached to both parents. Children whose attachment relationships with both parents were classified as disorganized had more externalizing behavioral problems compared to children with either one or no disorganized attachment relationship with their parents. Across attachment classification networks and behavioral problems, findings suggest (a) an increased vulnerability to behavioral problems when children have insecure or disorganized attachment to both parents, and (b) that mother-child and father-child attachment relationships may not differ in the roles they play in children's development of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems.

Support from grandparents plays a role in mothers’ perinatal mental health. However, previous research on maternal mental health has mainly focused on influences of partner support or general social support and neglected the roles of grandparents. In this narrative review and meta-analysis, the scientific evidence on the association between grandparental support and maternal perinatal mental health is reviewed. Searches in PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, and PsycINFO yielded 11 empirical studies on N = 3381 participants, reporting on 35 effect sizes. A multilevel approach to meta-analysis was applied to test the association between grandparental support and maternal mental health. The results showed a small, statistically significant association (r = .16; 95% CI: 0.09–0.25). A moderator test indicated that the association was stronger for studies reporting on support from the maternal grandmother in particular (r = .23; 95% CI: 0.06–0.29). Our findings suggest that involved grandparents, in particular mother’s own mother, constitute a protective factor for the development of maternal postpartum mental health problems. These findings have clear implications for interventions. Future studies should examine whether stimulating high-quality support from grandparents is a fruitful avenue for enhancing maternal postpartum mental health.

Unresolved states of mind regarding experiences of loss/abuse (U/d) are identified through lapses in the monitoring of reasoning, discourse, and behavior surrounding loss/abuse in response to the Adult Attachment Interview. Although the coding system for U/d has been widely used for decades, the individual indicators of unresolved loss/abuse have not been validated independently of the development sample. This study examined the psychometric validity of U/d, using individual participant data from 1,009 parent-child dyads across 13 studies. A latent class analysis showed that subsets of commonly occurring U/d indicators could differentiate interviewees with or without unresolved loss/abuse. Predictive models suggested a psychometric model of U/d consisting of a combination of these common indicators, with disbelief and psychologically confused statements regarding loss being especially important indicators of U/d. This model weakly predicted infant disorganized attachment. Multilevel regression analysis showed no significant association between ratings of unresolved other trauma and infant disorganized attachment, over and above ratings of unresolved loss/abuse. Altogether, these findings suggest that the coding system of U/d may have been overfitted to the initial development sample. Directions for further articulation and optimization of U/d are provided.

In this document, we report on deviations from our original preregistration and why we deviated from it.

In the present randomized controlled study, we investigate the effects of VIPP-SD on parents’ secure base script knowledge. Furthermore, we examine whether the effects of VIPP-SD on parental behavior and parents’ attitudes towards sensitivity and discipline are moderated by parents’ baseline secure base script knowledge. Lastly, intervention effects on parents’ secure base script knowledge may mediate any positive behavioral and attitude effects of VIPP-SD, which we will test in a more explorative way.

Perinatal depression is a serious mental health concern affecting 10–15% of all mothers in Western societies (Gavin et al., 2005). Perinatal depression does not only negatively impact on the mother, but may also result in a disordered mother-infant relationship with long-term negative consequences for the developing child (Sherry, Evinder, Stewart, 2003; Murray & Cooper, 1997). Low social support has been identified as an important risk factor for developing perinatal mental health problems (Razurel & Kaiser, 2015), and in particular postpartum depression (Robertson et al., 2004). Although beneficial influences of partner support are well-documented (Yim et al., 2015), influences of grandparental support on postpartum maternal mental health have received less attention. In a recent meta-analysis, we found that support from grandparents was related to better maternal mental health in the first year after child birth (Riem et al., 2023). These findings suggest that involved grandparents constitute a protective factor against the development of maternal postpartum mental health problems. It is, however, unknown how grandparental support with caregiving relates to maternal mental health in clinical samples. The lack of attention to grandparental caregiving roles is surprising, given that grandparents often play a role in childcare. In Western societies, more grandparents are currently involved in care for grandchildren than at any other time in recent history, possibly due to increasing rates of single motherhood and female employment (Shorey & Debby, 2020). These grandparental contributions appear crucial for parental wellbeing. Practical childcare support from grandparents may lower the burden of childcare, which contributes to maternal wellbeing and may also support mothers’ return to paid work. This, in turn, can facilitate an adaptive transition to motherhood. In addition to practical support, grandparents may also provide emotional support to mothers, for example by giving advice or when mothers share concerns about the infant (Aubel, 2021). However, intergenerational conflicts may hinder beneficial effects of grandparental support and may result in lower levels of perceived support. Grandparental support may not only promote maternal mental health, but also child development. A large number of studies has shown that grandparental childcare is positively related to children’s socio-emotional and cognitive development (Sadruddin et al., 2019). Grandparental support may be particularly important for children who grow up under adverse circumstances, such as parental illness. Indeed, a longitudinal study showed that a high quality relationship with grandparents attenuates the risk of transmission of maternal depressive symptoms to grandchildren, thus pointing to a buffering effect of grandparental involvement (Silverstein & Ruiz, 2006). It is, however, yet unknown whether grandparents can buffer effects of maternal depression in clinical samples. In the current study, we will examine the role of grandparental support in reducing perinatal depression. We will examine: 1) potential differences in support from grandparents (practical support with childcare, perceived support, and geographical distance) in mothers diagnosed with postpartum depression (PPD) compared with a healthy control group; 2) associations between geographical distance, perceived grandparental support, practical childcare support and severity of depressive symptoms in mothers diagnosed with PPD; 3) buffering effects of perceived grandparental support against parenting difficulties in mothers with PPD.

The current RCT examines effects of baby carrying on fathers’ behavior and hormonal levels.

Over the past few decades, fathers have become increasingly involved in child caregiving and household tasks, although mothers still spend more time on child caregiving and household tasks than fathers do (Bakermans-Kranenburg et al., 2019; Craig, 2006; Milkie et al., 2002; Yavorsky et al., 2015). While empirical evidence strongly supports the importance of father involvement for positive child development (e.g., Cano et al., 2019; Sarkadi et al., 2008), the underlying mechanisms shaping fathers’ involvement are largely unknown. According to the biobehavioral model of emergent fatherhood, reciprocal relations exist among the sociocultural context, hormonal processes, and paternal behavior in the prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal phases of fatherhood (Bakermans-Kranenburg et al., 2019). In the present study, we will investigate whether fathers’ testosterone levels (as measured in hair) predict fathers’ involvement in child caregiving and household tasks, and whether associations are mediated by fathers’ attitudes toward child gender stereotypes (see Figure 1 and Figure 2). Undisputedly, these associations are important to test across different phases of fatherhood, but perhaps particularly in the first year of fatherhood as this is an important developmental milestone in men’s lives, in which they have to adjust to their new role and responsibilities as a parent. In the present study, we will test our hypotheses in two different samples of new fathers, with one sample serving as an exploratory sample and the other as a test sample.

A meta-analysis (Verhage et al., 2016) examining 95 studies found that there is transmission of attachment representations from parents to their children and that this relation is partially explained by differences in parental sensitivity. However, even after examining 95 studies, the authors also had to conclude, like their predecessor (Van IJzendoorn, 1995) who meta-analyzed 19 studies two decades ago, that there is a transmission gap between parental attachment representations and child attachment, i.e., the concordance between parents’ and children’s attachment cannot be fully explained by observed parental behavior. More recent and unpublished studies reported weaker effect sizes for transmission and the transmission was moderated by a number of factors, such as psychosocial risks and the age of the children. Verhage et al. (2016) speculate that “some children might be more resilient against negative influences”. Inspired by this speculation, we will investigate whether children’s differential susceptibility (to parenting) is a moderating factor (partly) explaining the transmission gap. According to the differential susceptibility hypothesis, children vary in how much they are affected by positive as well as negative parenting (Belsky, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & Van IJzendoorn, 2007; Belsky & Pluess, 2009; Ellis et al., 2011). Highly susceptible children shall, when exposed to adverse environments, show more psychological problems, but shall also flourish more when exposed to supportive environments. Less susceptible children shall be less affected by adverse or supportive environments. Using this hypothesis, we want to test parts of Verhage et al.’s (2016) model. Their theoretical model of intergenerational transmission of attachment will be investigated including child differential susceptibility factors and making use of the secure base script assessment of attachment representations in parents and children (see Figure 1). Besides sensitivity of the parent which has been found to be a mediator in previous research (Witte et al., under review), parental sensitive discipline might be an important mediator. When using sensitive discipline, parents employ non-coercive strategies such as distraction or explaining the rules to cope with difficult child behavior (Van IJzendoorn et al., 2022). Although related, parental sensitive discipline and parental sensitivity are distinct and complementary dimensions of parenting. Witte et al. (under review) found an association between parental attachment representations and parental sensitive discipline. Therefore, sensitive discipline might be a complementary mediator in the relation between the parent’s attachment representation and the parent-child attachment. We thus expand the model by Verhage et al. (2016) by adding sensitive discipline as a possible second mediator.

Supplemental Material for The Effect of Attachment Priming on State Attachment Security in Middle Childhood: The Moderating Roles of Trait Attachment and State Attachment Volatility by B. Cuyvers, M. W. F. T. Verhees, M. H. Van IJzendoorn, M. J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, A. C. M. Rowe, E. Ceulemans, and G. Bosmans in The Journal of Early Adolescence

Sensitivity analyses

Additional file 1: Fig S1. Flow chart of participants included for analyses. Table S1. Parental age groups and child autistic-like traits (n = 5718). Table S2. Pearson correlation coefficients among variables. Fig S2.Quadratic graphs between parental age and child autistic traits at 5/6 years-of-age.Table S3. Association between maternal age and child autistic-like traits among mothers with parity of first pregnancy (N = 5,061). Fig S3. Quadratic graphs between maternal age and child autistic-like traits after adjusting for maternal characteristics. Fig S4. Polynomial Regression. Fig S5. Spline Regression.

Additional file 2. SPIRIT figure.

Attachment is the inborn bias of human children to seek the availability of familiar caregivers in times of stress. It has been observed from ancient times and in many cultures, and scaffolds further physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development. The security of these relationships is shaped by the continuity and quality of the child-rearing environment, and is independent of biological ties to the caregiver. In this chapter, the child’s right to a “good-enough”—that is, at least minimally adequate but not necessarily ‘best’--family life and the importance of a stable network of attachment relationships is highlighted. Legal issues raised by multi-parent care, including questions around the use of attachment-based assessments for custody decisions, are addressed. Attachment theory is well equipped to inform what caregiving arrangements children need, and legislators, judges, and lawyers may consult it as a source of insight into “good-enough” care arrangements in the interest of the child.

Generations of researchers have tested and used attachment theory to understand children's development. To bring coherence to the expansive set of findings from small-sample studies, the field early on adopted meta-analysis. Nevertheless, gaps in understanding intergenerational transmission of individual differences in attachment continue to exist. We discuss how attachment research has been addressing these challenges by collaborating in formulating questions and pooling data and resources for individual-participant-data meta-analyses. The collaborative model means that sharing hard-won and valuable data goes hand in hand with directly and intensively interacting with a large community of researchers in the initiation phase of research, deliberating on and critically reviewing new hypotheses, and providing access to a large, carefully curated pool of data for testing these hypotheses. Challenges in pooling data are also discussed.

Supplemental Material, sj-docx-1-cmx-10.1177_10775595211024748 for Higher Levels of Harsh Parenting During the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Netherlands by Novika Purnama Sari, Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, Pauline Jansen, Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg and Madelon M. E. Riem in Child Maltreatment

Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-1-cmx-10.1177_1077559520986856 for Harsh Parenting and Child Brain Morphology: A Population-Based Study by Andrea P. Cortes Hidalgo, Sandra Thijssen, Scott W. Delaney, Meike W. Vernooij, Pauline W. Jansen, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, Tonya White and Henning Tiemeier in Child Maltreatment

Parents' attachment representations and child-parent attachment have been shown to be associated, but these associations vary across populations (Verhage et al., 2016). The current study examined whether ecological factors may explain variability in the strength of intergenerational transmission of attachment, using individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis. Analyses on 4,396 parent-child dyads (58 studies, child age 11-96 months) revealed a combined effect size of r = .29. IPD meta-analyses revealed that effect sizes for the transmission of autonomous-secure representations to secure attachments were weaker under risk conditions and weaker in adolescent parent-child dyads, whereas transmission was stronger for older children. Findings support the ecological constraints hypothesis on attachment transmission. Implications for attachment theory and the use of IPD meta-analysis are discussed.

Child maltreatment in the family context is a prevalent and pervasive phenomenon in many modern societies. The global perpetration of child abuse and neglect stands in stark contrast to its almost universal condemnation as exemplified in the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child. Much work has been devoted to the task of prevention, yet a grand synthesis of the literature is missing. Focusing on two core elements of prevention, that is, antecedents for maltreatment and the effectiveness of (preventative) interventions, we performed an umbrella review of meta-analyses published between January 1, 2014, and December 17, 2018. Meta-analyses were systematically collected, assessed, and integrated following a uniform approach to allow their comparison across domains. From this analysis of thousands of studies including almost 1.5 million participants, the following risk factors were derived: parental experience of maltreatment in his or her own childhood (d = .47), low socioeconomic status of the family (d = .34), dependent and aggressive parental personality (d = .45), intimate partner violence (d = .41), and higher baseline autonomic nervous system activity (d = .24). The effect size for autonomic stress reactivity was not significant (d = -.10). The umbrella review of interventions to prevent or reduce child maltreatment showed modest intervention effectiveness (d = .23 for interventions targeting child abuse potential or families with self-reported maltreatment and d = .27 for officially reported child maltreatment cases). Despite numerous studies on child maltreatment, some large gaps in our knowledge of antecedents exist. Neurobiological antecedents should receive more research investment. Differential susceptibility theory may shed more light on questions aimed at breaking the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment and on the modest (preventive) intervention effects. In combination with family-based interaction-focused interventions, large-scale socioeconomic experiments such as cash transfer trials and experiments with vouchers to move to a lower-poverty area might be tested to prevent or reduce child maltreatment. Prevalence, antecedents, and preventive interventions of prenatal maltreatment deserve continuing scientific, clinical, and policy attention.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment is associated with poor mental and physical health. However, the mechanisms of gene-environment correlations and the potential causal effects of childhood maltreatment on health are unknown. Using genetics, we aimed to delineate the sources of gene-environment correlation for childhood maltreatment and the causal relationship between childhood maltreatment and health. METHODS: We did a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of childhood maltreatment using data from the UK Biobank (n=143 473), Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (n=26 290), Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n=8346), Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (n=5400), and Generation R (n=1905). We included individuals who had phenotypic and genetic data available. We investigated single nucleotide polymorphism heritability and genetic correlations among different subtypes, operationalisations, and reports of childhood maltreatment. Family-based and population-based polygenic score analyses were done to elucidate gene-environment correlation mechanisms. We used genetic correlation and Mendelian randomisation analyses to identify shared genetics and test causal relationships between childhood maltreatment and mental and physical health conditions. FINDINGS: Our meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (N=185 414) identified 14 independent loci associated with childhood maltreatment (13 novel). We identified high genetic overlap (genetic correlations 0·24-1·00) among different maltreatment operationalisations, subtypes, and reporting methods. Within-family analyses provided some support for active and reactive gene-environment correlation but did not show the absence of passive gene-environment correlation. Robust Mendelian randomisation suggested a potential causal role of childhood maltreatment in depression (unidirectional), as well as both schizophrenia and ADHD (bidirectional), but not in physical health conditions (coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes) or inflammation (C-reactive protein concentration). INTERPRETATION: Childhood maltreatment has a heritable component, with substantial genetic correlations among different operationalisations, subtypes, and retrospective and prospective reports of childhood maltreatment. Family-based analyses point to a role of active and reactive gene-environment correlation, with equivocal support for passive correlation. Mendelian randomisation supports a (primarily bidirectional) causal role of childhood maltreatment on mental health, but not on physical health conditions. Our study identifies research avenues to inform the prevention of childhood maltreatment and its long-term effects. FUNDING: Wellcome Trust, UK Medical Research Council, Horizon 2020, National Institute of Mental Health, and National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre.

OBJECTIVE: Maternal antenatal anxiety is associated with an increased risk of behavioral disturbances in offspring. Recent work has suggested that the effect of maternal antenatal anxiety on infant temperament at 6 months is moderated by the serotonin transporter polymorphism 5-HTTLPR, with carriers of the short allele more susceptible to the adverse behavioral outcomes of maternal antenatal anxiety. These findings, however, are yet to be replicated and extended beyond infancy. The aim of the current study was to assess this same potential moderator (5-HTTLPR) in a large population-based cohort study, and to determine whether or not the effects persist into childhood and early adolescence. METHOD: Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ALSPAC) cohort (N = 3,946) were used to assess whether the 5-HTTLPR genotype moderated the association between self-reported maternal antenatal anxiety (Crown Crisp Index) in pregnancy, and child temperament at 6 months (Infant Temperament Questionnaire), and also later behavioral and emotional problems on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire from age 4 to 13 years. RESULTS: We found no evidence to suggest that the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism moderated the effects of maternal antenatal anxiety on infant temperament at 6 months or infant behavioral and emotional problems from childhood through to adolescence. CONCLUSION: Our results, based on a large prospective community sample that assessed children from infancy to early adolescence, provide a thorough test of, but no evidence for, a genetic moderation of the effects of maternal antenatal anxiety by 5-HTTLPR.

In the current study a three-generational design was used to investigate intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment (ITCM) using multiple sources of information on child maltreatment: mothers, fathers and children. A total of 395 individuals from 63 families reported on maltreatment. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to combine data from mother, father and child about maltreatment that the child had experienced. This established components reflecting the convergent as well as the unique reports of father, mother and child on the occurrence of maltreatment. Next, we tested ITCM using the multi-informant approach and compared the results to those of two more common approaches: ITCM based on one reporter and ITCM based on different reporters from each generation. Results of our multi-informant approach showed that a component reflecting convergence between mother, father, and child reports explained most of the variance in experienced maltreatment. For abuse, intergenerational transmission was consistently found across approaches. In contrast, intergenerational transmission of neglect was only found using the perspective of a single reporter, indicating that transmission of neglect might be driven by reporter effects. In conclusion, the present results suggest that including multiple informants may be necessary to obtain more valid estimates of ITCM.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disinhibited and reactive attachment disorders (RAD/DAD) often experience socioemotional problems. Elucidating a clear picture of these profiles is essential. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) were analysed from cohort of children with ASD (n = 1430), ADHD (n = 1193), and RAD/DAD (n = 39). Kruskal–Wallis Tests and network analytic techniques were used to investigate symptom profiles. Children with ASD experienced more emotional problems, peer problems and fewer prosocial behaviours. Children with ADHD and RAD/DAD had higher levels of hyperactivity and conduct problems. Overall, ASD and ADHD networks were highly correlated (rs = 0.82), and we did not observe a statistically significant difference in terms of global Strength.

The COVID-19 pandemic might lead to more mental health problems. However, few studies have examined sleep problems, depression, and posttraumatic symptoms among the general adult population during the COVID-19 outbreak, and little is known about coping behaviors. This survey was conducted online in China from February 1st to February 10th, 2020. Quota sampling was used to recruit 2993 Chinese citizens aged &ge, 18 years old. Mental health problems were assessed with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression inventory, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Exposure to COVID-19 was measured with questions about residence at outbreak, personal exposure, media exposure, and impact on livelihood. General coping style was measured by the brief Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ). Respondents were also asked 12 additional questions about COVID-19 specific coping behaviors. Direct exposure to COVID-19 instead of the specific location of (temporary) residence within or outside the epicenter (Wuhan) of the pandemic seems important (standardized beta: 0.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.02&ndash, 0.09). Less mental health problems were also associated with less intense exposure through the media (standardized beta: &minus, 0.07, 95% CI: &minus, 0.10&ndash, &minus, 0.03). Perceived negative impact of the pandemic on livelihood showed a large effect size in predicting mental health problems (standardized beta: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.10&ndash, 0.19). More use of cognitive and prosocial coping behaviors were associated with less mental health problems (standardized beta: &minus, 0.30, 95% CI: &minus, 0.34&ndash, 0.27). Our study suggests that the mental health consequences of the lockdown impact on livelihood should not be underestimated. Building on cognitive coping behaviors reappraisal or cognitive behavioral treatments may be most promising.