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A growing body of research suggests that, compared with single parent-child attachment relationships, child developmental outcomes may be better understood by examining the configurations of child-mother and child-father attachment relationships (i.e., attachment networks). Moreover, some studies have demonstrated an above-chance level chance of concordance between the quality of child-mother and child-father attachment relationships, and child temperament has been offered as a plausible explanation for such concordance. To assess whether temperament plays a role in the development of different attachment network configurations, in this preregistered individual participant data meta-analysis we tested the degree to which the temperament dimension of negative emotionality predicts the number of secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant, and disorganized attachment relationships a child has with mother and father. Data included in the linear mixed effects analyses were collected from seven studies sampling 872 children (49% female; 83% White). Negative emotionality significantly predicted the number of secure ( d = -0.12) and insecure-resistant ( d = 0.11), but not insecure-avoidant ( d = 0.04) or disorganized ( d = 0.08) attachment relationships. Nonpreregistered exploratory analyses indicated higher negative emotionality in children with insecure-resistant attachment relationships with both parents compared to those with one or none ( d = 0.19), suggesting that temperament plays a small yet significant role in child-mother/child-father insecure-resistant attachment relationships concordance. Taken together, results from this study prompt a more in-depth examination of the mechanism underlying the small yet significantly higher chance that children with increased negative emotionality have for developing multiple insecure-resistant attachment relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

This study examined the contribution of early vs. concurrent maternal guidance of emotion dialogues with their children to the security and coherence of the children's attachment representations as adolescents. Maternal Sensitive Guidance was assessed from mother-child emotion dialogues when participants were preschoolers (approximate age 4 years) and young adolescents (approximate age 12.5 years), along with an assessment of adolescents' attachment representations using the Friends and Family Interview (FFI). Mothers' Sensitive Guidance in preschool predicted adolescents' coherence in the FFI, secure maternal (but not paternal) representations, and a positive representation of sibling relationships. In contrast, mothers' concurrent Sensitive Guidance was related only to adolescents' sibling relationships. These results highlight the significance of mothers' sensitive guidance of emotion dialogues during the early years for their children's later attachment representations, and point to the need for further examination of mothers' role when they guide emotion dialogues with their adolescents.

An individual participant data meta-analysis was conducted to test pre-registered hypotheses about how the configuration of attachment relationships to mothers and fathers predicts children's language competence. Data from seven studies (published between 1985 and 2014) including 719 children (M age : 19.84 months; 51% female; 87% White) were included in the linear mixed effects analyses. Mean language competence scores exceeded the population average across children with different attachment configurations. Children with two secure attachment relationships had higher language competence scores compared to those with one or no secure attachment relationships (d = .26). Children with two organized attachment relationships had higher language competence scores compared to those with one organized attachment relationship (d = .23), and this difference was observed in older versus younger children in exploratory analyses. Mother-child and father-child attachment quality did not differentially predict language competence, supporting the comparable importance of attachment to both parents in predicting developmental outcomes., (© 2023 The Authors. Child Development © 2023 Society for Research in Child Development.)

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., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The study examined associations between mothers' upbringing background (kibbutz vs. home) and maternal-sensitive guidance of emotional conversations with their preschool children; children's cooperation and exploration; and the coherence of their conversations. Using a quasi-experimental design, 112 children and their mothers (72 kibbutz raised, 40 home) completed the Autobiographical Emotional Event Dialogue. We hypothesized that maternal kibbutz upbringing would be associated to lower levels of mothers' sensitive guidance of the conversations, children's lower cooperation and exploration, and lower overall coherence. Results showed no upbringing-related differences for the mothers, but significant differences were found for the children, with children of kibbutz-raised mothers showing less cooperation and exploration, and lower levels of coherence for these dyads. The role of maternal background in shaping the interaction with their child is discussed.

Culture and parenting shape the ability to recall early childhood experiences. This research focused on the unique context of upbringing in the Israeli kibbutz and examined how cultural orientation and experiences of parental engagement in Kibbutz and non-Kibbutz settings shaped adults' earliest memories. Participants were 108 women (study 1) and 75 women and men (study 2) who were raised in traditional kibbutz upbringing or in a non-kibbutz family setting. In addition to reporting their earliest memory and age at earliest memory, participants estimated retrospectively the amount of daily time spent in interaction with parents, caregivers, and other children during the time of earliest memory. Overall, upbringing-related variations in cultural orientation were evident in the content of memories. A prediction of later age at earliest memory due to limited opportunities for parent-child interaction characteristic of traditional kibbutz upbringing was not supported. Rather, in both studies, age at earliest memory was linked to retrospective estimation of parental engagement, after controlling for childhood ecology. Study 2 revealed also a link of age at earliest memory to retrospective estimation of involvement with non-parental caregivers. These findings are congruent with the social-interaction model's claims about the importance of interaction with caregiving adults to autobiographical memory's development.

The links between social information processing (SIP) and social behavior in preschool are well documented. However, the antecedents of SIP in that age group are less clear. A number of influential theoretical models suggest that a major contributor to SIP is the quality of the child's relationships with the parent. Therefore, we examined the links among quality of the mother-child relationships (measured via direct observations of dyadic play interactions), the child's SIP patterns (measured via direct interview with the child), and the child's perceived behavior in preschool (measured via teacher reports) in a sample of 218 preschool and kindergarten children and their mothers. Applying structural equation modeling, we found support for our theoretical model with a specific emphasis on the negative nature of this association. Specifically, we found a strong indirect path from maternal negative control to the teacher's negative perception of the child's behavior in preschool and kindergarten via less competent SIP patterns. This empirical path remained intact after controlling for various variables such as the family income, the mother's education level, and the child's expressive language abilities, thereby providing further support for the robustness of this association., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)