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Objective: Attachment research has traditionally focused on traits, enhancing our understanding of attachment-related individual differences. However, to chart the dynamic properties of the attachment system, more research is needed on the within-person fluctuation of attachment states. In this ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, we examined (a) the associations between the baseline, variability, and inertia of each state attachment dimension (security, avoidance, and anxiety) and (b) how trait attachment (anxiety and avoidance) predicts these dynamic features., Method: In two adult samples (Ns = 122 and 127), trait attachment dimensions were first assessed using Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised. Then, attachment states were assessed seven or ten times a day over 1 week (4629 and 5322 successful EMA observations)., Results: For state security, individuals with high baseline exhibited lower variability. In contrast, for state avoidance, those with high baseline showed higher variability. Both trait attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted lower baseline and higher variability of state security. Moreover, both trait dimensions predicted higher baselines of the corresponding states., Conclusions: Our findings provide insights into the real-time regulatory dynamics of the attachment system and their interconnection with trait attachment, underscoring the importance of baseline and variability in understanding how attachment manifests in everyday life., (Journal of Personality© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Personality published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

We studied the effects of mother-infant interaction and maternal pre- and postnatal psychological distress on children's social-emotional problems and competences, as well as whether interaction quality moderates the association between distress and children's outcomes. Maternal pre- and postnatal psychological distress were measured using the SCL and EPDS questionnaires, whereas mother-infant interaction was measured when the child was 8 months old using the EA Scales. Children's social-emotional development was measured using the BITSEA questionnaire at 2 years old and using the SDQ questionnaire at 4 years old, where higher maternal structuring was associated with fewer social-emotional problems in children and higher maternal sensitivity was associated with greater social-emotional competence in children at 2 years old. Further, higher postnatal distress was found associated with greater social-emotional problems at 2 years old, though neither these effects nor moderating effects at 4 years old were observed after multiple-comparison corrections. Our findings support direct associations of both mother-infant interaction and maternal postnatal psychological distress with children's social-emotional development during toddlerhood., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Emotional availability (EA) is a construct that describes the observed emotional connection in parent-child relationships. During pregnancy, EA is assessed only using caregiver sensitivity and nonhostility. We used the nonverbal aspects of these qualities to create a new dance/movement intervention ("EA-Based Dance Intervention"). Given the scarcity of pregnancy interventions, we provided training to participants on how to be emotionally engaged with their unborn babies through dance/movement. The EA-Based Dance Intervention alone comprised the first intervention arm (n = 12). A second intervention arm involved the combination of EA-Based Dance Intervention with brief psychoeducation (n = 10). The third arm was a control group, which received only the assessments (n = 7). Measures of self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety, emotional expressivity, flourishing, and the (newly developed) self-reported prenatal EA were used at pre- and posttest. The measure of observed prenatal EA was used to compare intervention versus control at posttest only. In this pilot study, we found that participants receiving the EA-Based Dance Intervention alone or combined with psychoeducation, self-reported improved anxiety symptoms and self-reported higher prenatal EA. When compared with the control group, those experiencing EA-Based Dance Intervention reported fewer depressive symptoms from pre- to posttest., (© 2023 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.)