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The present study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze the concurrent and longitudinal relationship between caregiver sensitivity and preschool attachment measured using the Main and Cassidy (1988) and Cassidy and Marvin (1992) attachment classification systems. This review was pre-registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; Registration Number CRD42017073417) and completed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The present review identified 36 studies made up of 21 samples (N = 3, 847) examining the relationship between caregiver sensitivity and preschool attachment. Eight primary meta-analyses were conducted separately according to the proximity of the assessment of sensitivity to attachment (i.e., concurrent versus longitudinal), operationalization of caregiver sensitivity (i.e., unidimensional versus multidimensional) and attachment categorizations (i.e., secure-insecure versus organized-disorganized). Overall, the meta-analyses revealed higher levels of caregiver sensitivity among caregivers with secure and organized preschoolers, relative to insecure and disorganized preschoolers, respectively. Medium effect sizes (g = .46 to .59) were found for both longitudinal and concurrent associations between caregiver sensitivity and preschool attachment when a unidimensional measure of caregiver sensitivity was employed, compared to small to medium effect sizes (g = .34 to .49) when a multidimensional measure of caregiver sensitivity was employed. Child age at attachment measurement was a significant moderator of the longitudinal association between unidimensional caregiver sensitivity and preschool attachment. Future directions for the literature and clinical implications are discussed.

The current study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze concurrent and longitudinal associations between maternal depression symptoms and mother-child attachment during the preschool period (aged 2 to 7 years) as assessed using the coding systems by Cassidy and Marvin (1992) and Main and Cassidy (1988). The review was pre-registered with PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews; Registration number CRD42017073417) and was conducted in accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. A total of 7,969 records were screened and 18 articles were deemed as eligible for inclusion in the review. Studies were reviewed using qualitative synthesis techniques and, where appropriate, meta-analysis. Qualitative synthesis indicated that mothers of disorganized/controlling children most consistently reported the highest levels of depressive symptoms, both concurrently and longitudinally. The association between disorganized/controlling child attachment and concurrent maternal depressive symptoms was significant (n = 1,787; g = 0.27, 95% CI [0.13,0.40]), and was not moderated by sample type, child gender, or risk of bias. Findings of a relationship between child attachment insecurity and maternal depressive symptoms must be qualified due to significant within-study heterogeneity and publication bias. Results suggest that maternal depressive symptoms may confer risk for disorganized/controlling attachment during the preschool period.

Parents play a critical role in supporting infants&rsquo, ability to manage strong emotions. Routine vaccinations provide an ideal context to observe the effect of parents&rsquo, behaviors on infants&rsquo, pain-related distress. Previous research in the vaccination context showed that parent sensitivity, operationalized by variables such as emotional availability and proximal soothing behaviors, is associated with infant pain-related distress behavior. However, the magnitudes of these relationships were smaller than expected given the established importance of parents in the development of distress regulation. In recent work, a reliable and valid measure to operationalize insensitive behaviors was developed. The objective of the current study was to examine the relative contribution of variables representing sensitive and insensitive behaviors to the prediction of infant pain-related distress behaviors during the reactivity and regulation phases of needle pain. Archival data was used to analyze a subsample of infants followed during their two-month, six-month, and 12-month vaccinations (n = 81). Results of regression analyses indicated that parent insensitive behaviors generally had the strongest relationships with pain outcomes across all ages, with a greater influence on regulation-phase pain-related distress behavior, rather than reactivity-phase pain-related distress behavior. Our findings support the utility of a measure of distress-promoting parent behaviors in a vaccination context, and highlight the potential value of this measure for clinicians and researchers.