Search

Background: The interconnected effects of maternal perinatal depression and the early mother-infant relational quality on children's executive function development are crucial yet understudied. This study addresses this gap, focusing on how perinatal depressive symptoms and emotional availability at 6 months predict child executive function performance at age four, with an emphasis on the moderating role of emotional availability., Method: This study included 282 mother-infant pairs recruited from the Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study, utilising repeated Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale measurement over the perinatal period, Emotional Availability Scales, and child executive function assessments (Shape School, NEPSY-II, Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity scale, inattentive subscale). Latent growth curve analysis incorporated controls for socioeconomic status and maternal cognitive abilities, and moderation effects were examined through multiplicative interaction terms., Results: We found that emotional availability influences children's executive function, specifically switching, motor inhibition, and inattentive symptoms, irrespective of maternal depressive symptom changes. This effect is further nuanced by emotional availability's moderating role in the association between depressive symptom change and switching., Limitations: The study's limitations include a relatively small sample size for moderation analysis and the exclusion of paternal influences., Conclusion: This study is a significant step in understanding the profound influence of maternal emotional availability in infancy on child executive function development, offering new avenues for research and, if replicated, a foundation for innovative intervention approaches., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Maternal sensitivity has been implicated in various aspects of child health and development, including overweight. However, long-term effects, the role of paternal sensitivity and the explanatory pathways are unclear. This study examined whether maternal sensitivity in early childhood is prospectively associated with adolescent body mass index and whether children's self-regulation mediates this relation. Data from 540 children and their mothers were available from a large cohort study in the Netherlands. Maternal sensitivity was assessed at child ages 1, 3, and at 4 years paternal sensitivity was also included. Children's self-regulation skills were observed at age 3, eating behaviour was assessed at 10 years, and child BMI was measured at 13 years. Longitudinal structural equation modelling was applied. The cross-sectional association between maternal sensitivity and child self-regulation was significant, while lower levels of self-regulation and higher levels of food responsiveness and restrained eating predicted a higher child BMI at 13 years. Furthermore, a direct association of paternal sensitivity at 4 years with BMI at 13 years was found, but only in girls. Maternal sensitivity was not directly associated with child BMI after adjusting for covariates. Our findings showed the importance of self-regulation in the early years for subsequent weight development. Nevertheless, as self-regulation could not explain the relationship between parenting and child weight, research should focus on the contribution of other contextual factors, such as feeding styles and the social environment, to this relationship., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This longitudinal study examined developmental trajectories of infant sleep problems from 3 to 24 months old and investigated associations with infant-parent attachment security and dependency. In a sample of 107 Israeli families, number and duration of infant nighttime awakenings were measured at 3, 6, 9, and 24 months old, using mothers' and fathers' reports on the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ). Infant-parent attachment security and infant-parent dependency was assessed at 24 months old, using the observer Attachment Q-Sort procedure (AQS) with both parents. Latent growth curve models showed a non-linear decline in number and duration of infant nighttime awakenings over time. A higher number and longer duration of infant nighttime awakenings at 3 months were associated with higher infant-father attachment security at 24 months. In contrast, longer infant nighttime awakenings at 3 months were predictive of lower infant-mother attachment security at 24 months. A steeper decrease in duration of infant nighttime awakenings was associated with higher infant-father attachment security and lower infant-mother attachment security. As a potential mechanism, paternal involvement in nighttime caregiving was explored in relation to infant-father attachment security. Results of our post-hoc analyses revealed no significant associations between paternal involvement in nighttime caregiving and infant-father attachment security. Our results highlight the need to examine potential mechanisms explaining the divergent associations of infant sleep problems with infant-mother and infant-father attachment security in future research., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

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., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The current study examined behavioral and neural responses to infant and adult tears, taking into account childhood experiences with parental love-withdrawal. With functional MRI (fMRI), we measured neural reactivity to pictures of infants and adults with and without tears on their faces in nulliparous women with varying childhood experiences of maternal use of love withdrawal. Behavioral responses to infant and adult tears were measured with an approach-avoidance task. We found that individuals with experiences of love withdrawal showed less amygdala and insula reactivity to adult tears, but love withdrawal did not affect amygdala and insula reactivity to infant tears. During the approach-avoidance task, individuals responded faster to adult tears in the approach condition compared with the avoidance condition, indicating that adult tears facilitate approach behavior. Individuals responded faster to infant tears than to adult tears, regardless of approach or avoidance condition. Our findings suggest that infant tears are highly salient and may, therefore, overrule the effects of contextual and personal characteristics that influence the perception of adult crying. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).)

This study assessed attachment representation and attachment-related autonomic regulation in a sample of 38 maltreating and 35 nonmaltreating mothers. Mothers' state of mind regarding attachment was measured using the Adult Attachment Interview. They further watched an attachment-based comfort paradigm, during which we measured skin conductance and vagal tone. More maltreating mothers (42%) than nonmaltreating mothers (17%) had an unresolved/disoriented attachment classification. Attachment representation was related to physiology during the comfort paradigm: an unresolved state of mind and a nonautonomous classification were associated with a decrease in skin conductance during the comfort paradigm, specifically during the responsive caregiver scenario. However, physiology did not differ between maltreating and nonmaltreating mothers. The decrease in skin conductance of unresolved mothers during the comfort paradigm might be indicative of a deactivating response, which is congruent with the dissociative nature of the unresolved state of mind. The results point to the potential utility of interventions focused on attachment representations for maltreating mothers.

We investigated whether attachment quality is related to infant-mother dyadic patterns in monitoring animated social situations. Sixty 12-month-old infants and their mothers participated in an eye-tracking study in which they watched abstractly depicted distress interactions involving the separation of a "baby" and a "parent" character followed by reunion or further separation of the two characters. We measured infants' and their mothers' relative fixation duration to the two characters in the animations. We found that infant attachment disorganization moderated the correspondence between the monitoring patterns of infant-mother dyads during the final part of the animations resulting in reunion or separation. Organized infants and their mothers showed complementary monitoring patterns: the more the mothers focused their attention on the "baby" character, the more the infants focused their attention on the "parent" character, and vice versa. Disorganized infant-mother dyads showed the opposite pattern although the correlation was nonsignificant: mothers and their infants focused on the same character. The attachment-related differences in the nature of the synchrony in the attentional processes of infants and their mothers suggest that by 12 months the dyads' representations of social situations reflect their shared social-emotional experiences.

The current study examined the effects of oxytocin administration on the response to infant crying in individuals with secure or insecure attachment representations as assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview. We measured feelings of irritation and the use of excessive force as indicated by grip strength using a handgrip dynamometer during exposure to infant crying in 42 women without children who were administered intranasal oxytocin or a placebo. In addition, amygdala responses to infant crying and control sounds were measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The effects of oxytocin on reactivity to crying were moderated by attachment security. Oxytocin decreased the use of excessive handgrip force and amygdala reactivity in response to crying in individuals with insecure attachment representations. Our findings indicate that insecure individuals, who show emotional, behavioral, and neural hyperreactivity to crying, benefit the most from intranasal oxytocin.

Background: Infants have been shown to possess remarkable competencies in social understanding. Little is known, however, about the interplay between the quality of infants' social-emotional experiences with their caregivers and social-cognitive processes in infancy., Method: Using eye-tracking we investigated the relation of infant attachment quality and maternal sensitivity with 12-month-old infants' monitoring patterns during the observation of abstractly depicted interactions of a "parent" and a "baby" figure., Results: We found that secure infants focused their attention on the "parent" figure relative to the "baby" figure more than insecure infants when the two figures got separated. Infants with more sensitive mothers focused their attention more on the ongoing behavior of the "parent" figure after the separation than infants with less sensitive mothers when distress of the "baby" figure was implied by accompanying baby crying sounds., Conclusion: Our findings support the notion that early social-emotional experiences with the caregiver are related to social information processing and that these social information processing patterns might be markers of infants' developing internal working models of attachment.

Handgrip force responses to infant signals were examined in a sample of 43 maltreating and 40 non-maltreating mothers. During a standardized handgrip paradigm, mothers were asked to squeeze a handgrip dynamometer at maximal and at half of their maximal handgrip strength while listening to infant crying and laughter sounds. Maltreating mothers used excessive force more often while listening to infant crying and laughter than non-maltreating mothers. Of the maltreating mothers, only neglectful mothers (n=20) tended to use excessive force more often during crying than non-maltreating mothers. Participants did not rate the sounds differently, indicating that maltreating mothers cannot be differentiated from non-maltreating mothers based on their perception of infant signals, but show different behavioral responses to the signals. Results imply that, in response to infant signals (i.e., crying or laughing), maltreating mothers may be insufficiently able to regulate the exertion of physical force., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

When bilingual children enter formal reading education, host language proficiency becomes increasingly important. This study investigated the relation between socioeconomic status (SES), maternal language use, reading input, and vocabulary in a sample of 111 six-year-old children of first- and second-generation Turkish immigrant parents in the Netherlands. Mothers reported on their language use with the child, frequency of reading by both parents, and availability of children's books in the ethnic and the host language. Children's Dutch and Turkish vocabulary were tested during a home visit. SES was related to maternal language use and to host language reading input. Reading input mediated the relation between SES and host language vocabulary and between maternal language use and host language vocabulary, whereas only maternal language use was related to ethnic language vocabulary. During transition to formal reading education, one should be aware that children from low-SES families receive less host language reading input.

A vast body of literature shows that maternal depression has long-term adverse consequences for children. However, only very few studies have documented the effect of maternal depression on children's ability to process emotional expressions and even fewer incorporated measures of observed maternal sensitivity to further tease apart whether it is the symptoms per se or the associated impact via maternal sensitivity that affects children's developing emotion-processing abilities. In a large community sample of Dutch preschoolers (N = 770), we examined independent and mediated effects of maternal depressive symptoms and sensitivity on children's ability to recognize emotional expressions using a nonverbal and a verbal task paradigm. Maternal depressive symptoms predicted less accurate emotion labeling in children, while maternal sensitivity was associated with more accurate emotion matching, especially for sadness and anger. Maternal sensitivity did not mediate the observed associations between mothers' depressive symptoms and children's emotion recognition, and effects were similar for boys and girls. Given that maternal depressive symptoms and sensitivity affected nonoverlapping areas of young children's emotion recognition, prevention and intervention efforts should focus on both alleviating maternal depressive symptoms and improving maternal sensitivity at the same time in order to maximize benefit.

The goal of this study is to clarify the relation between maternal sensitivity and internalizing problems during the preschool period. For this purpose, a longitudinal, bidirectional model was tested in two large prospective, population-based cohorts, the Generation R Study and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD), including over 1,800 mother-child dyads in total. Maternal sensitivity was repeatedly observed in mother-child interaction tasks and information on child internalizing problems was obtained from maternal reports. Modest but consistent associations between maternal sensitivity and internalizing problems were found in both cohorts, confirming the importance of sensitive parenting for positive development in the preschool years. Pathways from maternal sensitivity to child internalizing problems were consistently observed but child-to-mother pathways were only found in the NICHD SECCYD sample.

We examined the effects of maternal history of depressive disorder and the effects of depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the early postpartum period on attachment insecurity and disorganization. A total of 627 mother-infant dyads from the Generation R Study participated in a population-based cohort from fetal life onwards. Maternal history of depression was assessed by diagnostic interviews during pregnancy; maternal peri- and postnatal depressive symptoms were assessed with questionnaires in 506 of these women at 20 weeks pregnancy and two months postpartum; and infant-mother attachment security was observed when infants were aged 14 months. A history of maternal depressive disorder, regardless of severity or psychiatric comorbidity, was not associated with an increased risk of infant attachment insecurity or disorganization. Likewise, maternal peri- and postnatal depressive symptoms were not related to attachment insecurity or disorganization at 14 months. These results are important because mothers from otherwise low risk backgrounds often have previously been depressed or are struggling with non-clinical depressive symptoms during pregnancy and after giving birth. Our findings are discussed in terms of protective factors that may limit the potentially negative effects of maternal depressive symptoms on the infant-mother attachment relationship in the general population. The role of selective attrition and lack of information about the mothers' attachment status for the current null-findings are also discussed.

The primary goal of this study is to test the hypothesis that beliefs about the ideal sensitive mother are similar across Dutch, Moroccan, and Turkish mothers living in the Netherlands. A total of 75 mothers with at least one child between the ages of six months and six years described their views about the ideal sensitive mother using the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (Pederson, Moran, & Bento, 1999 ). These views were highly similar within and across cultural and socio-economic groups. Nevertheless, family income fully mediated the relationship between ethnic background and sensitivity beliefs; income of minority mothers was lower which was in turn predictive of a lower sensitivity belief score. Our findings suggest that the main behavioral markers of sensitivity are valued by mothers from different cultural backgrounds. The role of socio-economic status in sensitivity beliefs is consistent with the Family Stress Model.

Objectives: Examining family stress and parenting efficacy in relation to child externalizing problems in immigrant families., Method: In this study, we compared the levels of family stress, parenting efficacy, and toddler externalizing behaviors in Dutch (n = 175) and second-generation Turkish immigrant families (n = 175) living in the Netherlands. In addition, the influence of Turkish mothers' acculturation on toddler externalizing behaviors and its association with perceived stress and efficacy were examined., Results: Turkish mothers reported higher levels of daily stress and marital discord than Dutch mothers, but did not differ in perceptions of parenting efficacy and children's externalizing behaviors. The associations between child and family variables were similar in the Dutch and the Turkish groups, as more family stress was related to more externalizing behaviors in toddlers. Low parenting efficacy was the most important predictor of child externalizing behaviors in both groups. Acculturation of Turkish mothers was not associated with family and child variables, and did not moderate the association between family variables and child externalizing behaviors. However, emotional connectedness to the Turkish culture was related to less daily stress and fewer marital problems., Conclusions: The results support the no-group differences hypothesis and also imply that cultural maintenance may be adaptive for parental well-being.

Previous studies have related attachment disorganization in children to either dopamine D4 receptor polymorphisms or maternal unresolved loss or trauma and frightening or anomalous parenting. In this study it was examined whether the interaction between genetic (DRD4 7-repeat and -521 C/T) and environmental risk factors (maternal unresolved loss/trauma and maternal frightening behavior) was associated with infant disorganization. A moderating role of the DRD4 gene was found. Maternal unresolved loss or trauma was associated with infant disorganization, but only in the presence of the DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism. The increase in risk for disorganization in children with the 7-repeat allele exposed to maternal unresolved loss/trauma compared to children without these combined risks was 18.8 fold. Similar moderating effects were not found for maternal frightening behavior. Our findings indicate that children are differentially susceptible to unresolved loss or trauma dependent on the presence of the 7-repeat DRD4 allele.

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. [This article was co-authored by the Collaboration on Attachment to Multiple Parents and Outcomes Synthesis.]

The evidence for negative influences of maternal stress during pregnancy on child cognition remains inconclusive. This study tested the association between maternal prenatal stress and child intelligence in 4,251 mother-child dyads from a multiethnic population-based cohort in the Netherlands. A latent factor of prenatal stress was constructed, and child IQ was tested at age 6 years. In Dutch and Caribbean participants, prenatal stress was not associated with child IQ after adjustment for maternal IQ and socioeconomic status. In other ethnicities no association was found; only in the Moroccan/Turkish group a small negative association between prenatal stress and child IQ was observed. These results suggest that prenatal stress does not predict child IQ, except in children from less acculturated minority groups.

Research Findings: Two longitudinal studies are reported examining the effects of full-time day care in Mapuche and non-Mapuche families in Chile. First, the Magellan-Leiden Childcare Study (MLCS) used a sample of 95 mothers with children younger than 1 year old (n = 36 in day care). Second, we partially cross-validated our results in a large and representative sample of 10,723 mothers and their children from the Chilean Encuesta Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia (Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey). In both studies, the quality of care for children provided at home was measured with the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment. In the MLCS study, additional indicators of the mother-child relationship were measured. Day care was not negatively associated with the mother-child relationship and maternal sensitivity, compared to maternal care, or with the quality of the home environment. Positive changes in attachment security were found in Mapuche children who attended day care centers. Practice or Policy: We were able to confirm that type of care was not differentially associated with quality of the home environment.

Little is known about the development of children's lying. The present study examined whether observed social and non-social fear in preschoolers predicts children's consistent cheating (N = 460; M = 4.3 years of age) and consistent lying about cheating. When left alone, 155 (34%) children cheated in both games conducted. Of these consistently cheating children, 54 (35%) children lied about their cheating after both games, whereas the remaining 101 children confessed to cheating after at least one game. Children's temperamental fear did not predict consistent cheating. However, non-social (but not social) fear did predict consistent lying. Children with lower levels of non-social fear were more likely to lie. These findings suggest that non-social fear plays a role in the development of children's antisocial lying.

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. (Contains 2 tables.)

Relations between maternal sensitivity and physiological reactivity to infant crying were examined using measures of heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in 49 mothers of second-born infants. Using the Ainsworth Sensitivity Scale, an independent assessment of maternal sensitivity was made during maternal free play and bathing of their infants. Physiological reactivity was measured while mothers listened to three blocks of infant cry sounds in a standard cry paradigm. Mothers scoring high on sensitivity were compared to less sensitive mothers on both their physiological reactivity to the presented crying sounds and their physiological mean-level differences. Significant interaction effects were found for both HR and RSA. Highly sensitive mothers showed a larger increase in HR and stronger RSA withdrawal in response to the first block of cry sounds compared to less sensitive mothers. Main effects showed that highly sensitive mothers had lower mean overall HR, and higher mean RSA levels across all three blocks of crying sounds compared to less sensitive mothers. RSA withdrawal and accompanying HR increases are discussed from a polyvagal perspective as indicative of a better capability in responding to infant signals of negative affect. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

This study investigated the development and correlates of language use in bilingual Turkish-Dutch immigrant mothers and their toddlers. In this short-term longitudinal study 87 mothers completed questionnaires on their Dutch and Turkish language use, ethnic identity and use of childcare. Observational data were obtained for maternal supportive presence and observed language use with the child. We found evidence that mothers who felt more strongly connected to the Turkish culture spoke more Turkish and less Dutch with their toddlers. The amount of Dutch that was used in mother-toddler communication increased significantly between the ages of two and three years. Mothers of children who started visiting childcare or who lived in a neighbourhood with a low percentage of non-western immigrants showed a larger increase in use of the Dutch language with their toddlers. Our findings emphasise the importance of contextual factors in determining language use in ethnic minority families. (Contains 3 figures and 3 tables.)

The Still-Face Paradigm (SFP) designed by Tronick, Als, Adamson, Wise, and Brazelton (Tronick, E., Als, H., Adamson, L., Wise, S., & Brazelton, T. B. (1978). Infants response to entrapment between contradictory messages in face-to-face interaction. "Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 17", 1-13) has been used for many different purposes in over 80 empirical studies. In the current paper, the nature and correlates of infant behavior in the SFP were examined in a systematic narrative review and a series of meta-analyses. The results of the meta-analyses confirmed the classic still-face effect of reduced positive affect and gaze, and increased negative affect, as well as a partial carry-over effect into the reunion episode consisting of lower positive and higher negative affect compared to baseline. The still-face effect is very robust as it was found regardless of most sample variations such as infant gender and risk status, and regardless of most procedural variations, such as the length of the SFP episodes and the use of intervals between episodes. The few moderator effects that were found in the meta-analyses tended to put findings from the narrative review in a new perspective. Additional meta-analyses confirmed the narrative review in finding that higher maternal sensitivity predicted more infant positive affect during the still-face. Infants' higher positive affect and lower negative affect during the still-face were predictive of secure attachment at age 1 year. The meta-analytic results for maternal depression were equivocal. Implications for future research include a need for studies testing the role of the adults' identity (parent versus stranger, mother versus father) to elucidate the relationship-specificity of the still-face effect. Also, the role of maternal sensitivity and temperament as potential moderators of the still-face effect need to be examined further. On a procedural level, the effects of the timing of the still-face and of the duration of the reunion on infant responses deserve future research attention. (Contains 8 tables and 1 figure.)

In an intriguing account, the hypothesis is proposed that elevating effects of quantity of childcare on aggression might not, as other research has suggested, be dissipating over time, but instead be diffusing across groups of children. Paradoxically, this diffusion may also affect children with little or no experience with non-maternal care. If supported, this hypothesis may cause great concern about the increasing childcare use in western countries. In this commentary, we take a closer look at this hypothesis, focusing on limitations in ethnic and cultural diversity of the available data, on the inconclusive role of temperament, on the causal nature of some conclusions, and on the role of the father as a non-maternal caregiver.

Recent studies have supported the intriguing hypothesis that highly reactive infants are most susceptible to the effect of parenting. This study replicates and extends an earlier study on 4-year-olds concerning higher susceptibility of more fearful children to the quality of their relationships with their mothers, as shown by their physiological reactions to fear-inducing film clips. Two groups of children (4- and 7-year-olds) were shown the same fear-inducing and neutral film clips. During the film clips, their skin conductance and heart rate variability were measured. Both 4- and 7-year-olds responded to the fear-inducing film clips with increases in skin conductance and decreases in heart rate variability. A secure relationship affected the reactivity to fearful stimuli in temperamentally more fearful children but not in less fearful children irrespective of children's ages. Our findings add to the growing literature showing that children high in negative emotion are more susceptible to positive as well as negative rearing influences for better and for worse.

The current study examined whether adolescents' attachment representations were associated with differences in emotion regulation during the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1996) and during a mother-adolescent conflict interaction task (Family Interaction Task [FIT]; J. P. Allen et al., 2003). Participants were one hundred and fifty-six 14-year-old adolescents. Dismissing adolescents showed less interbeat interval (IBI) reactivity (indicating less stress) during the AAI than secure adolescents. However, during the FIT, dismissing adolescents showed more IBI reactivity. No differences in physiological reactivity were found between individuals with resolved or unresolved loss or trauma during the AAI or FIT. The results indicate that dismissing adolescents may effectively use a defensive strategy during the AAI but less so in direct conflict interaction with their attachment figure.

The home-based intervention program Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) was tested in a randomized controlled trial with 237 families screened for their 1- to 3-year-old children's relatively high scores on externalizing behavior. VIPP-SD, based on attachment theory and coercion theory, focuses on mirroring and discussing actual parent-child interactions in six 1.5-hr sessions with individual families at home. VIPP-SD proved to be effective in enhancing maternal attitudes toward sensitivity and sensitive discipline and in promoting sensitive discipline interactions in the intervention group as compared with the control group. Moreover, in families with more marital discord and in families with more daily hassles, the intervention resulted in a decrease of overactive problem behaviors in the children. The authors conclude that VIPP-SD should become an important module in attachment-based interventions.

The current article presents results from a twin study of genetic and environmental components of maternal sensitivity and infant attachment and their association. The sample consisted of 136 twin pairs from 2 sites: Leiden, the Netherlands, and London, UK. Maternal sensitivity was assessed in the home at 9-10 months, and infant attachment security was observed in the laboratory at 12 months. The study yielded little evidence that genetic factors are involved in variations between twins in maternal sensitivity ratings but did find that shared variance in maternal sensitivity was able to account for some of the similarity between twins in attachment security. Weak nonshared associations between sensitivity and attachment appeared to suppress the magnitude of the correlation between attachment and sensitivity in twin children. The results could indicate that the attachment security of one twin may depend on the relationship the parent has with the other twin. The results are brought to bear on the validity of attachment theory as a theory of primarily shared environmental effects in children's development and the continuing challenge posed to attachment theory by within-family differences in socioemotional processes.

Background: This study investigated the occurrence, cross-informant agreement, 1-year stability, and context characteristics of externalizing behaviors in 12-month-old children, as compared to 24- and 36-month-olds. Method: In a general population sample of 786 12-month-olds, 720 24-month-olds, and 744 36-month-olds, the CBCL/1 1/2-5 was obtained from mothers and fathers and again one year later for a subsample of 307 children. Mothers of 1,831 children also provided complete data on child, mother, and family characteristics. Results: Over three-fourths of the externalizing behaviors occurred in more than 10% of 12-month-olds, over one-third of the items in more than 25%. For almost all externalizing behaviors, the occurrence was significantly lower in 12-month-olds compared to 24- and 36-month-old children. Mother-father agreement and 1-year stability of externalizing behaviors in 12-month-old children were significant, but generally somewhat lower than in 24- and 36-month-olds. Context characteristics were related to externalizing behaviors in 12-month-olds as well as in older children. Some associations were less pronounced in 12-month-old children, but the overall pattern of correlates was similar across age groups. Conclusions: The results of this study show that externalizing behaviors in 12-month-old children merit further research and can be assessed with the CBCL in a valid way.

Background: As infant disorganized attachment is a serious risk factor for later child psychopathology, it is important to examine whether attachment disorganization can be prevented or reduced. Method: In a randomized intervention study involving 130 families with 6-month-old adopted infants, two attachment-based intervention programs were tested. In the first program, mothers were provided a personal book, and in the second program mothers received the same personal book and three home-based sessions of video feedback. The third group did not receive intervention (control group). Results: The intervention with video feedback "and" the personal book resulted in enhanced maternal sensitive responsiveness (d = 0.65). Children of mothers who received this intervention were less likely to be classified as disorganized attached at the age of 12 months (d = 0.46), and received lower scores on the rating scale for disorganization than children in the control group (d = 0.62). In the book-only intervention group children showed lower disorganization ratings compared to the control group, but no effect on the number of infants with disorganized attachment classifications was found. Conclusion: Our short-term preventive intervention program with video feedback and a book lowered the rate of disorganized attachment. The effectiveness of our intervention documents the importance of parenting in the development of infant attachment disorganization.

Mothers and primary professional caregivers of 186 children, aged 6-30 months, participated in this study in which a new measure for daily stability in center day care was developed, describing staffing, grouping, and program features. Relative contributions of infants' daily experiences of care stability, quality of care, and mother's daily stress to the child's adjustment to day care were analyzed with hierarchical regressions. The child's adjustment was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1997) and with the Leiden Inventory for the Child's Well-being in Day Care. Children enrolled in fewer care arrangements showed less internalizing behavior and more well-being in the day care setting. Children had higher well-being scores when trusted caregivers were more available. Mother's family management stress was related to more internalizing problem behavior. Interactions between mother's daily stress and stability in care were found to affect the child's adjustment to day care.

In this study, the concept of "goodness-of-fit" between the child's temperament and the environment, introduced by Thomas and Chess [Temperament and Development, Brunner/Mazel, New York, 1977], is applied within the setting of center day care. Mothers and primary professional caregivers of 186 children, aged 6-30 months, participated in this study. The child's problem behaviors were assessed with the CBCL Teacher Report Form [Achenbach, T. M., Guide for the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form for Ages 2-5, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 1997]. The child's socio-emotional well-being in day care was measured with the Leiden Inventory for the Child's Well-Being in Day Care. The Infant Characteristics Questionnaire measured the child's temperament. Children with an easier temperament showed less internalizing and total problem behavior and more well-being. The results suggest that for children with a more difficult temperament, several parallel care arrangements interfere with the process of adapting to the day care setting. Also, our results indicate that in the group of children with greater availability of trusted caregivers, a more easy-going temperament was associated with more well-being. The association between temperament and well-being was not found in the group of children with less access to trusted caregivers.

Pooled sibling attachment data to compare attachment relationships to mothers for 138 sibling pairs. Found that sibling relationships were significantly concordant when classified as secure/nonsecure but not when further subcategorized. Maternal insensitivity to both siblings was associated with concordance of sibling nonsecurity. Same gender siblings were more likely to form concordant relationships with mothers than opposite gender siblings. (Author/KB)

Explores specific characteristics of insecure-avoidant, secure, and insecure-ambivalent mother-infant dyads (N=82) in the context of sharing a picturebook. Results support the view that early literacy skills are connected to a fundamentally social process. The learning/instruction process depends on the affective dimension of the infant-mother relationship. (RJM)

Conducted meta-analysis of 66 studies on parental antecedents of attachment security. Found that maternal sensitivity was an important but not exclusive condition of attachment security in normal settings. Mutuality, Synchrony, Stimulation, Positive Attitude, and Emotional Support were associated with security. Advocated a contextual level to interpret complex transactions between context and sensitivity in less stable, more stressful settings. (Author/KB)

Presents meta-analysis evidence of the association between paternal sensitivity and infant-father attachment from eight studies with 546 families (combined effect size r = 0.13). A meta-analysis of 950 families from 14 studies found an overall correlation of 0.17 between infant-mother and infant-father attachment. Presents a data-based model of attachment within the family system. (Author/KB)

Distributions of child attachment classifications in mother-child dyads in which the mother evidenced physical or mental problems were highly divergent from distributions for normal samples. Distributions of child attachment classifications in mother-child dyads in which the child evidenced physical problems were similar to distributions in normal samples. (BC)

Examines 2,000 Strange Situation classifications obtained in eight different countries. Differences and similarities between distributions in classifications of samples are investigated using correspondence analysis. Substantial intracultural differences are established; data also suggest a pattern of cross-cultural differences. (Author/RWB)

Studied interactions which are related to written language, attachment security, and emergent literacy between 45 mothers and their children, aged one-and-a-half to five-and-a-half years. Results suggest that mothers give reading instruction to small children by naming letters and well-known words which contain those letters. Mother-child interaction is related to attachment security and emergent literacy. (RJC)