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Past meta-analyses show that both child-mother and child-father attachment insecurity are independently and jointly associated with more externalizing behaviors in children. Little is known, however, on the ways that different types of insecure attachment independently and jointly predict the development of externalizing behaviors over time. Existing work also neglects the impact of children's gender within the context of child-father relationships. The current study addresses these limitations by investigating how insecure type of child-father attachment, child-mother attachment, and their interaction in the preschool years predict boys' and girls' externalizing behaviors in middle childhood, when controlling for children's externalizing behaviors in the preschool years. The sample included 144 preschool-aged children (M = 46.89 months, SD = 8.77, 83 girls) and both of their parents. At Time 1, children completed independent separation-reunion procedures with each parent, which were coded using the "Preschool Attachment Rating Scales." At Time 1 and Time 2 (5 years later), mothers and fathers completed the "Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire" to report on their children's externalizing behaviors. Results showed no systematic differences in the way that child-mother and child-father attachment predicted the development of externalizing behaviors in boys and girls. Across all children, results identified an interaction of child-father and child-mother ambivalence, by which the presence of ambivalence toward both parents predicted the development of more externalizing behaviors. In addition, child-father controlling-caregiving attachment predicted the development of fewer externalizing behaviors. These results provide insight into the ways that insecure child-father and child-mother attachment predict later socioemotional adaptation.

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.]

Mary Main’s operationalization of infant attachment disorganization contributed to our understanding of attachment and psychopathology. Her exploration of attachment patterns at age 6 with Jude Cassidy laid the foundations for studying attachment post-infancy. They found remarkable correspondence from age 1 to age 6 in the disorganization spectrum and documented the emergence of role-reversal. This study proposes a person-centered approach to explore classes of children with respect to attachment disorganization at four time points between infancy and late preschool. Participants (n = 205) were recruited in the UK and formed a socioeconomically diverse community sample of mother–child dyads. We identified three classes of children: 1) a stable organized group; 2) an unstable group becoming organized; and 3) an unstable group becoming disorganized. Results show that major loss predicts membership of the third class of children. These findings contribute to our understanding of disorganization across multiple periods, and thus to Mary Main’s legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether romantic attachment insecurity (i.e., anxiety and avoidance) was indirectly related to intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization through two types of romantic perfectionism (i.e., self-oriented and socially prescribed) and perceived couple conflict. University students (N = 564; 422 women) between 17 and 25 years of age, who were involved in a romantic relationship, completed online questionnaires. Romantic attachment insecurity was positively associated with physical and psychological IPV victimization. Serial mediation models revealed significant indirect effects of attachment insecurity on IPV victimization through (a) socially prescribed (but not self-oriented) romantic perfectionism and (b) perceived couple conflict. Specifically, higher levels of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were indirectly associated with more IPV victimization (i.e., physical and psychological) through higher levels of socially prescribed romantic perfectionism and perceived couple conflict. This study highlights a viable mechanism underlying the link between romantic attachment insecurity and IPV victimization. Future research directions are discussed., Author(s): Marie-France Lafontaine [sup.1] , Stéphanie Azzi [sup.1] , Breanna Bell-Lee [sup.1] , Titania Dixon-Luinenburg [sup.1] , Camille Guérin-Marion [sup.1] , Jean-François Bureau [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.28046.38, 0000 0001 [...]

It is well known that parenthood can be particularly stressful. However, less is known about the stability of parenting stress across children's developmental periods. Certain correlates to parenting stress, such as coparenting support between parents, also appear to play a crucial role in childrearing. The current study aims to shed light on the longitudinal associations between parenting stress during the preschool and school years, along with the moderating effect of coparenting support in this association. Eighty-two heterosexual couples who are parents completed the Parenting Stress Index at Time 1 and Time 2 and the Coparenting Relationship Scale at Time 2. Actor- Partner path analyses revealed that greater parenting stress in each parent was related to their partner's greater parenting stress at each time point, but only to their own greater parenting stress 5 years later. The association between fathers' parenting stress at both time points was weaker in fathers who reported greater coparenting support from their partner. Helping parents reduce their parenting stress and learn to support each other effectively as coparents may be important parenting intervention avenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 (Mage: 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An attachment injury can occur when one partner violates the assumption that they will provide comfort and caring during a moment of increased need. For injured partners, unresolved attachment injuries can underlie an enduring stress reaction and lower relationship satisfaction. However, no research has examined the associations between the perceived severity of the injury and sexual satisfaction, a central component of relationship well-being. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the direct and indirect associations between the perceived severity of the attachment injury and sexual satisfaction via injury-related stress symptoms and levels of forgiveness, in injured partners. A total of 145 adults who reported having experienced an attachment injury in their current relationship completed self-report questionnaires measuring injury severity, event-related stress, forgiveness, and sexual satisfaction. An indirect association between the perceived severity of the attachment injury and sexual satisfaction through higher injury-related stress and lower forgiveness was found via a path analysis. Results suggest that fostering forgiveness and attending to injury-related stress may be key toward sexual satisfaction in couples where a partner reports an attachment injury. Clinical implications of these results are discussed in light of theory and potential treatment strategies for addressing an attachment injury in couple's therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variation in attachment quality was assessed in 92 one- to three-year-olds' (49 female, 43 male) attachment to their father, within and across two small-scale, subsistence populations: the Tsimane of lowland Bolivia (n = 29 dyads) and Tannese of Vanuatu (n = 63 dyads). Overall, the Tsimane and Tannese populations show similarity in the patterning of child–father attachment relative to samples from industrialized societies, with 52% of Tsimane dyads and 62% of Tannese dyads showing secure attachment. However, the insecure-ambivalent attachment was more frequent among Tsimane and Tannese dyads relative to samples from industrialized societies, and attachment security was greater for sons than for daughters in Tanna. Of several attributes of fathers, only reports by mothers of how frequently fathers play with their children are associated with child–father secure attachment. Fathers who scored highly on this measure were more likely to have children with secure attachments. Studies of child–father attachment are rare outside of industrialized populations yet are critical to understanding the mechanisms underlying child–father relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two meta-analyses were conducted (N = 10,980 child-father dyads) with 93 studies published between 1983-2020, primarily in North America and Europe, on observed parental sensitivity to children (3-180 months; 48% girls; 14% non-White) in partnered mothers and fathers. The first meta-analysis found higher maternal mean levels of observed sensitivity, with a small effect size (d = -.27). Differences between parents were larger with micro coding and triadic/family assessments. Differences narrowed as a function of publication year and were not significant in European samples. The second meta-analysis identified a moderate correlation between observed maternal and paternal sensitivity (r = .23 after adjusting for probable publication bias). Correlations were larger in Middle Eastern samples and with composite sensitivity scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having limited access to effective emotion regulation (ER) strategies, a construct commonly measured using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004), has been found to be strongly linked with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, the mechanisms that explain this association need more in-depth exploration. In this study, we investigated whether a cognitive mechanism (low self-perceived resilience) and/or a behavioral mechanism (insufficient repertoire of strategies used to resist NSSI) explained the association between limited access to ER strategies and the likelihood of recent (past-month) NSSI. Research questions were explored in a sample of 922 university students with a lifetime NSSI history (83.3% female). Study variables were measured using self-report questionnaires. Controlling for anxiety/depression, a path analytic model revealed that only low self-perceived resilience mediated the association between limited access to ER strategies and past-month NSSI. Participants who endorsed having limited access to ER strategies unexpectedly reported a higher number of coping strategies to resist NSSI. The results support the relevance of exploring resiliency beliefs in the association between ER capability and NSSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]