Poster #101 - Attachment as a Protective Factor Against Adversity's Effects on Physical Health

• In Event: 3-106 - Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Section - Health, Growth, Injury

Integrative Statement

Early adversity places children at increased risk for poor health, but a high-quality parent-child relationship may be a buffer against this risk. Specifically, having an organized attachment to a parent may potentially protect children against physical ailments. The present study tested the hypotheses that children who have experienced early adversity are more susceptible to poor health outcomes, but that organized attachment serves as a protective factor. Participants were children who were recruited in infancy from Child Protective Services for maltreatment risk (n = 133), and a gender- and race-matched comparison sample of children who were recruited from the community at age 8 (n = 98). CPS involvement and attachment organization were tested as predictors of physical health (chronic illness status and overall “poor health”). Infant attachment quality was assessed in the CPS-referred group using the Strange Situation. Children were classified as having organized or disorganized attachment to their parents, and a dichotomous attachment organization variable was created. Parents reported on their children’s physical health in middle childhood using a life events interview and the somatic symptoms subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18). Children were characterized as having “poor health” if parents reported any chronic health conditions (e.g., asthma) or somatic symptoms (e.g., headaches). A greater proportion of CPS-referred than comparison children had chronic health conditions, (χ2 (1, N = 175) = 5.31, p = .02). Further, among this high-risk group, a smaller proportion of children with organized attachments in infancy was classified as having overall poor health in middle childhood than children with disorganized attachments (χ2 (1, N = 94) = 4.41, p = .04). In contrast, no relationship was found between CPS involvement and overall poor health (χ2 (1, N = 185) = .009, p = .99), or between attachment organization and chronic health conditions (χ2 (1, N = 93) = 2.46, p = .13). The present study found that CPS involvement was associated with increased rates of chronic health conditions relative to a comparison sample, and that organized attachment was associated with better health for CPS-referred children. Results suggest that organized attachments may buffer children from the effects of early adversity on physical health.

Authors

• Jordan Marie Franklin, University of Delaware
  Presenting Author

• Alexandra R Tabachnick, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mary Dozier, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author