Attachment and Rumination from Middle Childhood to Adolescence: The Moderating Role of Effortful Control

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Rumination refers to the tendency of repeatedly focusing on negative mental content and emotions, and indicates a heightened risk for various mental health problems (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 2008). Both attachment (Cooke et al., 2019) and cognitive self-regulation (Shaw et al., 2019) are known determinants of children’s rumination. Yet, while researchers widely acknowledge that the social-emotional and cognitive domains interplay in child development (Sameroff, 2010), the interaction between attachment and effortful control (EC) on rumination has not been previously tested.

Our aim was to study how children’s attachment and EC together predict rumination. We tested three hypotheses based on the assumption that children use cognitive resources to achieve different goals depending on their attachment-related strategies (i.e., secure-based, hyperactivation, or deactivation). Based on double benefit hypothesis, we expected secure children to experience low rumination if they have high EC; based on the hyperactive rumination hypothesis, we expected anxious children to experience high rumination irrespective of their EC; based on the cognitive deactivation hypothesis, we expected avoidant children to experience low rumination if they have high EC. As the significance of parent-child attachment and EC on rumination may vary according to children’s developmental phase, we examined whether age (ranging from 10 to 14 years old) moderated the effects on rumination.

The participants were 157 children (76 boys), assessed annually over a three-year period (T1-T3). At T1 the children were approximately 11 years old (M=10.91, SD=0.87). Attachment anxiety and avoidance in the mother-child relationship were measured through each child’s self-reports on the revised child version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (Brenning et al., 2014). Rumination was measured through each child’s self-reports on the extended version of the Children’s Response Styles Questionnaire (Verstraeten et al., 2010; Abela et al., 2004). EC was measured through each mother’s reports on the revised Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (Ellis & Rothbart, 2001). Statistical analyses were run using GEE modeling and region of significance analyses.

The results showed, first, an interaction between attachment avoidance and EC on rumination. In line with the double benefit hypothesis, the results showed that among children with low attachment avoidance (i.e., high attachment security), high EC predicted low rumination. Contrary to the cognitive deactivation hypothesis, EC was not associated with rumination among children with high avoidance. Second, in line with the hyperactive rumination hypothesis, anxiously attached children experienced high rumination irrespective of their EC. Third, while the results showed interesting age trends (e.g., the increasing importance of EC on rumination), children’s age did not moderate the effects of attachment on rumination.

Altogether, our results suggest that the children who have both low attachment avoidance and high cognitive capacity may have the best opportunity to utilize positive memories (e.g., of being supported by intimate others and overcoming challenges) to constructively regulate their emotions. In contrast, children with an anxious attachment style may ruminate irrespective of their EC, as this is consistent with their hyperactivation goals (e.g., seeking support by exaggerating one’s own vulnerability). Our findings have potentially important clinical and theoretical implications.

Authors

• Jallu Lindblom, University of Turku
  Presenting Author

• Guy Bosmans, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)
  Non-Presenting Author