Poster #62 - The Correspondence of Child Security and Parental Sensitivity Assessments in Naturalistic and Lab Settings

• In Event: Poster Session 02

Abstract

A key aspect of lab assessments for child attachment security and parental caregiving sensitivity during child-parent interaction is their correspondence and/or ability to predict those constructs in naturalistic settings, where attachment relationships develop. Indeed, the validity of the Strange Situation is based on the significant associations between infants’ and mothers’ home behavior and infant’s lab behavioral organization (Ainsworth et al., 1978/2015). Such kind of work is not typically done in attachment studies that assess parental sensitivity and/or child security in dyads with older children in lab settings, leaving the door open for questions about the validity of such lab assessments.
This study examined both child-mother and child-father attachment relationships in naturalistic and lab settings. Specifically, we investigated whether (1) assessments of child security, maternal, and paternal sensitivity in naturalistic contexts during early childhood are significantly related to assessments of the same constructs in a lab setting, and 2) the association between child security and maternal sensitivity, and child security and paternal sensitivity were significant in each setting (naturalistic and lab) during early childhood.
Sixty-five mother, father, and child triads participated. Children’s age was 29.2 months on average; mothers and fathers were 31.9 and 33.6 years old on average, respectively. Both maternal and paternal education was 16 years on average; family yearly income was U$ 64,700. Assessments of maternal and paternal sensitivity and child security with each parent were conducted in naturalistic contexts (home and playground) and a lab setting. Thus, families completed five visits: home and park 75-minute visits with each mom and dad, and a lab visit. At the lab, child completed a 15-20’ free-play session with each parent separately.
Child security and parental sensitivity were assessed in naturalistic settings using the Attachment Behavior Q-set (Waters, 1995) and the Maternal Behavior for Preschoolers Q-set (modified for fathers; Posada, Jacobs & Richmond, 1998). Modified versions of the same instruments were used to assess attachment security and parental sensitivity in the lab. Independent trained observers for child and parental behavior conducted the observations. Spearman-Brown inter-observer reliability indices for assessments of maternal sensitivity and child security in both settings ranged from .62-.93; and between .68-.95 for assessments of paternal sensitivity and child security. Composite scores were created for naturalistic settings (home and playground) on child security and parental sensitivity.
First, bivariate correlational analyses indicated that while child security with mother scores in naturalistic and lab settings were significantly associated, they were not for paternal sensitivity and security with fathers. Moreover, maternal and paternal sensitive behavior in naturalistic and lab settings were not significantly related (Tables 1 and 2). Second, the link between child security with mother and maternal sensitivity was statistically significant in both naturalistic and lab settings (Tables 1 and 2). However, while the link between child security with father and paternal sensitivity was statistically significant in naturalistic settings, it was not in a lab setting. Findings will be discussed in regard to the relevance of context when assessing child security, parental sensitivity, and their associations for child-mother and child-father relationships.

Authors

• Geurim Kim, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Presenting Author

• Muqing Liu, Purdue University, West Lafayette

• Jill M Trumbell, University of New Hampshire

• Laura Y Anaya, Ounce of Prevention Fund

• German E Posada, Purdue University, West Lafayette