Poster #61 - Examining father verbal co-construction abilities in father-toddlers attachment relationships

• In Event: Poster Session 08

Abstract

The role of verbal communication in child-parent attachment relationships has been deemed central (e.g., Bowlby, 1988; Bretherton, 1991). Recently, maternal ability to co-construct attachment-related conversations with her child was proposed as an important factor in the development of child-mother attachment relationships and child security during the preschool years (Posada & Waters, 2018). Maternal verbal co-construction skills were found to be associated with mothers’ sensitivity, child attachment security (Lu et al., 2018), and mothers’ own attachment representations (i.e., secure base scripts; Waters et al., 2018). We know little, however, about the role that fathers’ verbal skills play during interactions with their children. This study explored the associations among father sensitivity, father co-construction skills, and child attachment security with father. Further, we examined the influence of child characteristics (i.e., age, gender, and temperament), father characteristics (i.e., age, education, and attachment representations) and family SES (i.e., annual income) on father verbal co-construction skills.

Fifty-two father-child dyads (22 girls) completed all assessments in a university lab. Child average age was 29 months. Father-child dyads were instructed to create four attachment-related stories together in a joint storytelling task. Father verbal co-construction skills during the task were coded using three 7-point Likert scales “Creating a co-constructive atmosphere,” “Encouraging content elaboration,” and “Supporting an explanatory framework”. Thirty-six father-child dyads were coded by two trained coding teams with one or two coders in each team (alpha ranged from .87 to .91); the rest were coded by a team of two expert coders. A composite “father co-construction skill” score was created by averaging the scores on the three scales. After the storytelling task, father-child dyads were instructed to play freely for 15 minutes. Dyadic interaction was observed by pairs of trained independent researchers. Paternal sensitivity was assessed using the Fathers Behavior for Preschoolers Q-set modified version (Posada et al., 2007). Child security was assessed with the Attachment Q-set modified version (Waters, 1995). Spearman-Brown inter-observer reliability for sensitivity and security ranged .68 - .95 and .62 - .93, respectively. Fathers’ secure base scripts (attachment representations) about father-child relationships were assessed with the Adult Script Assessment (ASA; Waters & Waters, 2006), child temperament (i.e., difficulty) was reported by fathers using the Child Characteristics Questionnaire (CCQ; Bates, 1985). Family demographic information was obtained through a brief interview.

Fathers’ verbal co-construction ability was associated with paternal sensitivity and was not associated with child attachment security (Table 1). Child gender was the only child characteristic significantly associated with fathers’ co-construction ability. As father characteristics are concerned, education level and scripted attachment representations were significantly associated with fathers’ co-construction skills. Regression analysis indicated that only child gender and father script representations significantly predicted father co-construction skills (Table 2).

Results indicate that both child and father contribute to co-construction processes during child-father conversations early in the preschool years. However, child security with father assessed in the lab was not associated with either paternal co-construction skills or paternal sensitivity in lab settings. Findings are discussed in consideration of methodological aspects and contexts of assessment.

Authors

• Muqing Liu, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Presenting Author

• Geurim Kim, Purdue University, West Lafayette

• Roni Heyman, Purdue University, West Lafayette

• German E Posada, Purdue University, West Lafayette