Attachment representations, stress, and mental health during childhood, adolescence, and the transition to motherhood

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Attachment theory predicts that the quality of early care shapes the development and consolidation of later constructed mental representations, which in turn influence healthy adaptation (Bowlby, 1973). In addition, recent evidence has shown that the development of attachment representations may be continuous throughout the lifespan (e.g., Groh et al., 2014). Increasingly, attachment representations are being assessed via secure base script knowledge (SBSK)– the degree to which individuals show awareness of the temporal-causal schema that summarizes the basic features of seeking and receiving effective support from caregivers. This symposium brings together longitudinal findings that highlights SBSK as a predictor of mental health, a moderator in the link between social support and mental health, and as amenable to change over time as a function of stressful experiences.
Paper 1 reports on new data assessing the longitudinal association between adolescents’ SBSK coded from the Adult Attachment Interview (AAIsbs) and increases in depressive symptoms during the transition to adulthood, and the degree to which AAIsbs incrementally predicts depressive symptoms relative to the traditional AAI coding of narrative coherence. Paper 2 reports findings from a longitudinal study, wherein SBSK moderated the association between mothers of infants perceived social support and maternal emotional distress six and 12 months later. Paper 3 reports an increase in SBSK from pre- to post- COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in children with low, but not high levels of distress, indicated by levels of hair cortisol. A discussion that integrates the findings will conclude the presentations.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chair

• Or Dagan, Long Island University Post (LIU Post)

Discussant

• Lee Raby, University of Utah

Individual Presentations

• Schematic attachment representations in late adolescence predict depressive symptoms in adulthood - Presenting Author: Or Dagan, Long Island University Post (LIU Post); Marissa Nivison, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities; Maria E. Bleil, University Of Washington; Theodore Waters, New York University Abu Dhabi

• Attachment Expectations Moderate Links between Social Support and Adjustment During the Transition to Motherhood - Presenting Author: Theodore Waters, New York University Abu Dhabi; Yufei Gu, New York University Abu Dhabi; Victoria Zhu, New York University Abu Dhabi; Brittany Jamieson; Danielle Lim; Gabrielle Schmitt; Leslie Atkinson, Ryerson University

• The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on children’s trust and schematic attachment representations: A hair cortisol study - Marlies Wintmolders; Bien Cuyvers, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven); Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg, ISPA Lisbon; Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, University College London (UCL); Presenting Author: Guy Bosmans, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)