1-155 - A look at attachment from ‘under the skin’: Cortisol, ANS reactivity, EEG responses and telomere length

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Examining psychophysiological processes associated with attachment has the potential to inform basic developmental theory and advance clinical intervention. This symposium includes four papers that look at attachment from ‘under the skin,’ with diverse neurophysiological methods. Paper 1 examines autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity of children and mothers in the Strange Situation, revealing an interaction effect of episode by children’s attachment group for PEP responses. Paper 2 considers interactive effects of mothers’ sympathetic nervous system reactivity to infant distress sounds, indexed by skin conductance levels (SCL), and mothers’ neural responses to infant crying faces, indexed by the late positive potential (LPP), in predicting maternal sensitivity. Mothers’ LPP responses predicted maternal sensitivity, but only when mothers’ SCL was low. Paper 3 reports that maternal cortisol, assessed before a stressor (i.e., arm restraint task with 6-month-old infant), predicted multiple measures of maternal sensitivity. Further, greater declines in maternal cortisol from pre- to post-stressor were associated with increased likelihood of infants developing insecure-avoidant attachments 6 months later. Finally, Paper 4 examines whether adult attachment state of mind moderated the association between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and telomere length, an index of cellular aging. High exposure to ACEs was associated with shorter telomeres, but only for young adults with an insecure-dismissing attachment. Taken together, results across the papers suggest that: (a) multiple neurophysiological processes are associated with attachment across development, and (b) future research should continue to explore interactive effects.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chairs

• Miriam Steele, The New School

• Howard Steele, The New School For Social Research

Individual Presentations

• Autonomic Reactivity to the Strange Situation in Child-Mother Dyads - Presenting Author: Ellie Neuman-Fligelman, New School for Social Research; Miriam Steele, The New School; Howard Steele, The New School For Social Research; Mirjam Oosterman, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Carlo Schuengel, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

• The physiology of maternal sensitivity: Interactive effects of mothers’ neural and SNS reactivity in predicting behavior - Presenting Author: Allison Frost, Stony Brook University; Sierra Kuzava, Stony Brook University; Allison Lazzaro, Stony Brook University; Galia Nissim, Stony Brook University; Kristin Bernard, Stony Brook University

• Maternal Cortisol: Links to Concurrent Maternal Sensitivity and Later Infant Attachment - Presenting Author: Susan S. Woodhouse, Lehigh University; Chenchen Dai, Lehigh University

• Attachment Security Moderates the Link between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Cellular Aging - Presenting Author: Or Dagan, New School for Social Research; Arun Asok, Columbia University; Howard Steele, The New School For Social Research; Miriam Steele, The New School; Kristin Bernard, Stony Brook University