Maternal Attachment Styles, Psychological Distress and Parenting in a Distress Context

• In Event: 1-138 - Adult Attachment Style: Implications for Parenting Behavior and Child Outcomes

Integrative Statement

Meta-analysis indicates a link between attachment state of mind (narrative coherence of parent’s accounts of early attachment experiences) and maternal sensitivity, explaining 12% of the variance in sensitivity (van IJzendoorn, 1995). Jones, Cassidy, and Shaver (2015), noted, however, that much less is known about links between self-reported attachment style (attachment anxiety and avoidance) and maternal caregiving. Jones et al. (2015) proposed that parental caregiving differs based on parents’ perceptions of contextual threat. In addition, adopting a diathesis-stress model, researchers have suggested that attachment-related behavioral biases might be most evident under conditions of increased stress (Roisman et al., 2007); especially for mothers high in attachment avoidance (e.g., Mills-Koonce, 2011). Moreover, attachment-related differences in threat appraisal have been observed specifically in distress contexts, rather than non-distress contexts (Groh & Roisman, 2009). For this reason, we examined links between mothers’ attachment styles, psychological distress, and maternal sensitivity in a distress context.

Method

Participants included 162 low-income, racially/ethnically diverse mothers of 6-month-olds. Mothers’ attachment anxiety and avoidance were assessed using the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire (ECR; Brennan et al., 1998). Following Fraley and Shaver (1997), these dimensions were rotated, yielding two attachment dimensions: secure (low anxiety, low avoidance) vs. fearful (high anxiety, high avoidance) and preoccupied (high anxiety, low avoidance) vs. dismissing (low anxiety, high avoidance). Components of maternal sensitivity (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 1999) were reliably coded from videotaped interactions during a Still-Face (distress) task. Mothers’ psychological distress was assessed using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis & Spencer, 1982).

Results

Regression analyses using PROCESS showed that the associations between high dismissing attachment and both (a) global sensitivity and (b) intrusiveness were moderated by level of psychological distress (see Table 1). Specifically, high dismissing attachment was linked to higher intrusiveness and lower global sensitivity, but only when their psychological distress was high, not when it was low (see Figure 1). High dismissing attachment was negatively associated with positive regard irrespective of the level of psychological distress. Secure-Fearful attachment style was not significantly related to any of the sensitivity components either at low or high level of psychological distress.

Conclusions

Mothers with higher levels of dismissing attachment had lower global sensitivity and higher intrusiveness only under elevated levels of psychological distress. Results are consistent with a diathesis-stress model and extends previous research (e.g., Mills-Koonce et al., 2011) by utilizing continuous measures of attachment styles and demonstrating similar relationships in a distress context. It is possible that highly dismissing individuals may be able to cope with minor stressors of parenting by maintaining their defensive strategies of avoiding intimacy or thoughts of painful childhood experiences (e.g., Berant, Mikulincer & Shaver, 2008), until they are faced with increased cognitive demands or stress (e.g., Mikulincer, Dolev & Shaver, 2004; Berant et al., 2008), under which their defenses may fail, with important implications for intervention. Self-report measures of adult attachment, due to their ease of use, may be beneficial for assessment of parents prior to intervention.

Authors

• Meenal Jog, Lehigh University
  Presenting Author

• Susan S. Woodhouse, Lehigh University
  Non-Presenting Author