Longitudinal Associations Between Parental Sensitivity and Child Attachment in Gay, Lesbian and Heterosexual Parent Families

• In Event: Child’s attachment and Functioning, Coparenting, and Parents’ Needs in Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Parent Families

Abstract

Introduction: The quality of parent-child attachment relationships in gay father families has received scarce research attention, though this issue is highly debated in both the scientific and public community (Carone et al., 2020; Volling, 2019). To date, what we know from extensive research with mother-father families is that maternal, but not paternal, sensitivity is the most important determinant of child attachment security during pre-school years (De Wolff & van IJzendoorn, 1997; Lucassen et al., 2011).
Hypotheses: The present study aimed at: (1) comparing parental sensitivity and child attachment security in gay, lesbian, and heterosexual two-parent families through assisted reproduction; (2) investigating whether the longitudinal associations between parental sensitivity and child attachment security varied as a function of family type and/or being the primary vs. secondary attachment figure.
Study population: Participants were 31 gay father families through surrogacy, 34 lesbian mother families through in-vitro fertilization, and 32 heterosexual parent families through in-vitro fertilization, all living with a preschool-age child in Italy. In each family, both parents and their child participated, gaining a total of 62 gay father-child dyads, 68 lesbian mother-child dyads, and 64 heterosexual parent-child dyads.
Methods: Each dyad was observed at home for parental sensitivity when the child was aged 18–51 months (time 1) and for child attachment security when the child was aged 30–65 months (time 2). Parental sensitivity and child attachment security were assessed by independent coders using the Maternal Behavior Q-Set (Pederson & Moran, 1995) and the Attachment Q-Set (Waters, Deane, 1985), respectively.
Results: Data coding is in progress. Complete data will be presented for the first time at the SRCD 2021 Conference. Preliminary analysis on 44 gay father-child dyads (about 70% of the entire sample), 60 lesbian mother-child dyads (about 88% of the entire sample), and 52 heterosexual parent-child dyads (about 81% of the entire sample) indicated that both parental sensitivity and child attachment security were in line with normative scores and were not related to family type. However, primary attachment figures showed higher parental sensitivity, as well as children displayed greater attachment security to their primary attachment figure. The results will heighten our understanding of the factors fostering secure parent-child attachment relationships in new family forms formed through assisted reproduction.

Authors

• Nicola Carone, University of Pavia
  Presenting Author

• Lavinia Barone, University of Pavia, IT
  Non-Presenting Author