Poster #49 - Mother- and father-child preschool attachments in the prediction of family functioning quality in middle childhood

• In Event: Poster Session 19

Abstract

Introduction. Empirical investigations of preschool father-child attachment suggest that it is an important predictor of later child development (Bureau et al., 2017, 2020; Deneault at el., 2021). Because attachment is an expression of the quality of the parent-child relationship (Bowlby 1969/1982), preschool attachment should reflect the home context in which attachment behaviors naturally occur (Solomon & George, 2015), and its relative stability should correspond to later childhood development (Bureau et al., 2022). The primary context of attachment is the family system (Marvin & Stewart, 1990) which has been shown to be expressed by the family mealtime (Dickstein, 2002). Although mother-child attachment in the lab setting has been shown to be a good predictor of family functioning at mealtime (Dubois-Comtois & Moss, 2008), this predictive relationship has not yet been explored for father-child attachment. As part of the family system, preschool attachments to both parents are hypothesized to be significantly related to family functioning at mealtime five years later. Therefore, this study intends to: (1) determine the significant predictive effects of father-child and mother-child attachment on measures of family functioning, and (2) explore the possible interactive effects of father-child and mother-child attachments.
Procedure. Preschool-aged children aged 3- to 5-years (Mage=45.9 months, SD=.96) participated in a modified separation-reunion procedure (Cassidy & Marvin, 1992) in separate lab visits with their mother and father in counterbalanced order. Attachment behaviors were coded according to the Preschool Attachment Rating Scale (PARS; Moss et al., 2015), a validated continuous assessment of attachment (Deneault et al., 2019) evaluating six attachment styles: secure, avoidant, ambivalent, disorganized, controlling-caregiving, and controlling-punitive. Five years later, families participated in a home visit to videotape a family meal. Recordings were behaviorally coded according to the Family Mealtime Q-Sort (Kiser et al., 2010), a coding measure designed to assess overall family functioning as well as scales of positive tone, clear plan, meaningful conversation, and involvement.
Participants. A total of 71 families with children in middle childhood (Mage=100.35 months, SD=11.37) were analyzed at both time points. Families were of low socioeconomic risk, and a majority identified as Caucasian.
Results. Correlations identified father-child secure attachment as positively linked to overall family functioning (r=.25, p<.05) and meaningful conversations (r=.33, p<.01), and father-child ambivalent attachment as negatively linked to overall family functioning (r=.27, p<.05) and positive tone (r=.26, p<.05). However, mother-child attachment was not significantly correlated with any measures of family functioning quality. Hierarchical linear regressions revealed that father-child attachment significantly predicted overall family functioning (Table 1), positive tone, and meaningful conversations (Table 2), over and above mother-child attachment. Further analyses found no significant interactional models between father-child and mother-child attachment in this relationship, highlighting a possible area for future investigation. These results may suggest that the mother is robust in the family system regardless of attachment, while the father may be more malleable and adaptive. Overall, the coherence of preschool attachment in the prediction of family functioning quality in middle childhood indicates that the father-child dynamic is a potent element of the family system and in child development.

Authors

• Michael Yee, University of Ottawa
  Presenting Author

• Thomas Trepiak, University of Ottawa

• Jean-Francois Bureau, University of Ottawa