Poster #65 - Attachment and Parenting Behavior in Mothers of Young Children: A Mixed-Methods Approach

• In Event: Poster Session 10

Abstract

Attachment representations have been identified as one of the possible mechanisms involved in predicting parenting behavior. Although attachment representation has been established as a core construct for attachment research, less is known regarding how different examination methods (i.e. observational, interview, self-report) can be paired and utilized in the context of predicting and evaluating parenting behavior (Adam, Gunnar, & Tanaka, 2004; Ravitz et al., 2010). While the field has identified a number of specific parenting domains that parental attachment representations contribute to (e.g., secure attachment and parental warmth and sensitivity; dismissive parenting and punitive parenting and neglect; Howe, 2011), less is known regarding how parental attachment representations (e.g., informed by attachment coherence) contribute to specific observed parenting behaviors such as responsiveness, affection, encouragement, and teaching (Adam, Gunnar, & Tanaka, 2004; Simpson & Rholes, 2015). This study seeks to understand how adult attachment representations are related to and predict observed parenting behaviors. Specifically, the goal of this study was to evaluate whether parental attachment coherence, as informed by the Five Minute Speech Sample interview method, relates to various observed cognitive, emotional, and behavioral domains of parenting. The sample for this study included 76 mothers of young children between the ages of 12 and 14 months (M = 13.4, SD = 1.42) whom were enrolled in a parenting intervention offered in a Southern State. A latent profile analysis of the interview dialogue-based FMSS-Coherence coding method revealed that mothers can be categorized into four meaningful groups based on attachment coherence. Furthermore, these four classifications of attachment coherence were found to significantly predict a number of observed parenting behaviors in mothers. This is the first study to examine the FMSS-Coherence coding method categorically, as it is traditionally used to identify parental attachment representations as either coherent or incoherent (i.e., secure or insecure). This study showed that by utilizing mixture modeling techniques, applications of attachment coherence could be taken further as indicated by the production of four meaningful groups, including Incoherent, Coherent-Adequate, Coherent-Clear, and Coherent-Comprehensive. Findings from this study suggest that maternal attachment coherence is strongly predictive of observed parenting behavior, which carries implications for the development of relationship coherence-based interventions and parenting programs for mothers of young children.

Authors

• Jens E Jespersen, Oklahoma State University - Center for Health Sciences
  Presenting Author

• Amanda Sheffield Morris, Oklahoma State University - Tulsa

• Isaac Washburn, Oklahoma State University

• Lana Beasley, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater

• Lucia Ciciolla, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater

• Tessa Chesher, Oklahoma State University