Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Sex differences in infant-mother attachment.

Sue W Williams1, Elizabeth M Blunk

  • 1Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos 78666-4616, USA.

Psychological Reports
|April 4, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Male infants showed higher security of attachment than female infants in a study of 52 infant-mother dyads. This sex difference in infant attachment security was observed regardless of early care experiences or maternal factors.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Maternal separation anxiety in Hispanic and Euro-American mothers.

Psychological reports·2009
Same author

Pilot study of relationships among quality as a parent choice criterion, accredited child care, and maternal separation anxiety.

Psychological reports·2008
See all related articles

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Attachment Theory
  • Child Development

Background:

  • Attachment security is crucial for infant socio-emotional development.
  • Early care and education experiences may influence attachment security.
  • Understanding factors associated with attachment security is important for intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate potential sex differences in infant attachment security.
  • To examine the association between early care and education experiences and attachment security.
  • To explore the relationship between maternal characteristics and infant attachment.

Main Methods:

  • The study involved 52 infant-mother dyads.
  • Infant attachment security was assessed using the Strange Situation procedure.
  • Data on early care and education, and maternal factors were collected.

Main Results:

  • A significant sex difference in attachment security was found: 76% of male infants were securely attached compared to 39% of female infants.
  • No significant associations were found between early care and education experiences and attachment status.
  • Maternal age, race, marital status, and education were not significantly associated with infant attachment status.

Conclusions:

  • Infant male-female attachment security may differ, with males exhibiting higher security.
  • Early care and education experiences and maternal characteristics, in this sample, did not appear to influence attachment security.
  • Further research is needed to explore the origins and implications of sex differences in infant attachment security.

Related Experiment Videos