Understanding the transmission of attachment using variable- and relationship-centered approaches

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Attachment Theory
• Family Studies

Background:

• Maternal attachment representations are crucial for understanding mother-infant relationships.
• Mother-infant interaction patterns offer insights into attachment dynamics.
• Adolescent mothers and their infants represent a population of interest for attachment research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the interrelations between maternal attachment representations, mother-infant interaction, and infant attachment.
• To investigate the mediating role of maternal sensitivity in attachment.
• To explore attachment transmission in at-risk populations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized q-factor analysis to identify interaction profiles.
• Employed latent class analysis for a relationship-based approach.
• Analyzed data from 99 adolescent mothers and their 12-month-old infants.

Main Results:

• Confirmed links between autonomous maternal representations, harmonious interaction, and secure attachment.
• Found strong associations between nonsensitive/disengaged interaction, unresolved maternal representations, and disorganized infant attachment.
• Maternal nonsensitive interaction mediated the link between unresolved representations and infant disorganization.

Conclusions:

• Maternal interaction patterns significantly mediate the association between maternal representations and infant attachment disorganization.
• Findings challenge the mediating role of maternal sensitivity alone.
• Results suggest a need to reconsider attachment transmission models in at-risk groups.