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Self-understanding in early childhood: associations with child attachment security and maternal negative affect

Rebecca Goodvin1, Sara Meyer, Ross A Thompson

  • 1Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA. Rebecca.Goodvin@wwu.edu

Attachment & Human Development
|November 19, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Early childhood self-concept is shaped by relationships. Secure attachment promotes positive self-perception, while maternal negative affect hinders it, impacting children's psychological development.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychology
  • Attachment Theory

Background:

  • Early self-concept development is crucial but not fully understood.
  • Relational experiences significantly influence young children's self-understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the stability and change in preschoolers' self-understanding.
  • To investigate the relationship between self-concept, attachment security, and maternal negative affect.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 33 children and their mothers from ages 4 to 5.
  • Assessed children's self-perceptions, attachment security, and maternal negative affect at both time points.

Main Results:

  • Secure attachment at age 4 predicted more positive self-concept at age 5.
  • Secure children exhibited greater consistency in self-perceptions over time.
  • Maternal negative affect was linked to more negative and less consistent self-perceptions in children.

Conclusions:

  • Early relational factors, especially attachment security, are significant in shaping children's self-perception.
  • Attachment security plays a vital role in the development of a child's psychological self.
  • Maternal emotional state influences children's self-concept stability and positivity.

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