Attachment patterns and emotion regulation strategies in the second year

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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
08:09

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

Cristina Riva Crugnola1, Renata Tambelli, Maria Spinelli

  • 1Department of Psychology, State University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy. cristina.riva-crugnola@unimib.it

Infant Behavior & Development
|January 4, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Infant attachment styles influence emotion regulation strategies. Secure infants use more positive social engagement, while avoidant infants rely less on social regulation, highlighting the link between attachment and coping mechanisms.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Infant Behavior
  • Attachment Theory

Background:

  • Attachment quality significantly impacts infant socio-emotional development.
  • Emotion regulation strategies are crucial for navigating social interactions and stress.
  • Understanding the interplay between attachment and emotion regulation is vital for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between infant attachment patterns and emotion regulation strategies.
  • To identify specific regulatory behaviors associated with secure, avoidant, and resistant attachment styles.
  • To explore how different attachment groups utilize social and object-oriented regulation during stressful situations.

Main Methods:

  • Studied 39 infants (13 months old) with varying attachment classifications (secure, avoidant, resistant).
  • Assessed emotion regulation strategies during the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP).
  • Categorized regulatory strategies including social engagement and object orientation.

Main Results:

  • Secure infants demonstrated more positive social engagement compared to avoidant infants.
  • Resistant infants showed greater negative social engagement and less object orientation.
  • Avoidant infants used fewer hetero-regulatory strategies and more object-oriented strategies than other groups.

Conclusions:

  • Attachment quality is strongly associated with distinct emotion regulation strategies, particularly hetero-regulatory and object-oriented approaches.
  • Infants' regulatory strategies vary based on attachment style and the stress level of the situation.
  • Findings underscore the importance of the attachment figure in developing early emotion regulation skills.

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