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Trajectories of mothers' emotional availability: relations with infant temperament in predicting attachment security

Bo-Ram Kim1, Sy-Miin Chow1, Bethany Bray2

  • 1a Department of Human Development and Family Studies , The Pennsylvania State University, College of Health and Human Development , University Park , PA , USA.

Attachment & Human Development
|November 18, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Maternal emotional availability (EA) during infancy predicts infant attachment security. Dynamic changes in EA, particularly a "bounce-back," and infant temperament interact to shape secure attachment by 12 months.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Attachment Theory
  • Parent-Infant Interaction

Background:

  • Parenting quality, specifically maternal emotional availability (EA), is crucial for infant development.
  • Understanding how EA changes over the first year and its impact on infant attachment is essential.
  • Infant temperament may influence the parent-child relationship dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the relationship between maternal emotional availability (EA) levels and trajectories in the first year and infant attachment security at 12 months.
  • To investigate the moderating role of infant temperament on the association between maternal EA and infant attachment.
  • To explore how dynamic changes in maternal EA, such as a 'bounce-back,' relate to infant attachment outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study observing maternal emotional availability (EA) at four time points during the first year of infancy.
  • Latent growth curve modeling used to analyze EA trajectories and their association with infant attachment.
  • Infant temperament assessed at 3 months to examine its moderating role in parent-infant attachment relationships.

Main Results:

  • Both the level and trajectory of maternal emotional availability (EA) significantly predicted infant attachment security at 12 months.
  • Maternal EA trajectories showing a 'bounce-back' between 6 and 12 months were associated with greater infant attachment security.
  • Infant temperament (reactivity and regulation) moderated the links between maternal EA trajectories and 12-month infant attachment.

Conclusions:

  • Infant attachment security is influenced by both stable and changing aspects of maternal parenting quality throughout the first year.
  • Maternal adaptation, reflected in EA 'bounce-back,' is vital for fostering secure infant attachment.
  • Infant temperament plays a critical role in moderating the impact of parenting quality on attachment formation.

Keywords:
Parenting trajectoriesinfant attachment securityinfant temperamentmaternal emotional availability

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