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Cortisol secretion moderates the association between mother-infant attachment at 17 months and child behavior at age

Jaclyn Nofech-Mozes1, Jessica Pereira2, Andrea Gonzalez3

  • 1Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Developmental Psychobiology
|November 18, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Infant cortisol levels influence how early attachment security affects later child behavior. High cortisol amplifies risks from insecure attachment, impacting total, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychopathology
  • Stress Physiology

Background:

  • Mother-infant attachment security is crucial for child development.
  • Early life stress can impact long-term behavioral outcomes.
  • Cortisol secretion patterns may mediate developmental trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate infant cortisol secretion as a moderator between attachment security and later child behavior.
  • To explore the roles of diathesis-stress and differential susceptibility models.
  • To enhance understanding of risk and resilience in early development.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 96 mother-child dyads.
  • Assessed attachment security using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) at 17 months.
  • Measured infant cortisol levels at baseline and post-SSP, and child behavior at 5 years via maternal report.

Main Results:

  • Insecure attachment was linked to higher total, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors, particularly in infants with high cortisol secretion.
  • The diathesis-stress model explained variance in total and internalizing behaviors.
  • Differential susceptibility explained variance in externalizing behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • Infant cortisol secretion plays a significant role in moderating the link between early attachment and later behavioral problems.
  • Findings highlight distinct pathways (diathesis-stress, differential susceptibility) influencing different behavioral outcomes.
  • This research deepens insights into the interplay of early environment, stress response, and psychopathology risk.

Keywords:
attachmentcortisoldiathesis stressdifferential susceptibilityexternalizinginternalizing

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