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Secure attachment predicts lower body mass index in young children with histories of child protective services
Kristin Bernard1, Allison Frost1, Caitlin Jelinek2
1Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
Insights
Secure attachment in early childhood is linked to lower body mass index (BMI) in at-risk children. This finding suggests secure attachment may be a key target for childhood obesity prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Child development
- Pediatric obesity
- Attachment theory
Background:
- Early adversity increases children's risk for obesity.
- Secure attachment may serve as a protective factor against obesity development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between a parenting intervention and secure attachment with body mass index (BMI) in young children involved with child protective services (CPS).
- To determine if secure attachment influences BMI trajectories in at-risk children.
Main Methods:
- 105 parent-child dyads referred after CPS involvement were randomized to an intervention (Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up - ABC) or control group.
- Attachment security was assessed in infancy.
- Child BMI was measured annually until age 4.
Main Results:
- The ABC intervention increased the likelihood of secure attachment (52% vs. 32% in controls).
- No direct effect of the ABC intervention on children's BMI was found.
- Secure attachment was associated with a significant decline in BMI between ages 2 and 4.
- At age 4, children with secure attachment had significantly lower BMI (15.4) compared to insecurely attached children (17.6), with lower rates of overweight/obesity (16.6% vs. 35.7%).
Conclusions:
- Secure attachment is associated with reduced BMI in children with a history of CPS involvement.
- Promoting secure attachment may represent a novel strategy for early obesity prevention efforts in at-risk populations.
Background:
Children who experience early adversity are at risk for obesity; secure attachment may be a protective factor as it has been linked to reduced obesity risk.
Objective:
To evaluate whether (1) participation in a parenting intervention and (2) secure attachment were associated with body mass index (BMI) among young children with histories of child protective services (CPS) involvement.
Methods:
A total of 105 parent-child dyads referred following CPS involvement were randomly assigned to receive Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), which was designed to increase parental sensitivity, or a control intervention. Attachment security was assessed during infancy, and BMI was assessed at annual follow-up visits until children were 4 years old.
Results:
Children in the ABC group were more likely to have secure attachments (52%) than children in the control intervention group (32%). Although the ABC intervention did not have a direct effect on children's BMI, secure attachment was associated with a steeper decline in BMI from age 2 to age 4, with secure children showing significantly lower BMI (M = 15.4, SD = 2.08; 16.6% overweight/obese) than insecure children (M = 17.6, SD = 3.81; 35.7% overweight/obese) at age 4.
Conclusions:
Secure attachment was associated with reduced BMI among CPS-referred children; thus, secure attachment may be a novel target of early obesity prevention efforts.
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