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Parental support and insecure attachment development: the cortisol stress response as a moderator

M Houbrechts1, B Cuyvers1, L Goossens2

  • 1Clinical Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium.

Attachment & Human Development
|April 19, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Children's cortisol stress response influences how parental support affects anxious attachment. A strong stress response can weaken the positive impact of parental support on reducing anxious attachment over time.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Stress Response Research
  • Attachment Theory

Background:

  • Parental support is crucial for healthy attachment development in children.
  • Individual differences in stress reactivity may influence this relationship.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if cortisol stress response moderates the link between parental support and attachment development.
  • To examine changes in attachment anxiety and avoidance over one year.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study with 101 children (ages 11-12) over two waves.
  • Measured attachment anxiety/avoidance, parental support, and cortisol response to Trier Social Stress Test.

Main Results:

  • Cortisol stress response moderated the association between parental support and changes in anxious attachment.
  • A strong cortisol response weakened the link between parental support and reduced anxious attachment.
  • No moderation was found for avoidant attachment changes.

Conclusions:

  • Children's physiological stress response plays a role in how parental support shapes anxious attachment.
  • This highlights the complex interplay between stress, support, and attachment formation.

Keywords:
Attachmentcortisol stress responseearly adolescencelongitudinalparental support

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