Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 28, 2025

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
05:04

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect

Published on: September 22, 2023

429

Revisiting the childcare-attachment question: under what conditions is childcare participation associated with

Annie Bernier1, Sylvana M Côté2, Gabrielle Leclerc1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.

Attachment & Human Development
|April 23, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Childcare does not directly impact mother-child attachment. However, the quality of parenting, specifically maternal sensitivity and autonomy support, plays a crucial role in attachment security, especially for children not in childcare.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Attachment Theory
  • Early Childhood Education

Background:

  • The relationship between childcare and mother-child attachment remains debated due to inconsistent research findings.
  • Parenting quality has been proposed as a potential moderator of childcare effects on attachment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether childcare participation's association with mother-child attachment is influenced by maternal sensitivity and autonomy support.
  • To clarify the complex interplay between childcare, parenting, and attachment security.

Main Methods:

  • Examined 236 mother-child dyads.
  • Assessed childcare participation, maternal sensitivity, autonomy support, and mother-child attachment behaviors.
  • Utilized statistical analyses to identify main and interactive effects.

Main Results:

  • No significant main effect of childcare participation on mother-child attachment was found.
  • Interactive effects revealed that children with less secure attachment were those not attending childcare and whose mothers exhibited lower sensitivity or autonomy support.

Conclusions:

  • The impact of childcare on mother-child attachment is contingent upon the quality of parenting provided at home.
  • Maternal sensitivity and autonomy support are key factors in fostering secure attachment, particularly for children with limited childcare experience.

Keywords:
Attachmentchildcaredaycarematernal autonomy supportmaternal sensitivity

More Related Videos

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure07:56

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Published on: September 19, 2019

9.9K
The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs08:59

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

Published on: October 13, 2017

17.6K

Related Concept Videos

Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...
62
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood03:34

Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships. 
43.4K
Parental Care00:55

Parental Care

Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.
11.7K
Parenting Styles01:27

Parenting Styles

Diana Baumrind's four parenting styles — authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and permissive — each influence children's socio-emotional development differently.
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative...
65
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
620
Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
54