Sensory-processing sensitivity, parenting styles, and adult attachment patterns in parents of young children

Increased sensitivity to internal and external stimuli, known as sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS), has been linked to attachment insecurity and less optimal parenting styles in parents of children aged 4-13 years. Associations between these parenting factors in parents of children aged 3 years and younger have not yet been investigated. Understanding the relationships between these factors will facilitate the development of strategies to better support highly sensitive parents.

A sample of 153 parents of children aged 3 years and younger completed an online survey comprising standardised measures of SPS, attachment, and infant parenting styles. The underlying factor structure of the Infancy Parenting Styles Questionnaire was investigated.

Factor analysis identified 33 items loading onto five factors: Discipline, Routine, Anxiety, Nurturance, and Involvement, with moderate to high reliability. SPS was positively correlated with parenting anxiety, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance, but did not predict parenting style. Younger parent age was associate with more insecure attachment styles. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that variability in parenting anxiety was predicted only by attachment anxiety and having fewer children.

While SPS was not seen to predict parenting anxiety, relationships between SPS, parenting anxiety, and insecure attachment suggest that strategies tailored to SPS would support highly sensitive parents to care for their children and promote improved parent-child relationships. These strategies may therefore be a beneficial addition to attachment-based parenting programs. Further studies using the Toddler Parenting Styles Questionnaire (TPSQ) are needed to identify optimal parenting styles for parents of infants and toddlers.