Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 7, 2026

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
07:56

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

Published on: September 19, 2019

Separation anxiety in mothers of latency-age fearful children

M Breit

    Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
    |March 1, 1982
    PubMed

    The hypothesis that mothers of children who have symptoms indicative of separation anxiety are themselves separation-anxious was tested by scoring mothers' TAT themes for separation concerns. The stories of 15 mothers of fearful children were compared to the stories of 26 mothers of children manifesting behavior disorders and 21 mothers of children having had no psychiatric contact. Different kinds of separation concerns were found to differentiate the groups of mothers. The stories of mothers of fearful children expressed significantly more concerns about abandonment and rejection and more often expressed a desire to stay near the loved one; the mothers of children expressed significantly more concerns about abandonment and rejection and more often expressed a desire to stay near the loved one; the mothers of children with behavior disorders were found to tell significantly more stories with nurturance-succorance themes. The results lend support to the theory of anxious attachment in that mothers of fearful children seem to share the same concerns that have been ascribed to their children. On the other hand, it seems that separation anxiety may not be a unidimensional construct as different components seem to be more relevant to some symptom clusters than to others.

    More Related Videos

    Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants06:39

    Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants

    Published on: June 13, 2021

    Limited Bedding and Nesting as a Model for Early-Life Adversity in Mice04:20

    Limited Bedding and Nesting as a Model for Early-Life Adversity in Mice

    Published on: July 12, 2024

    Related Concept Videos

    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.
    Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Latency01:16

    Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Latency

    Following the phallic stage in Freud's theory of psychosexual development, children enter a phase called the latency period, which lasts from approximately six to twelve years of age. Unlike earlier stages, where sexual impulses played a central role, Freud believed these impulses are repressed during the latency period, becoming part of the unconscious. This stage is often described as a time of psychological calm after the turbulence of the phallic stage.
    The latency period is not considered...
    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.
    Exploration...
    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 physical...
    Relationship with Parents: Attachment01:28

    Relationship with Parents: Attachment

    Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
    Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles01:28

    Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles

    Attachment theory, developed initially to explain infant–caregiver bonds, has been extended to illuminate patterns of intimacy in adult romantic relationships. Psychologists Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver proposed that the attachment styles observed in infancy form a framework for how individuals approach emotional closeness and conflict in adulthood. These attachment styles—secure, avoidant, and anxious—are linked to enduring patterns of behavior and emotional regulation in adult relationships.