The predictive relation of maternal sensitivity over time and child characteristics on early attachment

ABSTRACT

Hierarchical linear modelling was used to explore the effect of changes in maternal sensitivity on attachment over time. Child characteristics of gender, temperament, and developmental status were used as moderating factors. Data from 1,249 mothers and their children from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development when the children were 15, 24, and 36 months of age. Results indicated that maternal sensitivity at 15 months was not predictive of attachment when conditioned on maternal sensitivity at 24 and 36 months. Mothers who were more sensitive on average were more likely to have children with secure attachments; fluctuations in individual mothers’ sensitivity did not predict her child’s attachment. Male children were more strongly affected by their mothers’ sensitivity than female children. The higher a child’s developmental status in infancy, the lower the likelihood for later insecure attachment. Implications regarding the importance of parental behaviour in toddlerhood is discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• stability
• fluctuation
• sensitivity
• gender

Acknowledgement

The author thanks Holly Laws for her helpful contributions to this project.

Declaration of interests

No funds, grants, or other support was received. The author does not have any interests that might be interpreted as influencing the work, and all APA ethical standards were followed. The study was approved by Hunter College’s IRB (protocol number: 2017-0455). Informed consent was obtained from all participants in the original NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The data used in this study are available via application through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Website: https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leah B. Manning

Leah B. Manning is a developmental psychologist at Manhattanville College. Dr. Manning’s general research interests are in parent–child dynamics over the lifespan. Her specific interests are in social, emotional, cognitive development, parenting and attachment theory. Her current work looks at the quality of parent–child relationships in older parents and their adult-aged children, and the transgenerational patterns of parent–child dynamics.