Individual dispositions as precursors of differences in attachment quality: why maternal sensitivity is nevertheless important

Abstract

This paper explores the interplay of maternal sensitivity (or, more generally, the quality of the caregiving social environment) and infant individual dispositions in predicting infant–mother attachment. After a brief theoretical introduction, the focus turns to studies conducted during the 1980s that predicted attachment security vs. insecurity at 12 months from newborns’ ability to regulate orientation and arousal. A re-analysis of two longitudinal studies, formerly coded only with the ABC system, subsequently revealed that disorganized (vs. organized) attachment was predictable from newborns’ regulatory abilities, whereas secure (vs. insecure) attachment was predictable from the quality of maternal care. This suggested that the two dichotomies represented distinct dimensions and that – in low risk samples – disorganized SSP behavior may be associated with infant behavioral dispositions. More recent attempts to predict disorganized attachment from infant genetic (as opposed to newborn behavioral) dispositions yielded inconsistent results when only main effects models were examined. A set of subsequent studies examining the interplay of genetic and caregiving influences in the prediction of disorganized attachment suggested that maternal sensitivity is of particular importance in cases of genetic risk.

Keywords:

• attachment
• sensitivity
• genes
• disorganization

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Köhler-Stiftung (Munich, Germany), the German Research Foundation (SP 312/16-1 and ZI 511/13-1) and the Department of Developmental Psychology at the University of Regensburg (Prof. Dr. Klaus Grossmann). I want to thank Klaus and Karin Grossmann for their valuable advice and enduring extraordinary support for my research, Fabienne Becker-Stoll, Elisabeth, Fremmer-Bombik, Ursula Ilg, Klaudia Kramer, Iris Rainer, Michael Schieche and Peter Zimmermann for their support in data assessment and psychological data analyses, and Monika Johann and Zolt Ronai for conducting genetic analyses. Also I need to acknowledge a special tribute to the families who made these studies possible. Finally, I want to underline my special gratitude to Inge Bretherton for her challenging and valuable comments to former versions of the paper.

Funding

This research was supported by the Köhler-Stiftung (Munich, Germany), the German Research Foundation [SP 312/16-1 and ZI 511/13-1].