Infant attachment, adult attachment, and maternal sensitivity: revisiting the intergenerational transmission gap

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the intergenerational transmission of attachment, utilizing the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), and the Maternal Behavioral Q-Set (MBQS). We revisited fundamental questions in attachment theory and research by examining: (1) the level of intergenerational agreement between maternal attachment representations and infant attachment security, and (2) whether maternal sensitivity serves as an intergenerational mediator between adult and infant attachment security. Significant categorical matches between the AAI and the SSP as well as mean differences for MBQS scores between adult attachment secure-insecure groups were found. Consistent with earlier intergenerational research, maternal sensitivity only partially mediated the AAI-SSP link, indicating the transmission gap remains. Consistent with recent mediation studies, using more contemporary analytical techniques, it was confirmed that maternal sensitivity did mediate the direct pathway between AAI security and SSP security. Thus, the transmission gap appears somewhat different depending on the statistical method used to measure mediation. Post hoc analyses considered mothers’ childhood experiences of separation/divorce and this helped make sense of intergenerational mismatches.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• Adult Attachment Interview
• Strange Situation
• maternal sensitivity
• intergenerational transmission

Acknowledgements

We thank the children and their mothers who participated in the study. We also thank Tomo Umemura who provided statistical support in completing part of the statistical analyses. We are grateful to Elizabeth Carlson who advised us on several difficult SSP cases and also coded part of our SSP data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. KB = Kazuko Y Behrens (all SSP cases and all AAI cases were randomized and re-numbered prior to coding onset to maintain blindness). JH = John D. Haltigan. EC = Elizabeth Carlson. NB = Naomi I. G. Bahm, KM = Kirsten B. Mathews.

2. For our sample, the AAI Coherence scales (both Coherence of Mind and Coherence of Transcript) were not significantly correlated with the MBQS scale. Thus, AAI security as a continuous scale was not used in the analyses.