The combined contribution of maternal sensitivity and disrupted affective communication to infant attachment in an Israeli sample

ABSTRACT

Maternal sensitivity and disrupted communication are usually considered independently as antecedents of attachment security and attachment disorganization, respectively. This study examined whether considering them jointly allows specific predictions of attachment classifications. The sample (N = 159) was selected from a previous study conducted in Israel between 1991–1993, and over-represented disorganized and ambivalent attachment. Attachment was assessed at 12 months in the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), sensitivity was assessed from free-play observations at 6 and 12 months, and disrupted communication was coded from the SSP. As hypothesized, high sensitivity and low disruption predicted secure attachment; low sensitivity and high disruption predicted disorganized-insecure attachment or ambivalent attachment; and high sensitivity and high disruption predicted disorganized-secure attachment. Low sensitivity and low disrupted communication did not predict avoidant attachment. The results show that combining maternal sensitivity and disrupted communication improves the precision in identifying maternal antecedents of attachment.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• maternal sensitivity
• disrupted affective communication
• disorganized attachment
• mother-infant interaction

Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this manuscript was included in a doctoral dissertation submitted by Inbar Ariav-Paraira to the University of Haifa. The authors would like to thank Drs. Nina Koren-Karie and Ora Aviezer for their contributions to the study as members of the dissertation committee. We also thank Dr. Elisa Bronfman for her support and help with the AMBIANCE, Gabriela Levy and Noa Gal for their devoted research assistantship, and all the participating families.

This work was supported by a Harry and Sadie Lasky Foundation Fellowship granted to Inbar Ariav-Paraira.

The data used in this research were collected as part of an earlier study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant # 1RO HD 25975).

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [I. A. P], upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Harry and Sadie Lasky Foundation [40122, 40123].