Morehead State University
“I Can Do Better” The Relationship Between Parental Attachment and Care-giving Behaviors
Institution
Morehead State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Shari Kidwell
Abstract
Attachment is a “state of mind” about relationships, including rules that guide parenting, and it is believed to be “handed down” from generation to generation. Attachment, in turn, has been found to predict a variety of socioemotional competencies, both in children and adults. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between parents’ attachments to their own parents and their parenting behaviors and perceptions of their relationships with their children. Subjects for the current study were 55 parents and their preschoolers. Parenting was measured with questionnaires and interaction tasks. Perceptions of their relationships with their children were assessed via an interview. Attachment was assessed in an interview in which parents described how they were disciplined and comforted by their parents and the effects these relationships had on them. Parents classified as secure perceived themselves as more nurturing and consistent, and ratings of parenting behaviors suggested that they were more warm, empathic, and encouraging with their children. Additional, qualitative analyses were undertaken to examine whether parent’s perceptions of their relationships with their children were consistent with their attachment patterns. The vast majority of parents displayed the caregiving perceptions that were expected, given their attachment pattern. These responses suggested that secure parents had positive, realistic, and balanced relationships with their children, relative to insecure parents. However, some insecure parents had perceptions of their relationships with their children that were similar to those of secure parents. These results have implications for interventions to prevent the “handing down” of insecure attachments.
“I Can Do Better” The Relationship Between Parental Attachment and Care-giving Behaviors
Attachment is a “state of mind” about relationships, including rules that guide parenting, and it is believed to be “handed down” from generation to generation. Attachment, in turn, has been found to predict a variety of socioemotional competencies, both in children and adults. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between parents’ attachments to their own parents and their parenting behaviors and perceptions of their relationships with their children. Subjects for the current study were 55 parents and their preschoolers. Parenting was measured with questionnaires and interaction tasks. Perceptions of their relationships with their children were assessed via an interview. Attachment was assessed in an interview in which parents described how they were disciplined and comforted by their parents and the effects these relationships had on them. Parents classified as secure perceived themselves as more nurturing and consistent, and ratings of parenting behaviors suggested that they were more warm, empathic, and encouraging with their children. Additional, qualitative analyses were undertaken to examine whether parent’s perceptions of their relationships with their children were consistent with their attachment patterns. The vast majority of parents displayed the caregiving perceptions that were expected, given their attachment pattern. These responses suggested that secure parents had positive, realistic, and balanced relationships with their children, relative to insecure parents. However, some insecure parents had perceptions of their relationships with their children that were similar to those of secure parents. These results have implications for interventions to prevent the “handing down” of insecure attachments.