Ellen Moss

Efficacy of a home-visiting intervention aimed at improving maternal sensitivity, child attachment, and behavioral outcomes for maltreated children: A randomized control trial

The efficacy of a short-term attachment-based intervention for changing risk outcomes for children of maltreating families was examined using a randomized control trial. Sixty-seven primary caregivers reported for maltreatment and their children (1-5 years) were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. The intervention group received 8 weekly home visits directed at the caregiver-child dyad and focused on improving caregiver sensitivity. Intervention sessions included brief discussions of attachment-emotion regulation-related themes and video feedback of parent-child interaction. Comparison of pre- and posttest scores revealed significant improvements for the intervention group in parental sensitivity and child attachment security, and a reduction in child disorganization. Older children in the intervention group also showed lower levels of internalizing and externalizing problems following intervention. This is the first study to demonstrate the efficacy of short-term attachment-based intervention in enhancing parental sensitivity, improving child security, and reducing disorganization for children in the early childhood period.

Attachment at school age and academic performance.

The association between attachment and school-related cognitive functioning was longitudinally examined for a French Canadian sample of 108 school-age children. The affective quality of mother-child interaction patterns, child cognitive engagement, and quality of child attachment to mother were evaluated during a laboratory visit that included a separation-reunion procedure occurring when the children were approximately 6 years of age. Childrens mastery motivation and academic performance were assessed 2 years later (at age 8). Analyses indicated that secure children had higher scores than their insecure peers on communication, cognitive engagement, and mastery motivation. Controlling children were at greatest risk for school underachievement, with the poorest performance on all measures except mastery motivation. Avoidant and ambivalent children were lowest on mastery motivation. Results of mediational analyses support the salience of mother-child interactional processes and child cognitive engagement at school age in explaining relations between attachment and cognitive functioning in school.

Attachment at early school age and developmental risk: Examining family contexts and behavior problems of controlling-caregiving, controlling-punitive, and behaviorally disorganized children

Preschool to school-age trajectories of 242 children, including 37 with insecure-disorganized and 66 with insecure-organized attachment patterns, were examined. Child attachment and stressful life events (the latter retrospectively) were measured at ages 5-7, and mother-child interactive quality, parenting stress, marital satisfaction, and teacher-reported behavior problems were evaluated concurrently and 2 years earlier. Results indicated that all three disorganized subgroups had poorer mother-child interactive patterns and more difficult family climates than secure or insecure-organized children. The controlling-punitive group showed significant increases in maternal reports of child-related stress between preschool and school age. The controlling-caregiving group showed greater likelihood of loss of a close family member, and mothers of the insecure-other group reported lower marital satisfaction and greater likelihood of their own or a spouses hospitalization. Controlling-punitive children had higher externalizing scores, and controlling-caregiving children higher internalizing scores, than secure children.

Stability of attachment during the preschool period.

Childrens attachment patterns at early preschool age and 2 years later as well as factors related to stability-instability were examined in a diverse socioeconomic status French Canadian sample of 120 children. Attachment was assessed during 2 laboratory visits using separation-reunion procedures when the children were approximately 3.5 (J. Cassidy & R. S. Marvin, 1992) and 5.5 (M. Main & J. Cassidy, 1988) years old. Overall, stability of attachment, based on 4-way classification, was moderate (68%, k = .47, p = .01). Change from security to disorganization was associated with the most dramatic decline in interactive quality with mother, lowest marital satisfaction, and greatest likelihood of severe attachment-related family events, namely, loss and parental hospitalization. Families of children who changed from security to organized insecurity presented levels of caregiving and marital dissatisfaction that fell between those of stable secure children and secure children who changed toward disorganization.

Attachment and behavior problems in middle childhood as reported by adult and child informants

The predictive relation between attachment and mother, teacher, and self-reported psychopathology was examined for a diverse socioeconomic status French Canadian sample of 96 children. Attachment classifications were assigned on the basis of reunion behavior with mother when the children were approximately 6 years old, and child problem behavior was assessed 2 years later using the Child Behavior Checklist (mother report), the Social Behavior Questionaire (teacher report), and the Dominic Questionnaire (child self-report). Results indicated that both insecure/ambivalent and insecure/controlling children children were rated higher than secure children on a composite measure of externalizing problems. Concerning internalizing problems, only the controlling group was significantly higher on both a composite adult (teacher and mother) and self-report measure of internalizing problems. Analyses of clinical cutoff scores showed that only the controlling group had a significantly greater likelihood of overall problem behavior than other children.

Correlates of Attachment at Age 3: Construct Validity of the Preschool Attachment Classification System.

This study examined correlates of attachment at age 3 to further validate preschool separation-reunion measures. Three-year-olds (N = 150) and their mothers participated in a separation-reunion protocol, the Preschool Attachment Classification System (PACS: J. Cassidy & R. S. Marvin with the MacArthur Working Group on Attachment, 1992), and a mother-child interaction session during a laboratory visit. Mothers also completed psychosocial measures and, along with teachers, evaluated child behavior problems. The secure and disorganized groups received, respectively, the highest and lowest interaction scores. Disorganized children showed a higher level of teacher-reported externalizing and internalizing problems than did secure children. Mothers of insecure children reported higher child externalizing (all insecure groups) and internalizing (avoidant group) scores, more personal distress related to emotional bonding (disorganized group), childrearing control (ambivalent group), and child hyperactivity (avoidant group). Results strongly support the validity of the PACS as a measure of attachment in 3-year-olds.

Another look inside the gap: Ecological contributions to the transmission of attachment in a sample of adolescent mother-infant dyads

Ecological contributions to attachment transmission were studied in a sample of 64 adolescent mother-infant dyads. Maternal sensitivity was assessed when infants were 6 and 10 months old, and infant security was assessed at 15 and 18 months. Maternal attachment state of mind was measured with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) after the 1st assessment. Ecological variables considered were maternal education and depression, paternal support, and infant maternal grandmother support. Results indicated that when the contribution of ecological variables was statistically controlled for, sensitivity was a significant mediator and state of mind no longer contributed to infant security. Sensitivity also mediated an association between maternal education and infant attachment, suggesting that attachment transmission is embedded in a more global process of infant attachment development.

Attachment and teacher-reported behavior problems during the preschool and early school-age period

The association between attachment and behavior problems was examined for a nonclinical, diverse sociocconomic status (SES) French-Canadian sample of 77 children. Attachment classifications were assigned on the basis of reunion behavior with mother when the children were between 5 and 7 years of age. Teachers rated childrens problem behavior using the Socioaffective Profile within 3 months of the attachment assessment (Time 2) and 2 years earlier (Time 1). Results indicated that children with a D classification were more likely than secures or other insecure groups (A or C) to be classified in the problem group at both ages. A majority (80%) of the D group showed problem behavior at some point during the 3–7 year period compared with a minority of A, B, or C children. However, only about 30% of controlling children (like other insecures) had stable problems. Analyses of subclinical scores showed that both controlling and avoidant groups were lower than secures in social competence at Time 1. At Time 2, A group children were lower in externalizing behavior, and C group children were higher. These results extend the association between the D classification and maladaptation previously found for clinical and high-risk samples to a nonclinical, mixed SES sample.

Emotion regulation strategies as mediators of the association between level of attachment security and PTSD symptoms following trauma in adulthood

Abstract Although, a link between attachment and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms has been established, the mechanisms involved in this link have not yet been identified. Furthermore, attachment has been systematically measured by self-report questionnaires, which are prone to perceptual bias. The first goal of this study was to examine the link between PTSD symptoms and attachment security level, as measured with a security index created from the Adult Attachment Projective interview. The second goal was to test emotion regulation strategies as mediators of this link. Participants were recruited in hospital emergency rooms following trauma exposure in adulthood. The results showed that a higher level of attachment security was associated with fewer PTSD symptoms at one and three months posttrauma. The results also showed that substance use and emotion-focused strategies mediated the association between attachment and PTSD symptoms. Theoretical and clinical considerations that follow from these outcomes are discussed.

Social Interaction and Metacognitive Development in Gifted Preschoolers

The preschool period has been identified as a critical period for the emergence of metacognitive skills. Vygotskian theory suggests that the use of planning, monitoring, and evaluation strategies which characterizes the independent performance of gifted school-age children may be most evident during the preschool period in social leaming contexts in which metacognitive functions are largely controlled by adults. The results of an observational study of collaboration styles of mothers and gifted preschoolers during problem solving are discussed in relation to Vygotskian concepts of the zone of proximal development, internalization, and the role of instruction in development.