K. Lee Raby

Genetic and Caregiving-Based Contributions to Infant Attachment Unique Associations With Distress Reactivity and Attachment Security

In the longitudinal study reported here, we examined genetic and caregiving-based contributions to individual differences in infant attachment classifications. For 154 mother-infant pairs, we rated mothers’ responsiveness to their 6-month-old infants during naturalistic interactions and classified infants’ attachment organization at 12 and 18 months using the Strange Situation procedure. These infants were later genotyped with respect to the serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR). Maternal responsiveness uniquely predicted infants’ attachment security. Infants’ 5-HTTLPR variation uniquely predicted their subtype of attachment security at 12 months and their subtype of attachment insecurity at 12 and 18 months. The short allele for 5-HTTLPR was associated with attachment classifications characterized by higher emotional distress. These findings suggest that 5-HTTLPR variation contributes to infants’ emotional reactivity and that the degree to which caregivers are responsive influences how effectively infants use their caregivers for emotion regulation. Theoretical implications for the study of genetic and caregiving influences are discussed.

The effect of unpredictable early childhood environments on parenting in adulthood.

Life history theory suggests that individual differences in parenting are partially rooted in environmental conditions experienced early in life. Whereas certain conditions should promote increased investment in parenting, unpredictable and/or harsh environments should promote decreased investment in parenting, especially in men. We tested this hypothesis in 3 studies. In Study 1a, we conducted analyses on 112 parents taking part in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA), all of whom have been continuously studied starting before they were born. Parenting orientations were assessed at age 32 via an interview. Findings showed that experiencing more unpredictability at ages 0-4 (i.e., frequent changes in parental employment status, cohabitation status, and residence) prospectively forecasted more negative parenting orientations among men, but not women. This effect was serially mediated by lower early maternal supportive presence measured at ages 0-4 and insecure attachment assessed at ages 19 and 26. In Study 1b, we replicated these findings on 96 parents from the MLSRA using behavioral observations of their parental supportive presence. In Study 2, we replicated the effect of early-life unpredictability on mens parenting orientations with a sample of 435 parents. This effect was mediated by adult attachment anxiety and avoidance. Across all studies, greater early-life harshness (low socioeconomic status [SES]) did not predict adult parenting outcomes. These findings suggest that greater early-life unpredictability may be conveyed to children through less supportive parenting, which results in insecure attachment representations in adulthood. Among men, this process culminates in less positive adult parenting orientations and less supportive parenting.

Contributions of maltreatment and serotonin transporter genotype to depression in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood

BACKGROUND Past findings on gene-by-environment (G×E) effects on depression have been mixed, leading to a debate of the plausibility of such mechanisms and methodological considerations that warrant attention. A developmental systems perspective postulates that complex, multi-level G×E effects are likely contributors to depression. METHODS Participants from families experiencing low-income status at birth were followed over 28 years. Maltreatment was recorded prospectively using multiple means and sources. Depression was measured repeatedly using well-validated interviews in middle childhood, through adolescence, and into adulthood. RESULTS Findings support a G×E effect where the less efficient form of the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) contributes to a vulnerability to depressogenic aspects of maltreatment in childhood and adolescence. The presence of less efficient forms of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and maltreatment together raised risk for depression. This G×E effect was present generally and also among those who reported clinical levels of depression at only one point in time. LIMITATIONS This study used a low-income sample which limits generalizability to other populations. Sample size and rates of different forms of depression and depression at individual developmental stages supported general analyses, but limited the sorts of specific sub-analyses that were possible. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the plausibility of G×E effects on depression during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, key periods for the development of depression. Ongoing debates about the presence of G×E effects would be well served by additional work that was theoretically informed and employed prospective, longitudinal methodologies with well-validated measures of key constructs.

Enhancing executive functioning among toddlers in foster care with an attachment-based intervention

Young children in foster care often experience adversity, such as maltreatment and lack of stability in early caregiving relationships. As a result, these children are at risk for a range of problems, including deficits in executive functioning. The Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up for Toddlers (ABC-T) intervention was designed to help foster parents behave in ways that promote the development of young childrens emerging self-regulatory capabilities. Participants included 173 parent-toddler dyads in three groups: foster families that were randomly assigned to receive either the ABC-T intervention (n = 63) or a control intervention (n = 58), as well as low-risk parent-toddler dyads from intact families (n = 52). At a follow-up conducted when children were approximately 48 months old, childrens executive functioning abilities were assessed with the attention problems scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000) and a graded version of the Dimensional Change Card Sort developed for preschoolers (Beck, Schaefer, Pang, & Carlson, 2011). Results showed that foster children whose parents received the ABC-T intervention and low-risk children never placed in foster care had fewer parent-reported attention problems and demonstrated greater cognitive flexibility during the Dimensional Change Card Sort than foster children whose parents received the control intervention. These results indicate that an attachment-based intervention implemented among toddlers in foster care is effective in enhancing childrens executive functioning capabilities.

Continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns across two generations

This study examined the intergenerational continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns within a higher-risk longitudinal sample of 55 female participants born into poverty. Infant attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation when participants were 12 and 18 months as well as several decades later with participants’ children. Paralleling earlier findings from this sample on the stability of attachment patterns from infancy to young adulthood, results provided evidence for intergenerational continuities in attachment disorganization but not security. Children of adults with histories of infant attachment disorganization were at an increased risk of forming disorganized attachments. Although changes in infant attachment patterns across the two generations were not correlated with individuals’ caregiving experiences or interpersonal stresses and supports during childhood and adolescence, higher quality social support during adulthood was associated with intergenerational changes from insecure to secure infant–caregiver attachment relationships.

Greater Maternal Insensitivity in Childhood Predicts Greater Electrodermal Reactivity During Conflict Discussions With Romantic Partners in Adulthood

In this study, we drew on prospective, longitudinal data to investigate the long-term predictive significance of the quality of early parent-child relationship experiences for adults’ sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity during conflict discussions with their romantic partners. Maternal sensitivity was repeatedly assessed across childhood via direct observations of mother-child interactions. When the children in the study became adults (34–37 years old), electrodermal activity—an index of SNS arousal and a psychophysiological marker of behavioral inhibition—was recorded for 37 participants while at rest and while they attempted to resolve conflicts in their romantic relationships. Individuals who had experienced less sensitive maternal caregiving during childhood had greater increases in electrodermal activity during conflict discussions with their adult partners, relative to resting conditions. This longitudinal association was not accounted for by observed or self-reported romantic-relationship quality, gender, ethnicity, or early socioeconomic factors.

Attachment and Relationships Across Time: An Organizational-Developmental Perspective

In this chapter, we present the normative organizational-developmental perspective that has guided our thinking and research on how and why certain types of interpersonal experiences encountered earlier in life are systematically linked to individual-level and couple-level functioning in later relationships. We begin by overviewing the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA; Sroufe et al., The development of the person: The Minnesota Study of Risk and Adaptation from Birth to Adulthood, 2005) and by discussing some of the key measures that have been collected as part of this novel longitudinal sample. We then discuss the findings of several recent studies that have examined how romantic relationships are maintained and sometimes dissolve during early adulthood (age 20–23), including the ways in which these relationship processes are shaped by the quality of targets’ early caregiving experiences. Following this, we describe how an organizational-developmental perspective clarifies our understanding of the normative processes through which adult romantic relationships develop and their early interpersonal origins. We conclude by discussing some promising directions for future research.

Childhood abuse and neglect, attachment states of mind, and non-suicidal self-injury

ABSTRACT This investigation examined preoccupied attachment states of mind as both a risk factor for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and as a mechanism by which prospectively assessed childhood experiences of abuse and neglect predicted the frequency/severity of NSSI behavior up to age 26 years in 164 individuals (83 females) who were followed from birth in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation. Preoccupied (but not dismissing) states of mind regarding both childhood caregivers and adult romantic partners were correlated with more frequent/severe NSSI. Furthermore, preoccupied states of mind regarding caregivers partially accounted for the association between childhood abuse/neglect and NSSI. This work represents a rare prospective test of a developmental psychopathology framework for understanding NSSI behavior, in which atypical caregiving experiences are carried forward through attachment representations of caregivers that reflect behavioral risk.

Parenting predicts Strange Situation cortisol reactivity among children adopted internationally

The functioning of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis can be altered by adverse early experiences. Recent studies indicate that children who were adopted internationally after experiencing early institutional rearing and unstable caregiving exhibit blunted HPA reactivity to stressful situations. The present study examined whether caregiving experiences post-adoption further modulate childrens HPA responses to stress. Parental sensitivity during naturalistic parent-child play interactions was assessed for 66 children (M age = 17.3 months, SD = 4.6) within a year of being adopted internationally. Approximately 8 months later, childrens salivary cortisol levels were measured immediately before as well as 15 and 30 min after a series of brief separations from the mother in an unfamiliar laboratory setting. Latent growth curve modeling indicated that experiencing more parental sensitivity predicted increased cortisol reactivity to the stressor. Although half the families received an intervention designed to improve parental sensitivity, the intervention did not significantly alter childrens cortisol outcomes. These findings suggest that post-adoption parental sensitivity may help normalize the HPA response to stress among children adopted internationally.

Consistency and stability of narrative coherence: An examination of personal narrative as a domain of adult personality

OBJECTIVE Narrative theories of personality assume that individual differences in coherence reflect consistent and stable differences in narrative style rather than situational and event-specific differences (e.g., McAdams & McLean, 2013). However, this assumption has received only modest empirical attention. Therefore, we present two studies testing the theoretical assumption of a consistent and stable coherent narrative style. METHOD Study 1 focused on the two most traumatic and most positive life events of 224 undergraduates. These event-specific narratives were coded for three coherence dimensions: theme, context, and chronology (NaCCs; Reese et al., 2011). Study 2 focused on two life narratives told 4 years apart by 98 adults, which were coded for thematic, causal, and temporal coherence (Köber, Schmiedek, & Habermas, 2015). RESULTS Confirmatory factor analysis in both studies revealed that individual differences in the coherence ratings were best explained by a model including both narrative style and event-/narration-specific latent variables. CONCLUSIONS The ways in which we tell autobiographical narratives reflect a stable feature of individual differences. Further, they suggest that this stable element of personality is necessary, but not sufficient, in accounting for specific event and life narrative coherence.