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Maternal attachment and sensitivity in an at-risk sample.
Attach Hum Dev. 2000 Sep; 2(2):203-17.AH

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between adult attachment status and maternal sensitivity in a sample of 30 at-risk mother-child dyads. The children were 18-42 months old with an equal distribution of boys and girls that were at risk for compromised development due to a number of social, emotional and environmental factors. Using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985) it was found that only 17% of the mothers were classified as autonomous, while 83% were classified as anxious regarding attachment. Sensitivity was measured using the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS) (Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1993). Each mother-child pair was video-taped in their home during a 30-minute interactional sequence in which they played with a given set of toys. Only the results from the Maternal Sensitivity Scale are reported here. Mothers who were free to evaluate their attachment experiences on the AAI were most sensitive. Mothers who showed anxiety in evaluating attachment, as a group, while undoubtedly caring and concerned, were less sensitive. There was, however, wide variability within the group of mothers with anxious attachment representations, Preoccupied mothers showing the least optimal interactions.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Oyen AS
Barne- og ungdomspsykiatrisk avdeling (BUPA), Ullevaal sykehus, 0407 Oslo, Norway. asoyen@online.no
Landy S
No affiliation info available
Hilburn-Cobb C
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdultChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantMaleMaternal BehaviorMother-Child RelationsObject AttachmentOntarioPersonality AssessmentPersonality DevelopmentPlay and PlaythingsRisk FactorsSocial WelfareUrban Population

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

11707911

Citation

Oyen, A S., et al. "Maternal Attachment and Sensitivity in an At-risk Sample." Attachment & Human Development, vol. 2, no. 2, 2000, pp. 203-17.
Oyen AS, Landy S, Hilburn-Cobb C. Maternal attachment and sensitivity in an at-risk sample. Attach Hum Dev. 2000;2(2):203-17.
Oyen, A. S., Landy, S., & Hilburn-Cobb, C. (2000). Maternal attachment and sensitivity in an at-risk sample. Attachment & Human Development, 2(2), 203-17.
Oyen AS, Landy S, Hilburn-Cobb C. Maternal Attachment and Sensitivity in an At-risk Sample. Attach Hum Dev. 2000;2(2):203-17. PubMed PMID: 11707911.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Maternal attachment and sensitivity in an at-risk sample. AU - Oyen,A S, AU - Landy,S, AU - Hilburn-Cobb,C, PY - 2001/11/16/pubmed PY - 2002/1/5/medline PY - 2001/11/16/entrez SP - 203 EP - 17 JF - Attachment & human development JO - Attach Hum Dev VL - 2 IS - 2 N2 - This study investigated the relationship between adult attachment status and maternal sensitivity in a sample of 30 at-risk mother-child dyads. The children were 18-42 months old with an equal distribution of boys and girls that were at risk for compromised development due to a number of social, emotional and environmental factors. Using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985) it was found that only 17% of the mothers were classified as autonomous, while 83% were classified as anxious regarding attachment. Sensitivity was measured using the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS) (Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1993). Each mother-child pair was video-taped in their home during a 30-minute interactional sequence in which they played with a given set of toys. Only the results from the Maternal Sensitivity Scale are reported here. Mothers who were free to evaluate their attachment experiences on the AAI were most sensitive. Mothers who showed anxiety in evaluating attachment, as a group, while undoubtedly caring and concerned, were less sensitive. There was, however, wide variability within the group of mothers with anxious attachment representations, Preoccupied mothers showing the least optimal interactions. SN - 1461-6734 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/11707911/Maternal_attachment_and_sensitivity_in_an_at_risk_sample_ L2 - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616730050085563 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -