Tags

Type your tag names separated by a space and hit enter

MATERNAL REPRESENTATIONS AND INFANT ATTACHMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF THE PROTOTYPE HYPOTHESIS.
Infant Ment Health J. 2015 Sep-Oct; 36(5):459-68.IM

Abstract

The prototype hypothesis suggests that attachment representations derived in infancy continue to influence subsequent relationships over the life span, including those formed with one's own children. In the current study, we test the prototype hypothesis by exploring (a) whether child-specific representations following actual experience in interaction with a specific child impacts caregiver-child attachment over and above the prenatal forecast of that representation and (b) whether maternal attachment representations exert their influence on infant attachment via the more child-specific representation of that relationship. In a longitudinal study of 84 mother-infant dyads, mothers' representations of their attachment history were obtained prenatally with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; M. Main, R. Goldwyn, & E. Hesse, 2002), representations of relationship with a specific child were assessed with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI; C.H. Zeanah, D. Benoit, & L. Barton, 1986), collected both prenatally and again at infant age 11 months, and infant attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Walters, & S. Wall, 1978) when infants were 11 months of age. Consistent with the prototype hypothesis, considerable correspondence was found between mothers' AAI and WMCI classifications. A mediation analysis showed that WMCI fully accounted for the association between AAI and infant attachment. Postnatal WMCI measured at 11 months' postpartum did not add to the prediction of infant attachment, over and above that explained by the prenatal WMCI. Implications for these findings are discussed.

Links

Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Madigan S
University of Calgary.
Hawkins E
University of Western Ontario.
Plamondon A
University of Laval.
Moran G
University of Western Ontario.
Benoit D
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.

MeSH

AdultFemaleHumansInfantLongitudinal StudiesModels, TheoreticalMother-Child RelationsMothersObject AttachmentPregnancySurveys and Questionnaires

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

26335252

Citation

Madigan, Sheri, et al. "MATERNAL REPRESENTATIONS and INFANT ATTACHMENT: an EXAMINATION of the PROTOTYPE HYPOTHESIS." Infant Mental Health Journal, vol. 36, no. 5, 2015, pp. 459-68.
Madigan S, Hawkins E, Plamondon A, et al. MATERNAL REPRESENTATIONS AND INFANT ATTACHMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF THE PROTOTYPE HYPOTHESIS. Infant Ment Health J. 2015;36(5):459-68.
Madigan, S., Hawkins, E., Plamondon, A., Moran, G., & Benoit, D. (2015). MATERNAL REPRESENTATIONS AND INFANT ATTACHMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF THE PROTOTYPE HYPOTHESIS. Infant Mental Health Journal, 36(5), 459-68. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21527
Madigan S, et al. MATERNAL REPRESENTATIONS and INFANT ATTACHMENT: an EXAMINATION of the PROTOTYPE HYPOTHESIS. Infant Ment Health J. 2015 Sep-Oct;36(5):459-68. PubMed PMID: 26335252.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - MATERNAL REPRESENTATIONS AND INFANT ATTACHMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF THE PROTOTYPE HYPOTHESIS. AU - Madigan,Sheri, AU - Hawkins,Erinn, AU - Plamondon,Andre, AU - Moran,Greg, AU - Benoit,Diane, Y1 - 2015/09/03/ PY - 2015/9/4/entrez PY - 2015/9/4/pubmed PY - 2016/6/11/medline KW - Bindungsrepräsentationen KW - afectividad del infante KW - attachement du bébé KW - attachment representations KW - infant attachment KW - kindliche Bindung KW - representaciones de la afectividad KW - représentations d'attachement KW - 乳児の愛着 infant attachment KW - 依附表示法 KW - 嬰兒依附 KW - 愛着表象 attachment representations SP - 459 EP - 68 JF - Infant mental health journal JO - Infant Ment Health J VL - 36 IS - 5 N2 - The prototype hypothesis suggests that attachment representations derived in infancy continue to influence subsequent relationships over the life span, including those formed with one's own children. In the current study, we test the prototype hypothesis by exploring (a) whether child-specific representations following actual experience in interaction with a specific child impacts caregiver-child attachment over and above the prenatal forecast of that representation and (b) whether maternal attachment representations exert their influence on infant attachment via the more child-specific representation of that relationship. In a longitudinal study of 84 mother-infant dyads, mothers' representations of their attachment history were obtained prenatally with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; M. Main, R. Goldwyn, & E. Hesse, 2002), representations of relationship with a specific child were assessed with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI; C.H. Zeanah, D. Benoit, & L. Barton, 1986), collected both prenatally and again at infant age 11 months, and infant attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Walters, & S. Wall, 1978) when infants were 11 months of age. Consistent with the prototype hypothesis, considerable correspondence was found between mothers' AAI and WMCI classifications. A mediation analysis showed that WMCI fully accounted for the association between AAI and infant attachment. Postnatal WMCI measured at 11 months' postpartum did not add to the prediction of infant attachment, over and above that explained by the prenatal WMCI. Implications for these findings are discussed. SN - 1097-0355 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/26335252/MATERNAL_REPRESENTATIONS_AND_INFANT_ATTACHMENT:_AN_EXAMINATION_OF_THE_PROTOTYPE_HYPOTHESIS_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -