The predictive significance of attachment script assessment hyperactivation and deactivation: evidence of associations with romantic relationship functioning.

This study examined the significance of a novel coding system for evaluating hyperactivation, deactivation, and anomalous content in the Attachment Script Assessment for romantic relationship functioning. In a sample of 208 couples (69% White, Mage 28.7 years), we tested whether ASA hyperactivation and deactivation were associated with theoretically relevant correlates, including observed behavior, parasympathetic reactivity, self-reported affective reactivity to conflict, and relationship satisfaction. Exploratory analyses examined associations of secure base script knowledge (SBSK) and anomalous content with these outcomes. ASA hyperactivation and deactivation were associated with behavioral, physiological, and self-reported functioning in theory-consistent ways. Anomalous content was not associated with romantic functioning. SBSK was associated with satisfaction, but this was not robust to covariates. Findings support the predictive validity of the hyperactivation and deactivation dimensions and suggest that these scales complement SBSK, enabling researchers to assess a wider range of behavioral and physiological indicators associated with distinctive forms of attachment insecurity.

The Attachment Script Assessment: Introduction of a coding system to evaluate deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous content.

Although research on adult attachment has yielded insight into the legacy of attachment for functioning in adulthood, methodological challenges persist in the assessment of adult attachment. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) offers a rich assessment of secure, insecure, and unresolved states of mind. However, it is resource intensive to administer and code. Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) offers a resource-effective alternative to the AAI. However, the ASA coding system only yields a single, security-like dimension: secure base script knowledge. Here, we introduce a complementary coding system for the ASA to assess attachment deactivation (i.e. script characterized by limited interpersonal connection and minimization of attachment problems/emotions), hyperactivation (i.e. script in which attachment-relevant problems and negative emotions are heightened), and anomalous content (i.e. script in which attachment problems contain elements of fear and/or disorientation); and we discuss the conceptual convergence of these scripts with corresponding patterns of attachment insecurity and disorganization.

Adult attachment assessed via the ASA and AAI: Empirical convergence and links with autonomic physiological responding during attachment assessments.

This study examined the empirical convergence of Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous scripts with conceptually corresponding attachment patterns assessed via the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and the significance of ASA dimensions for autonomic physiological reactivity during adult attachment assessments. Young adults' (50% male; Mage = 19 years; 80% White/European American) ASA deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous content were significantly associated with AAI dismissing (r = .26-.38), preoccupied (r = .31-.35), and unresolved (r = .37) states of mind, respectively. ASA hyperactivation and anomalous content were associated with heightened RSA reactivity to the AAI and ASA, aligning with expectations that these attachment patterns capture the tendency to heighten expressions of negative, traumatic experiences. ASA deactivation was associated with smaller increases in electrodermal activity to the ASA-indicative of less sympathetic arousal-converging with the tendency of individuals higher in deactivation to avoid discussing attachment themes in the ASA.

Deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous content in the attachment script assessment: stability over time and significance for parenting behavior and physiology.

This study examined the stability of Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous content and their significance for parenting outcomes in mothers (Mage = 31 years; 78% White/European American) and 6-month-old infants. Comparable to ASA secure base script knowledge (SBSK), mothers' ASA deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous content were significantly, moderately stable over two years (r's = .40 - .43). Mothers' ASA hyperactivation and anomalous content were associated with greater maternal intrusiveness, whereas ASA deactivation was associated with greater detachment and less intrusiveness. Only ASA anomalous content was associated with lower maternal sensitivity. Mothers' ASA deactivation was associated with less dynamic change in respiratory sinus arrhythmia during the Still-Face Procedure-reflective of limited mobilization of physiological resources to support responding to infants. Findings support the validity of ASA deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous content scripts, and demonstrate their utility in examining adult attachment stability and predictive significance for parent-child outcomes.

Racial disparities in EEG research and their implications for our understanding of the maternal brain.

Racial disparities in maternal health are alarming and persistent. Use of electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) to understand the maternal brain can improve our knowledge of maternal health by providing insight into mechanisms underlying maternal well-being, including implications for child development. However, systematic racial bias exists in EEG methodology-particularly for Black individuals-and in psychological and health research broadly. This paper discusses these biases in the context of EEG/ERP research on the maternal brain. First, we assess the racial/ethnic diversity of existing ERP studies of maternal neural responding to infant/child emotional expressions, using papers from a recent meta-analysis, finding that the majority of mothers represented in this research are of White/European ancestry and that the racially and ethnically diverse samples that are present are limited in terms of geography. Therefore, our current knowledge base in this area may be biased and not generalizable across racially diverse mothers. We outline factors underlying this problem, beginning with the racial bias in EEG equipment that systematically excludes individuals of African descent, and also considering factors specific to research with mothers. Finally, we highlight recent innovations to EEG hardware to better accommodate diverse hairstyles and textures, and other important steps to increase racial and ethnic representativeness in EEG/ERP research with mothers. We urge EEG/ERP researchers who study the maternal brain-including our own research group-to take action to increase racial diversity so that this research area can confidently inform understanding of maternal health and contribute to minimizing maternal health disparities.

The predictive validity of the strange situation procedure: Evidence from registered analyses of two landmark longitudinal studies.

Meta-analyses demonstrate that the quality of early attachment is modestly associated with peer social competence (r = .19) and externalizing behavior (r = -.15), but weakly associated with internalizing symptoms (r = -.07) across early development (Groh et al., Child Development Perspectives, 11(1), 70-76, 2017). Nonetheless, these reviews suffer from limitations that undermine confidence in reported estimates, including evidence for publication bias and the lack of comprehensive assessments of outcome measures from longitudinal studies in the literature. Moreover, theoretical claims regarding the specificity of the predictive significance of early attachment variation for socioemotional versus academic outcomes had not been evaluated when the analyses for this report were registered (but see Dagan et al., Child Development, 1-20, 2023; Deneault et al., Developmental Review, 70, 101093, 2023). To address these limitations, we conducted a set of registered analyses to evaluate the predictive validity of infant attachment in two landmark studies of the Strange Situation: the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA) and the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD). Across-time composite assessments reflecting teacher report, mother report, and self-reports of each outcome measure were created. Bivariate associations between infant attachment security and socioemotional outcomes in the MLSRA were comparable to, or slightly weaker than, those reported in the recent meta-analyses, whereas those in the SECCYD were weaker for these outcomes. Controlling for four demographic covariates, partial correlation coefficients between infant attachment and all socioemotional outcomes were r ≤ .10 to .15 in both samples. Compositing Strange Situations at ages 12 and 18 months did not substantively alter the predictive validity of the measure in the MLSRA, though a composite measure of three different early attachment measures in the SECCYD did increase predictive validity coefficients. Associations between infant attachment security and academic skills were unexpectedly comparable to (SECCYD) or larger than (MLSRA) those observed with respect to socioemotional outcomes.

The significance of mothers' attachment representations for vagal responding during interactions with infants.

Little is known about the significance of mothers' attachment for neurobiological responding during interactions with infants. To address this gap, this study examined links between mothers' (N = 139) attachment representations and dynamic change in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) while interacting with infants in the Still-Face Procedure (SFP). Mothers higher on secure base script knowledge (SBSK) exhibited greater RSA reactivity during the SFP characterized by lower RSA during normal play, higher RSA during the still-face, and lower RSA during reunion. Findings indicate that mothers higher on SBSK exhibit RSA responding expected to support active behavioral coping during normal play and reunion - consistent with the need to engage infants in social interaction - and RSA responding during the still-face expected to support efforts to calm the body and empathize with their infant during this distressing social disruption. Findings advance knowledge of the significance of adult attachment for the neurobiology of caregiving.

Attachment goes to court: child protection and custody issues.

Attachment theory and research are drawn upon in many applied settings, including family courts, but misunderstandings are widespread and sometimes result in misapplications. The aim of this consensus statement is, therefore, to enhance understanding, counter misinformation, and steer family-court utilisation of attachment theory in a supportive, evidence-based direction, especially with regard to child protection and child custody decision-making. The article is divided into two parts. In the first, we address problems related to the use of attachment theory and research in family courts, and discuss reasons for these problems. To this end, we examine family court applications of attachment theory in the current context of the best-interest-of-the-child standard, discuss misunderstandings regarding attachment theory, and identify factors that have hindered accurate implementation. In the second part, we provide recommendations for the application of attachment theory and research. To this end, we set out three attachment principles: the child's need for familiar, non-abusive caregivers; the value of continuity of good-enough care; and the benefits of networks of attachment relationships. We also discuss the suitability of assessments of attachment quality and caregiving behaviour to inform family court decision-making. We conclude that assessments of caregiver behaviour should take center stage. Although there is dissensus among us regarding the use of assessments of attachment quality to inform child custody and child-protection decisions, such assessments are currently most suitable for targeting and directing supportive interventions. Finally, we provide directions to guide future interdisciplinary research collaboration.

Child-father attachment in early childhood and behavior problems: A meta-analysis.

This meta-analytic study examined the associations between child-father attachment in early childhood and children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Based on 15 samples (N = 1,304 dyads), the association between child-father attachment insecurity and externalizing behaviors was significant and moderate in magnitude (r = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.27 or d = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.20, 0.55). No moderators of this association were identified. Based on 12 samples (N = 1,073), the association between child-father attachment insecurity and internalizing behaviors was also significant, albeit smaller in magnitude (r = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.15; or d = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.31). Between-study heterogeneity was insufficient to consider moderators. When compared to the effect sizes of prior meta-analyses on child-mother attachment and behavior problems, the quality of the attachment relationship with fathers yields a similar magnitude of associations to children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Results support the need to consider the role of the attachment network, which notably includes attachment relationships to both fathers and mothers, to understand how attachment relationships contribute to child development.

Antecedents of attachment states of mind in normative-risk and high-risk caregiving: cross-race and cross-sex generalizability in two longitudinal studies.

BACKGROUND: Longitudinal investigations of relatively large typical-risk (e.g., Booth-LaForce & Roisman, 2014) and higher-risk samples (e.g., Raby et al., 2017; Roisman et al., 2017) have produced evidence consistent with the claim that attachment states of mind in adolescence and young adulthood, as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), are associated with the quality of caregiving experienced during childhood. None of these studies, however, has examined whether such associations are consistent across sex and/or race, as would be expected in light of the sensitivity hypothesis of attachment theory. METHODS: We examine whether sex or race moderates previously reported links between caregiving and AAI states of mind in two longitudinal studies (pooled N = 1,058) in which caregiving was measured either within (i.e., observed [in]sensitive care) or outside (i.e., childhood maltreatment) of the normative range of caregiving experiences. RESULTS: Hierarchical moderated regression analyses in both longitudinal cohorts provided evidence that maternal insensitivity and experiences of maltreatment were prospectively associated with dismissing and preoccupied states of mind in adolescence, as hypothesized. Moreover, these associations were generally comparable in magnitude for African American and White/non-Hispanic participants and were not conditional on participants' biological sex. CONCLUSIONS: Both maternal insensitivity and the experience of maltreatment increased risk for insecure attachment states of mind in adolescence. Moreover, our analyses provided little evidence that either participant race or participant sex assigned at birth moderated these nontrivial associations between measures of the quality of experienced caregiving and insecure attachment states of mind in adolescence. These findings provide support for the sensitivity hypothesis of attachment theory and inform the cultural universality hypothesis of attachment processes.

Infant Attachment Insecurity and Baseline Physiological Activity and Physiological Reactivity to Interpersonal Stress: A Meta-Analytic Review.

This meta-analytic review (k = 5-10; N = 258-895) examined links between attachment insecurity and physiological activity at baseline and in response to interpersonal stress elicited by separation-reunion procedures in the early life course (1-5 years). Insecurity was trivially, nonsignificantly associated with baseline physiological activity (heart rate [HR]: g = -.06; respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]: g = -.06; cortisol: g = .01) and nonsignificantly associated with physiological reactivity to separation from parents (HR: g = -.001; RSA: g = .24). However, insecurity was moderately associated with heightened RSA (g = .26) and cortisol (g = .27) reactivity upon reunion with parents. Findings provide insight into the biobehavioral organization of attachment, suggesting that early insecurity is associated with heightened physiological reactivity to interpersonal stress.

Mothers' Physiological and Affective Responding to Infant Distress: Unique Antecedents of Avoidant and Resistant Attachments.

In a sample of 127 mother-infant dyads, this study examined the predictive significance of mothers' physiological and observed emotional responding within distressing and nondistressing caregiving contexts at 6 months for infant attachment assessed with Fraley and Spieker's (2003) dimensional approach and the categorical approach at 12 months. Findings revealed that a lesser degree of maternal respiratory sinus arrhythmia withdrawal and higher levels of maternal neutral (vs. positive) affect within distressing (vs. nondistressing) caregiving contexts were distinctive antecedents of avoidance versus resistance assessed dimensionally (but not categorically), independent of maternal sensitivity. Discussion focuses on the usefulness of examining mothers' physiological and affective responding, considering the caregiving context, and employing the dimensional approach to attachment in identifying unique antecedents of patterns of attachment insecurity.

Mothers' Neural and Behavioral Responses to Their Infants' Distress Cues: The Role of Secure Base Script Knowledge.

This research examined mothers' secure base script knowledge-reflected in the ability to generate narratives in which attachment-relevant problems are recognized, competent help is offered, and problems are resolved-and its significance for early-stage processing of infants' distress cues, using event-related potentials in an emotion oddball task. Mothers with lower secure base script knowledge exhibited (a) a heightened P3b response-reflective of greater allocation of cognitive resources-to their infants' distressed (but not happy) target facial expressions; (b) a larger P3b response to their infants' distressed (compared with happy) target facial expressions, which is indicative of allocating disproportional attentional resources to processing their infants' distress; and (c) poorer accuracy in identifying their infants' distressed target facial expressions. Findings suggest that mothers' attachment-relevant biases in processing their infants' emotion cues are especially tied to infant distress and shed light on underlying mechanisms linking mothers' attachment representations with sensitive responding to infant distress.

Young infants expect an unfamiliar adult to comfort a crying baby: Evidence from a standard violation-of-expectation task and a novel infant-triggered-video task.

Do infants expect individuals to act prosocially toward others in need, at least in some contexts? Very few such expectations have been uncovered to date. In three experiments, we examined whether infants would expect an adult alone in a scene with a crying baby to attempt to comfort the baby. In the first two experiments, 12- and 4-month-olds were tested using the standard violation-of-expectation method. Infants saw videotaped events in which a woman was performing a household chore when a baby nearby began to cry; the woman either comforted (comfort event) or ignored (ignore event) the baby. Infants looked significantly longer at the ignore than at the comfort event, and this effect was eliminated if the baby laughed instead of cried. In the third experiment, 8-month-olds were tested using a novel forced-choice violation-of-expectation method, the infant-triggered-video method. Infants faced two computer monitors and were first shown that touching the monitors triggered events: One monitor presented the comfort event and the other monitor presented the ignore event. Infants then chose which event they wanted to watch again by touching the corresponding monitor. Infants significantly chose the ignore over the comfort event, and this effect was eliminated if the baby laughed. Thus, across ages and methods, infants provided converging evidence that they expected the adult to comfort the crying baby. These results indicate that expectations about individuals' actions toward others in need are already present in the first year of life, and, as such, they constrain theoretical accounts of early prosociality and morality.

Attachment and Temperament in the Early Life Course: A Meta-Analytic Review.

This meta-analytic review examines the association between early attachment (assessed at 1-5 years) and child temperament (assessed at birth-12 years), and compares the strength of this association with recently documented meta-analytic associations between early attachment and social competence, externalizing behavior, and internalizing symptoms. Based on 109 independent samples (N = 11,440) of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, temperament was weakly associated with attachment (in)security (d = .14, CI [0.08, 0.19]) but modestly associated with resistant attachment (d = .30, CI [0.21, 0.40]). Temperament was not significantly associated with avoidant (d = .10, CI [-0.02, 0.19]) or disorganized (d = .11, CI [-0.03, 0.25]) attachment. Across developmental domains, early attachment security was more strongly associated with social competence and externalizing behaviors than internalizing symptoms and temperament.

Attachment states of mind and inferred childhood experiences in maltreated and comparison adolescents from low-income families.

This paper reports the first large-sample investigation of the maltreatment-related correlates of low-income adolescents' narratives about their childhood experiences with primary caregivers, as assessed with a modified version of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and based on official reports of abuse and neglect (maltreated n = 214, nonmaltreated n = 140; M age = 16.7 years). Drawing on factor-analytic and taxometric evidence indicating that AAI narratives vary along two state of mind (i.e., dismissing and preoccupied) and two inferred childhood experience (i.e., maternal and paternal) dimensions, here we demonstrate that the experience of maltreatment, particularly when chronic, is associated with increased risk for dismissing and preoccupied states of mind and more negative inferred childhood experiences. Although such maltreatment-related associations were generally not specific to any of the four AAI dimensions, the experience of physical and/or sexual abuse was uniquely associated with preoccupied states of mind and negative inferred paternal experiences even after controlling for the other AAI dimensions. More extensive paternal perpetration of maltreatment also was uniquely related to more negative inferred paternal experiences.

Mothers' electrophysiological, subjective, and observed emotional responding to infant crying: The role of secure base script knowledge.

This study examined the extent to which secure base script knowledge-reflected in the ability to generate narratives in which attachment-relevant events are encountered, a clear need for assistance is communicated, competent help is provided and accepted, and the problem is resolved-is associated with mothers' electrophysiological, subjective, and observed emotional responses to an infant distress vocalization. While listening to an infant crying, mothers (N = 108, M age = 34 years) lower on secure base script knowledge exhibited smaller shifts in relative left (vs. right) frontal EEG activation from rest, reported smaller reductions in feelings of positive emotion from rest, and expressed greater levels of tension. Findings indicate that lower levels of secure base script knowledge are associated with an organization of emotional responding indicative of a less flexible and more emotionally restricted response to infant distress. Discussion focuses on the contribution of mothers' attachment representations to their ability to effectively manage emotional responding to infant distress in a manner expected to support sensitive caregiving.

The significance of attachment security for children's social competence with peers: a meta-analytic study.

This meta-analytic review examines the association between attachment during the early life course and social competence with peers during childhood, and compares the strength of this association with those for externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. Based on 80 independent samples (N = 4441), the association between security and peer competence was significant (d = 0.39, CI 0.32; 0.47) and not moderated by the age at which peer competence was assessed. Avoidance (d = 0.17, CI 0.05; 0.30), resistance (d = 0.29, CI 0.09; 0.48), and disorganization (d = 0.25, CI 0.10; 0.40) were significantly associated with lower peer competence. Attachment security was significantly more strongly associated with peer competence than internalizing (but not externalizing) symptomatology. Discussion focuses on the significance of early attachment for the development of peer competence versus externalizing and internalizing psychopathology.

The Cognitive Architecture of Infant Attachment.

Meta-analytic evidence indicates that the quality of the attachment relationship that infants establish with their primary caregiver has enduring significance for socioemotional and cognitive outcomes. However, the mechanisms by which early attachment experiences contribute to subsequent development remain underspecified. According to attachment theory, early attachment experiences become embodied in the form of cognitive-affective representations, referred to as internal working models (IWMs), that guide future behavior. Little is known, however, about the cognitive architecture of IWMs in infancy. In this article, we discuss significant advances made in the field of infant cognitive development and propose that leveraging insights from this research has the potential to fundamentally shape our understanding of the cognitive architecture of attachment representations in infancy. We also propose that the integration of attachment research into cognitive research can shed light on the role of early experiences, individual differences, and stability and change in infant cognition, as well as open new routes of investigation in cognitive studies, which will further our understanding of human knowledge. We provide recommendations for future research throughout the article and conclude by using our collaborative research as an example.

Molecular-genetic correlates of infant attachment: a cautionary tale.

This paper advises caution in relation to the increasing interest in molecular-genetic association studies in developmental psychology based on a set of empirical examples from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) that highlight the fragility of effects reported in the literature on the molecular-genetic correlates of infant attachment. Specifically, this paper updates and provides three extensions to results reported in Luijk et al. (2011), which recently failed to replicate evidence from smaller-sample studies that a set of dopaminergic, serotonergic, and oxytonergic markers are significantly associated with infant attachment security or disorganization. First, we report here that the average effect of "usual suspect" polymorphisms on infant attachment security and disorganization in the SECCYD is approximately zero. Second, because Luijk et al. (2011) reported data based exclusively on the White infants in the SECCYD, this paper reveals that the average effect of polymorphisms featured in this literature is also of trivial magnitude in the non-White sub-sample (cf. Chen, Barth, Johnson, Gotlib, & Johnson, 2011). Third, this paper attempts, but fails, to replicate a recent finding by Raby et al. (2012) suggesting that, although molecular-genetic polymorphisms might not be implicated in security versus insecurity, the serotonin transporter gene contributes to variation in emotional distress during the Strange Situation Procedure. Implications for future research on the genetics of developmental phenotypes in general and attachment in particular are discussed, with a focus on statistical power and model-based theory testing.