Disrupted maternal communication and disorganized attachment in the Arab society in Israel.

Disrupted maternal communication during mother-infant interaction has been found to be associated with infants' disorganized attachment, but has been studied primarily in North American and European samples and not in Arab samples. To address this gap the study examined the association between disrupted maternal communication and infant attachment in a sample of 50 Arab mothers and their one-year-old infants in Israel. Attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), and disrupted communication with the AMBIANCE. Disrupted communication was higher in mothers of infants with disorganized and ambivalent attachment than in mothers of securely attached infants. The findings support the link between disrupted communication and disorganized attachment in the Arab society in Israel and add to our understanding of maternal behavior associated with ambivalent attachment.

Se ha determinado que la interrumpida comunicación materna durante la interacción madre-infante está asociada con la desorganizada afectividad de los infantes, pero ha sido estudiada primariamente en grupos muestras norteamericanos y europeos, no así en grupos muestras árabes. Con el fin de ocuparse de este vacío, el estudio examinó la asociación entre la interrumpida comunicación materna y la afectividad del infante en un grupo muestra de 50 madres árabes y sus infantes de un año de edad en Israel. Se evaluó la afectividad con el Procedimiento de la Situación Extraña (SSP), y la interrumpida comunicación con AMBIANCE (Lyons-Ruth et al., 1999). La interrumpida comunicación fu mayor en madres de infantes con afectividad desorganizada y ambivalente que en madres de infantes afectivamente seguros. Los resultados apoyan la conexión entre la interrumpida comunicación y la desorganizada afectividad en la sociedad árabe en Israel y también son un aporte a nuestra comprensión del comportamiento materno asociado con la afectividad ambivalente.

On sait que la communication maternelle perturbée durant l'interaction mère-bébé est liée à l'attachement désorganisé des bébés, mais cela a été avant tout étudié chez des échantillons d'Amérique du Nord et européens, et non chez des échantillons arabes. Afin de combler ce fossé l'étude a examiné le lien entre la communication maternelle perturbée et l'attachement du bébé chez un échantillon de 50 mères arabes et leurs bébés d'un an en Israël. L'attachement a été évalué avec la Procédure de Situation Etrange (SSP en anglais) et la communication perturbée a été évalué avec l'AMBIANCE (Lyons-Ruth et al., 1999). La communication perturbée était plus élevée chez les mères de bébés avec un attachement désorganisé et ambivalent que chez les mères de bébés étant attachés de manière sécure. Les résultats soutiennent le lien entre la communication perturbée et l'attachement désorganisé dans la société arabe en Israël et ils s'ajoutent également à notre compréhension du comportement maternel lié à l'attachement ambivalent.

The combined contribution of maternal sensitivity and disrupted affective communication to infant attachment in an Israeli sample.

Maternal sensitivity and disrupted communication are usually considered independently as antecedents of attachment security and attachment disorganization, respectively. This study examined whether considering them jointly allows specific predictions of attachment classifications. The sample (N = 159) was selected from a previous study conducted in Israel between 1991-1993, and over-represented disorganized and ambivalent attachment. Attachment was assessed at 12 months in the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), sensitivity was assessed from free-play observations at 6 and 12 months, and disrupted communication was coded from the SSP. As hypothesized, high sensitivity and low disruption predicted secure attachment; low sensitivity and high disruption predicted disorganized-insecure attachment or ambivalent attachment; and high sensitivity and high disruption predicted disorganized-secure attachment. Low sensitivity and low disrupted communication did not predict avoidant attachment. The results show that combining maternal sensitivity and disrupted communication improves the precision in identifying maternal antecedents of attachment.

Disrupted affective communication characterizes mothers of infants with disorganized but also ambivalent attachments: An Israeli study.

This study examined whether maternal disrupted communication, which is associated with disorganized infant attachment, also characterizes mothers of ambivalent infants. The study, conducted in Israel, included a Jewish sample (N = 163; 68 Girls) from diverse socioeconomic status, collected between 1991 and 1993 in an earlier study. The sample over-represented ambivalent and disorganized attachments. Attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) at 12 months and disrupted communication was coded from the SSP using the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE; Lyons-Ruth et al., 1999). Mothers of ambivalent infants showed higher disrupted communication than mothers of secure, avoidant, and disorganized infants. The findings shed further light on the correlates of ambivalent attachment and call for research regarding maternal and infant characteristics that differentiate ambivalent versus disorganized attachment.

Disrupted maternal communication and attachment disorganization in children with autism spectrum disorder.

We examined whether disrupted maternal communication, which is associated with disorganized attachment in typically developing children, is also associated with disorganized attachment in children with ASD. The attachments of 45 boys with ASD and maternal disruption were assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure. Analyses revealed a link between low cognitive functioning and resistant/ambivalent and disorganized attachment, and children's functioning was therefore controlled. Contrary to expectations, mothers of children with disorganized attachments did not show more disrupted communication than mothers of children with organized attachments. However, the 4-way attachment breakdown showed that the mothers of disorganized and ambivalent/resistant children had higher disruption scores than mothers of secure and avoidant children. The findings suggest that the expected associations between maternal disruption and attachment disorganization apply to children with ASD as well, but raise questions whether disrupted behavior is a unique antecedent of disorganized attachment or also of resistant/ambivalent attachment.