Moving Beyond the Mother-Child Dyad: Exploring the Link Between Maternal Sensitivity and Siblings' Attachment Styles

Attachment theory asserts that secure attachment representations are developed through sensitive and consistent caregiving. If sensitive caregiving is a constant characteristic of the parent, then siblings should have concordant attachment classifications. The authors explored maternal attachment qu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of genetic psychology 2014, Vol.175 (4), p.287-300
Main Authors: Kennedy, Mark, Betts, Lucy R., Underwood, Jean D. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
attachment
Biological and medical sciences
Caregivers
Child
Child development
Child Rearing - psychology
Child, Preschool
Developmental psychology
Emotions
Families & family life
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Infant
Male
maternal sensitivity
Mother-Child Relations
mother-child relationship
Mothers
Mothers - psychology
Object Attachment
Parents & parenting
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Sensitivity
Siblings
Siblings - psychology
Young Adult
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Summary:Attachment theory asserts that secure attachment representations are developed through sensitive and consistent caregiving. If sensitive caregiving is a constant characteristic of the parent, then siblings should have concordant attachment classifications. The authors explored maternal attachment quality assessed by the Attachment Q-Set, maternal sensitivity, and specific mother-child interactions between siblings. Hour-long observations took place in the homes of 9 preschool sibling pairs and their immediate caregivers. The interactions were analyzed using a modified version of Bales' Small Group Analysis. The results reveal attachment discordance in a third of sibling pairs. While maternal sensitivity was higher with older siblings and mothers displayed more positive emotions when interacting with their younger siblings, attachment quality was not associated with birth order. Therefore, a shift toward a more contextual, family-based perspective of attachment is recommended to further understand how attachment strategies are created and maintained within the child's everyday context.
ISSN:0022-1325
1940-0896
DOI:10.1080/00221325.2014.885879