Early Manifestations of Children’s Theory of Mind: The Roles of Maternal Mind‐Mindedness and Infant Security of Attachment

This study investigated two aspects of mother–child relationships—mothers’ mind‐mindedness and infant attachment security—in relation to two early aspects of children’s theory of mind development (ToM). Sixty‐one mother–child dyads (36 girls) participated in testing phases at 12 (T1), 15 (T2), and 26 months of age (T3), allowing for assessment of maternal mind‐mindedness (T1), infant attachment (T2), and child ToM understanding (T3). Results indicated that children’s understanding of discrepant desires and visual perspectives was positively related to their mothers’ earlier use of appropriate mind‐related comments in certain contexts. Furthermore, more securely attached boys, but not girls, performed better on a task requiring comprehension of their mothers’ visual perspective. Hence, the links previously found between competent parenting and older children’s ToM performance appear to extend, to a certain degree, to toddlers’ first manifestations of ToM understanding.     

Mother‐ Versus Infant‐Centered Correlates of Maternal Mind‐Mindedness in the First Year of Life

We investigated whether maternal mind‐mindedness in infant–mother interaction related to aspects of obstetric history and infant temperament. Study 1, conducted with a socially diverse sample of 206 eight‐month‐old infants and their mothers, focused on links between maternal mind‐mindedness and (i) planned conception, (ii) perception of pregnancy, and (iii) recollections of first contact with the child. The two indices of mind‐mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind‐related comments) related to different aspects of obstetric history, but no strong associations were seen with socioeconomic status, maternal depression, or perceived social support. In Study 2, we found good temporal stability in both indices of mind‐mindedness in a sample of 41 infant–mother dyads between 3 and 7 months. Neither index of mind‐mindedness related to infant temperament. We conclude that mind‐mindedness is best characterized as a facet of the specific caregiver–child relationship, while also being influenced by stable cognitive–behavioral traits in the mother.     

Exploring the relation between maternal mind‐mindedness and children’s symbolic play: A longitudinal study from 6 to 18 months

Relations between mothers’ mind‐mindedness (appropriate attunement to their infants’ internal states) at 6 and 12 months and infants’ early symbolic play during infant–mother pretense at 12 and 18 months were investigated in a sample of 43 mothers and infants. Mothers’ appropriate mind‐related comments were associated with average level, length, complexity, and maturity level of symbolic play. Specific sub‐categories of appropriate mind‐related comments were identified as independent predictors of children's symbolic play. Appropriate comments about desires and cognitions at 6 months were associated with average level and length of episodes, as well as with maturity level of symbolic play at 12 months. Longitudinal stability in the appropriateness and content of mothers’ mind‐related comments was also investigated. The results are discussed in terms of the proposal that attunement to specific types of internal state should vary as a function of infant age in order to index mind‐mindedness.     

The Relation between Mothers' Mirroring of Infants' Behavior and Maternal Mind‐Mindedness

Maternal mind‐mindedness, which is a measure of maternal mentalization involving mothers' speech, was examined as a predictor of mothers' mirroring of infant behavior during interaction. Five‐month‐old infants and their mothers engaged in a Still‐Face Task in which the mother's mirroring of the infant's behavior was assessed. After the task, the mother was shown a video of her infant in the task and asked to comment on what was happening for her infant; her comments were assessed for mind‐mindedness. Maternal mind‐mindedness when mothers were asked to reflect upon what was happening for their infants during the task predicted mothers' mirroring behaviors while engaged with their infants in the task. Maternal mirroring behavior may be a manifestation of maternal mentalization that is salient to infants.     

Individual Differences in Infants’ Joint Attention Behaviors With Mother and a New Social Partner

Relations between infant–mother attachment security at 15 months and infants’ (N = 206) joint attention behaviors (a) with an experimenter at 8 and 15 months, and (b) with their mothers at 15 months were investigated. No concurrent or longitudinal relations were observed between attachment security and infants’ tendency to respond to an experimenter’s bids for joint attention. Higher levels of initiating joint attention with an experimenter at 15 months were associated with insecure‐avoidant attachment. Insecure‐avoidant attachment was also associated with lower scores for initiating high‐level joint attention behaviors (pointing, showing, and giving) with the mother at age 15 months. The fact that security‐related differences in initiating joint attention with an experimenter were observed only once the attachment relationship was consolidated suggests that (a) attachment security may influence infants’ active engagement with new social partners, and (b) insecure‐avoidant infants may compensate for reduced social contact with the caregiver by initiating more interaction with other social partners.     

Four‐Month Attentional Regulation and Its Prediction of Three‐Year Compliance

The extent to which 4‐month attentional regulation during an infant‐mother still‐face situation and 12‐month attachment security during the Strange Situation predicted rates of compliance and noncompliance during a cleanup task at 36 months was examined longitudinally in 70 infant‐mother dyads. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that infants who showed more attentional regulation during the still‐face situation with mothers later showed a higher rate of committed compliance and a lower rate of situational compliance during cleanup with mothers. Furthermore, lower levels of attentional regulation were later associated with higher rates of assertive behavior, but only for infants in an insecure attachment relationship.     

Predisposing Factors for Elevated Restricted and Repetitive Behavior in Typically Developing Toddlers

Little is known about the relation between levels of restricted and repetitive behavior (RRB) in infants and parent factors. The present study investigated maternal and psychosocial factors (depressive symptoms, socio‐economic status, social support) and mother–infant engagement factors (mind‐mindedness, sensitivity, and infant–mother attachment security) as predictors of children's RRB at age 26 months in a sample of 206 mothers and children. Maternal depressive symptoms predicted levels of sensory and motor repetitive behavior and rigid, routinized, and ritualistic repetitive behavior. Lower socioeconomic status also predicted independent variance in children's sensory and motor repetitive behavior. The relations between maternal depressive symptoms and both types of RRB were not mediated through observational measures of maternal sensitivity or mind‐mindedness at 8 months, or attachment security at 15 months. The results are discussed in terms of whether stress regulation, self‐stimulation, and genetic susceptibility can help explain the observed link between maternal depressive symptoms and RRB in the child.     

Costs of Not Getting to Know You: Lower Levels of Parental Reflective Functioning Confer Risk for Maternal Insensitivity and Insecure Infant Attachment

Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is a robust predictor of parenting sensitivity and secure infant attachment, but its assessment requires extensive resources, limiting its integration into research and clinical practice. The Mini‐Parent Reflective Functioning Interview (Mini‐PRFI) assesses the parent's capacity to mentalize for his/her 6‐month‐old infant (rated using the PRF coding system; Slade et al., 2004, PRF coding system and Slade REF, Unpublished protocol, New York, NY: The City University of New York). In the current study, we examined whether Mini‐PRFI scores were associated with theoretically related constructs; to establish a point of comparison, we evaluated links between Mini‐PRFI scores alongside RF assessed from the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Mother–infant dyads (N = 88) completed the AAI before the birth of the infant, the Mini‐PRFI and an interaction task (rated for insensitive parental behavior) when infants were 6 months old, as well as the Strange Situation Procedure when infants were 16 months old. Mini‐PRFI scores were strongly positively associated with AAI RF and negatively associated with maternal insensitivity. Mini‐PRFI scores predicted infant attachment organization (secure/insecure, organized/disorganized) at 16 months, and this effect was mediated by parenting insensitivity. These findings suggest that the Mini‐PRFI predicts theoretically related attachment constructs, demonstrating the promise of the Mini‐PRFI to increase the accessibility of interview‐based PRF measurements to clinicians and researchers.     

Maternal Age,Psychological Maturity,Parenting Cognitions,and Mother–Infant Interaction

In the context of the trend toward delayed childbearing, the aim of this study was to examine relations among maternal age and the quality of maternal interactive behavior at 7 months assessed using sensitivity and mind‐mindedness, while also considering whether age effects were attributable to psychological maturity and parenting cognitions. Participants were 150 Australian mothers (mean age 33‐years) and their firstborn infants who were participating in a prospective study of parenthood. Path analysis showed maternal age had both direct and indirect associations with maternal interactive behavior. Older mothers made more mind‐related comments to their infants. They were also more sensitive; however, this effect was indirect and explained by greater psychological maturity (hardiness) and a more internal locus of control with regard to parenting. Results suggest that older maternal age may confer some benefits in terms of responsive parenting in infancy.     

Meaning and attachment in mothers and toddlers

This research explored if a mother's view of her attachment experience with her own mother was associated with sensitivity to her toddler's attachment related signals. Thirty mother-child dyads were videotaped and maternal sensitivity to toddler signals was coded. Mothers were interviwed and completed questionnaires regarding their experiences with their own mothers. Based on the subjects' responses to the questionnaires and the content and organization of their interview narrations, subjects were divided into two groups based on the security of their internal working model of attachment with their own mothers. Mothers with a secure working model of attachment were significantly more sensitive to toddler signals than those mothers with an insecure working model of attachment (p=.028) and differed in their style of narrating their lifespan attachment experiences.This study was completed as partial requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Institute for Clinical Social Work, Chicago, Illinois.     

Relationships between maternal adult attachment security, child perceptions of maternal support, and maternal perceptions of child responses to sexual abuse

This study assessed the relationships between maternal adult attachment style, children's perceptions of maternal support following disclosure of sexual abuse, and maternal perceptions of children's behavioral and emotional responses to sexual abuse among African-American child sexual abuse victims aged 4 to 12 (n=96) and a comparison group of non-abused subjects (n=100). Mothers with insecure attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of internalizing behaviors in their sexually abused children than did securely attached mothers. Among mothers of non-abused children, those with insecure adult attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of externalizing behaviors shown by their children in comparison with mothers with a secure adult attachment style. Mothers with insecure adult attachment styles also reported higher rates of overall behavior problems in their non-abused children that approached statistical significance. Sexually abused children's perceptions of maternal support were not related to maternal attachment style nor to child functioning. Contrary to our prediction, mothers of sexually abused children did not show lower rates of secure attachments when compared to mothers of non-sexually abused children. Our findings indicate that fostering parent- child attachment is important in order to decrease the risk for behavior problems and symptomatology in sexually abused children.     

Affective and Behavioral Features of Jealousy Protest: Associations with Child Temperament,Maternal Interaction Style,and Attachment

This study explored variation in affective and behavioral components of infants’ jealousy protests during an eliciting condition in which mother and an experimenter directed differential attention exclusively toward a rival. Variation was examined in relation to child temperamental emotionality, maternal interaction style, and attachment security. At 45 weeks, intensity of infants’distress and durations of mother‐ and stranger‐directed behavioral responses, including gaze, touch, and proximity‐seeking, were observed in the eliciting condition. We also assessed infants’positive emotionality (PE) and negative emotionality (NE) and maternal interaction styles of sensitivity and engagement. At 54 weeks, attachment security was measured in the Strange Situation Procedure. Findings revealed that distress differed with temperamental emotionality and maternal interaction style. Specifically, distress was greater in infants with lower PE and having mothers who displayed less sensitivity and engagement. Analyses on behavioral responses toward the experimenter revealed linkages with maternal interaction style. Specifically, experimenter‐directed gaze and touch were greater among infants of mothers who demonstrated less sensitivity and engagement. Behavioral responses toward mother were found associated with quality of attachment. Specifically, mother‐directed proximity and touch were highest among infants later judged insecure resistant and lowest among those later judged insecure/avoidant; with infants later judged secure displaying moderate durations of mother‐directed proximal contact.     

Choosing a Valid Assessment of Attachment for Clinical Use: A Comparative Study

This article addresses the clinical issue of selecting assessments of attachment that are relevant to decision making for families. The validity of three commonly used methods of assessing attachment in preschool‐aged children was compared using a sample of 51 low‐income mother—child dyads. Thirty‐eight of the children had been abused or neglected. The dyads were seen in a Strange Situation that was classified using each of the three methods: (a) the Ainsworth‐extended method, (b) the Cassidy‐Marvin (C‐M) method, and (c) the Preschool Assessment of Attachment (PAA). Validity was evaluated in terms of maltreatment status, maternal sensitivity, child DQ, and maternal attachment strategy. The PAA and C‐M classifications matched in only 37% of cases. The Ainsworth‐extended method differentiated secure versus insecure children on two variables. The CM method differentiated secure versus insecure children on one variable. The PAA differentiated secure versus insecure children on all four variables and subgroups on one. Moreover, it was tied to other family relationship variables in meaningful ways. If applied in clinical settings, these three methods would result in very different groups of children being seen as safe and at risk. We argue that clinicians cannot afford to be uninformed about the validity of alternative means of assessing attachment.     

Factor structure of the Mini-Maternal Behavior Q-Sort and associations with infant attachment: Informing precision in research and intervention

We examined the factor structure of parental sensitivity to infants as assessed by the Mini-Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (Mini-MBQS), a 25-item short-form of the original 90-item MBQS. We aimed to: (1) identify latent factors of the Mini-MBQS; and (2) validate each factor by testing associations with infant attachment classifications. Data on parent-infant dyads (n = 313; 222 mothers with 281 children, 29 fathers with 32 children) were drawn from a three-generation Australian cohort study. Exploratory Factor Analysis and Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling examined the structure of the Mini-MBQS. Two latent Mini-MBQS factors were identified, requiring 8 of 25 original items: (1) Attention and Responsiveness and (2) Contingency in Interactions. Infants with insecure attachment classifications had parents with lower sensitivity across both factors relative to infants classified secure. In particular, infants with resistant attachment classifications had parents with notably low Contingency in Interactions scores. Infants with disorganised attachment classifications had parents with the lowest relative sensitivity across both factors, and in these dyads Attention and Responsiveness scores were especially low. Results provide an empirically derived factor structure for the Mini-MBQS. Two subscales, each with significant infant attachment associations, may improve precision in clinical intervention and research translation.     

Some Clinical Applications of Attachment Theory in Adult Psychotherapy

This paper discusses the usefulness of attachment theory in working with adults in psychotherapy. There are four classifications of attachment status in adults: secure attachment, and three types of insecure attachment: dismissing, preoccupied, and disorganized. These categories do not conform to standard diagnostic entities. I discuss examples of the three insecure attachment categories and the likely transference and countertransference configurations that may occur in each category. These categories provide an additional way for therapists to understand and to respond to the needs of their clients.     

Attachment in Foster Care: The Role of Maternal Sensitivity,Adoption, and Foster Mother Experience

The attachment relationships between 76 young foster children and their foster mothers were examined with the purpose of understanding how maternal sensitivity, adoption status, and foster mother experience contribute to relationship quality. Demographic variables were also included in the analyses. Attachment quality was assessed through home observations. More than half of the participating dyads constructed secure attachments. Maternal Sensitivity and foster mothers with little prior experience predicted higher scores on attachment quality. Additionally, variables associated with adoption status and full-time employment predicted maternal sensitivity. The results are interpreted and limitations of the study are discussed within the context of recent foster care reform policies and applications for practice.     

Understanding Attachment Transitions Through the Lived Experiences of Young Black Gay and Bisexual Men

We conducted a mixed-methods study to identify factors that influence transitions in attachment style between childhood and adulthood among 28 young Black gay and bisexual men (YBGBM) in the United States. We used a phenomenological approach to data integration, with the major component to the results being garnered from the qualitative interviews. We organized our results by four attachment transition groups: stable secure (secure attachment in childhood and young adulthood), stable insecure (insecure attachment in childhood and young adulthood), secure to insecure (secure in childhood and insecure in adulthood) and insecure to secure (insecure in childhood and secure in adulthood). Within each of the typologies, two major themes emerged: social support and religion. Generally, transitions from secure to insecure attachment were related to experiences of perceived rejection by a parental figure during adolescence that corresponded with sexual orientation disclosure. Transitions from insecure to secure attachment appeared to be related to the absence of an attachment figure early in life, but with the acquisition of an attachment figure during early to late adolescence. The findings from our study suggest a need for attachment-based approaches to social support interventions, as well as for an increased understanding of social and cultural factors that impact attachment changes among practitioners who use attachment-based therapy models for YBGBM.     

Student‐Perceived Mothers’ and Fathers’ Beliefs,Mathematics and English Motivations,and Career Choices

According to Eccles and Jacobs' (1986) parent socialization model, parents’ gendered ability and value beliefs influence girls’ and boys’ interpretations of those beliefs, and hence students’ domain‐specific valuing of tasks and competence beliefs and subsequent career plans. Studies have rarely analyzed how both student‐perceived mothers’ and fathers’ beliefs affect girls’ and boys’ task values, success expectancies, and career plans across domains. This study analyzed survey data of 459 students (262 boys) assessed through Grades 9, 10, and 11 from three coeducational secondary schools in Sydney, Australia. Longitudinal structural equation models revealed gendered value transmission pathways for girls in mathematics. Although mathematics test scores did not vary statistically significantly, girls reported statistically significantly lower mothers’ ability beliefs for them in mathematics than boys at Time 1, which led to their statistically significantly lower mathematics intrinsic value at Time 2 and mathematics‐related career plans at Time 3. Such gendered pathways did not occur in English. Matched same‐gender effects and gendered pathways in parent socialization processes were evident; perceived mothers’ value beliefs were more strongly related to girls’ than boys’ importance values in English. Student‐perceived fathers’ ability beliefs positively predicted boys’, not girls’, importance value in mathematics. Implications for educational practice emphasize the need to target girls’ and boys’ interest when aiming to enhance their mathematical career motivations.     

Long‐Term Predictions From Early Adolescent Attachment State of Mind to Romantic Relationship Behaviors

Attachment state of mind was investigated as a long‐term predictor of romantic relationship competence. A secure early adolescent attachment state of mind was hypothesized to predict more constructive dyadic behaviors during conflict discussions and support‐seeking interactions in late adolescence and early adulthood. Utilizing multimethod data from a community sample of 184 individuals, followed from ages 14 to 21, adolescents with a secure attachment state of mind at age 14 were found to be in relationships that displayed more constructive dyadic conflict discussion behaviors and dyadic supportive behaviors at both ages 18 and 21. Results suggest substantial links between early adolescent attachment state of mind and the adult romantic relationship atmosphere an individual creates and experiences.