Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Institute of Develomental Psychology, Beijing Normal University.
J Fam Psychol. 2018 Sep;32(6):753-761. doi: 10.1037/fam0000420. Epub 2018 May 28.
The extent to which maternal sensitivity to infant distress predicts specific attachment outcomes independent of and in conjunction with maternal sensitivity to infant nondistress and in conjunction with infant-negative emotionality was examined in a sample of 259 mother-infant dyads. Maternal sensitivity to infant distress and nondistress was observed in a series of distress-eliciting tasks when infants were 6 months and 1-year-old. Mothers rated infant-negative emotionality at 6 months. Infant-mother attachment was observed during the "strange situation" (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) at 1 year. Four attachment outcomes were considered: the dichotomous security/insecurity classification, avoidant and resistant behaviors across both reunion episodes, and a single rating for disorganized behavior. Maternal sensitivity to distress and nondistress at 1 year were treated as covariates. Sensitivity to distress and nondistress at 6 months and 1 year did not predict more adaptive attachment outcomes as main effects. However, sensitivity to distress and nondistress at 6 months interacted significantly in relation to avoidance, such that sensitivity to nondistress was significantly associated with higher avoidance when sensitivity to distress was low, but not when sensitivity to distress was high. Furthermore, sensitivity to distress at 6 months interacted with infant-negative emotionality in relation to security and both resistant and disorganized behaviors, such that sensitivity to distress was positively associated with security and negatively associated with resistant and disorganized behaviors only among infants who were high on mother-reported negative emotionality. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
在 259 对母婴样本中，研究了母亲对婴儿痛苦的敏感性在多大程度上能够预测特定的依恋结果，这种预测是独立于、结合于母亲对婴儿非痛苦的敏感性以及婴儿负性情绪的，并且考虑了婴儿负性情绪。在婴儿 6 个月和 1 岁时，通过一系列引起痛苦的任务观察了母亲对婴儿痛苦和非痛苦的敏感性。母亲在婴儿 6 个月时对婴儿的负性情绪进行了评分。在婴儿 1 岁时进行了“陌生情境”（Ainsworth，Blehar，Waters，&Wall，1978）观察婴儿-母亲的依恋关系。考虑了四种依恋结果：二分法的安全/不安全分类、两个重聚情节中的回避和抗拒行为，以及一个用于组织混乱行为的单一评分。1 岁时对痛苦和非痛苦的敏感性被视为协变量。6 个月和 1 岁时对痛苦和非痛苦的敏感性并没有作为主要效应预测更适应的依恋结果。然而，6 个月时对痛苦和非痛苦的敏感性显著交互作用与回避有关，即当对痛苦的敏感性较低时，对非痛苦的敏感性与较高的回避显著相关，但当对痛苦的敏感性较高时则没有。此外，6 个月时对痛苦的敏感性与婴儿负性情绪在安全以及抗拒和组织混乱行为方面相互作用，即只有当婴儿的母亲报告的负性情绪较高时，对痛苦的敏感性才与安全呈正相关，与抗拒和组织混乱行为呈负相关。讨论了对未来研究和干预的意义。
