University of Cambridge, Public Health & Primary Care, UK.
University of Texas at Austin, Human Development & Family Sciences, USA.
Appetite. 2019 Nov 1;142:104374. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.104374. Epub 2019 Jul 22.
This study examined how fathers' adult attachment representations, assessed before the birth of their first child, predict feeding practices with their 8-month-old infants. Fathers have been underrepresented in child feeding research, particularly in longitudinal and observational studies. Feeding is a key parenting task of infancy and a growing number of studies have begun to explore the connection between attachment and parental feeding practices and behavior, revealing a clear link between mothers' adult attachment and how they feed their children. This is the first longitudinal examination of attachment as a prenatal predictor of fathers' infant feeding behavior. Participants were 118 first-time fathers and their infants. Adult Attachment Interviews were conducted in the third trimester of pregnancy, and father-infant feeding interactions were observed at home when the infant was 8-months-old. Videotaped feedings were coded using Chatoor's Feeding Scale (1997). Compared to other fathers, (1) those with secure attachment representations were more attuned to their infants during feeding, (2) those with dismissing representations were less attuned, and (3) those with unresolved trauma displayed more controlling behaviors. Fathers were more controlling with their sons than their daughters across all attachment representations. Study results suggest that father's infant feeding behaviors may influence by their own attachment representations. The links to fathers' controlling feeding practices are noteworthy because of the negative implications controlling parental feeding practices can have on child outcomes. The prediction of paternal feeding behaviors from assessments conducted prenatally has important intervention implications.
本研究探讨了父亲在其第一个孩子出生前的成人依恋表现如何预测他们对 8 个月大婴儿的喂养行为。在儿童喂养研究中，父亲的代表性一直不足，尤其是在纵向和观察性研究中。喂养是婴儿期的一项关键育儿任务，越来越多的研究开始探索依恋与父母喂养行为之间的联系，揭示了母亲的成人依恋与她们喂养孩子的方式之间的明显联系。这是首次对依恋作为父亲婴儿喂养行为的产前预测因素进行的纵向研究。参与者为 118 名初次为人父的父亲及其婴儿。在妊娠的第三个三个月进行成人依恋访谈，并在婴儿 8 个月大时在家中观察父亲-婴儿喂养互动。使用 Chatoor 的喂养量表（1997 年）对录像喂养进行编码。与其他父亲相比，（1）那些具有安全依恋表现的父亲在喂养过程中对婴儿的关注度更高，（2）那些具有回避依恋表现的父亲关注度较低，（3）那些具有未解决创伤的父亲表现出更多的控制行为。在所有依恋表现中，父亲对儿子的控制行为比对女儿的控制行为更多。研究结果表明，父亲的婴儿喂养行为可能受到其自身依恋表现的影响。与父亲的控制喂养行为有关的联系值得注意，因为控制型父母的喂养行为可能对儿童的结果产生负面影响。从产前评估预测父亲的喂养行为具有重要的干预意义。
