Attachment disorganization and controlling behavior in middle childhood: maternal and child precursors and correlates

Abstract

Main, Kaplan, and Cassidy’s (1985) conceptualizations of disorganization in infancy and controlling behavior in preschool forged new directions in attachment research. However, there currently is no valid coding system for behavioral manifestations of attachment after 7 years of age. The present study presents the validity of an instrument for coding both disorganized and rolereversed behavior from ages 7 to 9; the Middle Childhood Disorganization and Control (MCDC) scales. In the present study, 43 mother–child dyads at socioeconomic risk, followed from infancy, were assessed on the MCDC at age 8. Analyses revealed that children with higher combined punitive/disorganized scores were significantly more likely to: (1) come from families referred for clinical home visiting because of concerns about the quality of the parent–infant relationships; (2) have higher scores for disorganization in infancy if from the clinically-referred subgroup; (3) are more likely to show disorganized representations; and (4) show higher externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Higher caregiving MCDC scores were associated with more maternal withdrawal behavior in infancy. In conclusion, the present study provided the first validity data for an observational measure of disorganization and control in middle childhood.

Effects of an Infant-Focused Relationship-Based Hospital and Home Visiting Intervention on Reducing Symptoms of Postpartum Maternal Depression

“…Other negative sequelae found in children of depressed mothers include insecure attachment (Campbell et al, 2004), physical ailments (Goodwin, Wickramaratne, Nomura, & Weissman, 2007), social, emotional, and behavioral problems (Halligan, Murray, Martins, & Cooper, 2007;National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2009), cognition and attention problems (Batenburg-Eddes, 2013;Hay, Pawlby, Waters, & Sharp, 2008), poor academic functioning (Downey & Coyne, 1990), anxiety and depression (Bureau, Easterbrooks, & Lyons-Ruth, 2009;Hay, Pawlby, Angold, Harold, & Sharp, 2003), and substance abuse (Brennan, Hammen, Katz, & Le Brocque, 2002). These poor child outcomes may occur regardless of whether a mother's depressive symptoms recur in subsequent developmental periods (Hay, Pawlby, Sharp, Asten, Mills, & Kumar, 2001), and ultimately, whether by way of biological or environmental vulnerability (or both), children born to depressed mothers are at risk for functioning deficits that exceed the impairment exhibited by their parents (Hammen & Brennan, 2003).…”

Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of parenting interventions for children with severe attachment problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Thirty-three studies were published between 1988 and 2011, of which the majority were undertaken in the USA (n = 18 24,47,93,94,[96][97][98][99][100][102][103][104]106,111,113,115,116,118,121 ), with the rest spread across the UK (n = 4 50,52,[107][108][109] ), Canada (n = 4 25,105,110,119 ), Germany (n = 2 101,122 ), the Netherlands (n = 2 117,120 ), Romania (n = 1 94 ) and Spain (n = 1 114 ). Table 1 and Box 1.…”

“…The interactions in the reviewed study 99 were observed in a 5-minute reunion following a 1-hour separation, during which both child and caregiver were interviewed by examiners. The scales range from 1-9.…”

“…24,25,47,50,52,[93][94][95][96][99][100][101][102][104][105][106][107][108][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122] In those studies providing demographic detail, parental age ranged from 12 to 70 years and ethnicity was predominantly white or Caucasian.…”

“…First, the SSP is appropriate for use in infants, while MCDC 99 and CAI 52 are designed to identify patterns in later childhood (ages 7-9 and 8-13 years, respectively). Strategies including the Q-sort are measuring other constructs such as maternal sensitivity and are not specific to disorganised patterns; therefore, they are excluded from the mean cost.…”