Maternal Behavior and Attachment in Low-Birth-Weight Twins and Singletons

Abstract

Early mother-infant interaction and later security of attachment were assessed for 17 pairs of twins, 5 singleton survivors of twin pairs, and 20 singletons, all low-birth-weight preterm infants. Mother and infant behavior during home observations at 6 weeks and 3, 6, and 9 months was rated on scales developed by Ainsworth and Egeland and Brunquell. A, B, and C patterns of behavior in the Strange Situation conformed to the frequencies predicted from prior full-term samples and were not affected by twinship. However, the proportion of B1 and B4 dyads in the B group significantly exceeded that predicted from normative data. Mothers in B2 and B3 dyads were rated more sensitive and responsive than all others at all 4 observations. Contrary to our expectations that mothers in A and C dyads would receive the lowest ratings, this occurred only at 6 weeks. At later observations mothers in B1 and B4 dyads consistently received the lowest ratings. The discussion focuses on possible reasons for this unexpected finding.

The Relative Effects of Maternal and Child Problems on the Quality of Attachment: A Meta-Analysis of Attachment in Clinical Samples

“…While extensive data now exist that demonstrate the validity of the Strange Situation and the associated classification schemes for healthy infants (see Bretherton, 1985;Lamb, Gaensbauer, Malkin, & Schultz, 1985;Sroufe, 1988, for reviews), validity data for clinical samples are meager. A number of studies of clinical populations have reported associations between parental measures of responsiveness and support and security of attachment similar to those found in normative samples (Egeland & Sroufe, 1981;Goldberg, Perrotta, Minde, & Corter, 1986;Goldberg et al, 1989;Lederberg & Mobley, 1990;Lyons-Ruth et al, 1987;Sierra, 1989;Wasserman etal., 1987). Nevertheless, since these data are limited and may not be generalizable to other clinical populations, our findings should be treated with caution.…”

Rethinking Maternal Sensitivity: Mothers' Comments on Infants' Mental Processes Predict Security of Attachment at 12 Months

“…For example, mothers ' development of differential responses to early crying may depend upon their willingness or ability to interpret crying as a means of communication. Similarly, it is important to investigate whether individual differences in maternal mind-mindedness predict attach-ment security in other cultures and in mothers of differing socioeconomic status, since maternal sensitivity has been found to relate to security across wide-ranging populations (Egeland & Farber, 1984 ;Goldberg et al, 1986 ;Grossmann et al, 1985).…”

How Bereaved Multiple-Birth Parents Cope with Hospitalization, Homecoming, Disposition for Deceased, and Attachment to Survivors

“…The difficulties that bereaved multiple-birth parents describe in attaching to survivors resemble those reported for intact sets of multiples and premature singletons. [4][5][6][7][8][11][12][13]15,33,38,39 Severe depression may persist for years. 8,10 Mental health services, visiting nurses, and community organizations may help distressed parents, and employers can offer counseling to bereaved workers before they resume their duties.…”

“…2,3 Compared to parents of singletons, parents of multiples in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) tend to have greater anxiety and attach differently to their children. [4][5][6] Parents who conceive twins via assisted reproductive techniques report less prenatal anxiety, but greater parenting stress than those with spontaneously conceived multiples. 7,8 Parents with disabled multiples may be depressed, 9 and parents whose multiples die have a heightened risk of depression, prolonged or delayed grief.…”

“…7,8 Parents with disabled multiples may be depressed, 9 and parents whose multiples die have a heightened risk of depression, prolonged or delayed grief. 9,10 Some bereaved parents, [11][12][13] but not all, 4 have trouble attaching to surviving comultiples. A few loss scenarios are especially challenging, including multifetal pregnancy reduction, ongoing pregnancy after intrauterine demise of some fetuses, delayed interval delivery, and deaths of multiples born at borderline viability.…”