Maternal Separation Anxiety: Relations to Adult Attachment Representations in Mothers of Infants

Lutz, Wilma J.; Hock, Ellen

doi:10.1080/00221325.1995.9914806

Cited by 37 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Consistent with this hypothesis, women with higher levels of separation anxiety reported more negative recollections of early parental caregiving, including rejection and discouragement of independence (Lutz & Hock, 1995). Although maternal separation anxiety has been described as a personality attribute arising in part from individual experiences with mothers' own parents during childhood, it was proposed that aspects of the child's functioning might also contribute to mothers' level of separation anxiety.…”

Section: Separation Anxiety In Family Relationshipssupporting

confidence: 53%

Separation anxiety in families with emerging adults.

Kins¹,

Soenens²,

Beyers³

2013

Journal of Family Psychology

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In several developmental theories separation anxiety has been identified as an important feature of close interpersonal relationships. Most often, separation anxiety has been examined in the context of mother-child dyads in infancy. Increasingly, however, it is recognized that separation anxiety is also relevant in other relationships (e.g., the father-child relationship) and in later developmental periods (e.g., adolescence and emerging adulthood). The present study aimed to investigate separation anxiety at the family level in families with emerging adults. By using the Social Relations Model, we aimed to determine the extent to which the actor, the partner, their specific relationships, and the family contribute to separation anxiety in dyadic family relationships. A total of 119 Belgian two-parent families with an emerging adult participated in a round-robin design, in which family members reported on their feelings of separation anxiety towards each other. Findings showed that separation anxiety can be represented as a personality attribute (i.e., an actor effect) and as a specific feature of the mother-child dyad. Further, findings indicate that separation anxiety is also characteristic of the father-mother marital relationship and of the family climate as a whole. Implications for the meaning of separation anxiety and clinical practice are discussed.Keywords: Separation anxiety; social relations model; family relationships; emerging adulthood 3 Separation anxiety was described in early psychoanalytic writings as a basic human disposition involving concerns about the loss or absence of significant others (Benedek, 1970; Bloom-Fesbach & Bloom-Fesbach, 1987;Freud, 1926). In several theories, including attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969(Bowlby, , 1973 and object relations theory (Mahler, Pine, & Bergman, 1975), separation anxiety is considered a salient feature of close relationships. Possibly because these theories emphasized the role of separation anxiety in infancy and early interpersonal relationships, separation anxiety has been mainly studied in dyadic relationships and in the context of the mother-child dyad in particular. In this study, we investigated separation anxiety at the level of the family as a whole, thereby relying on the Social Relations Model. Moreover, we examined separation anxiety in an older target group than is typically the case, that is, families of emerging adults. As this is a time when young people make the transition to adult life and become more independent from parents (Tanner, 2006), it is believed highly relevant to investigate separation anxiety in families of emerging adults. Separation Anxiety in Family RelationshipsOn the basis of attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969(Bowlby, , 1973 and object relations theory (Mahler, et al., 1975), it has been argued that processes involved in parent-child separation are critical for an individual's psychosocial development. Difficulties in processes of separation, including separation anxiety, have been described most often in the co...

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Section: Separation Anxiety In Family Relationshipssupporting

confidence: 53%

Separation anxiety in families with emerging adults.

Kins¹,

Soenens²,

Beyers³

2013

Journal of Family Psychology

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“…The abundant research on mothers' anxiety regarding separation from their children supports the belief that maternal anxiety is an important psychological construct and is meaningfully related to both maternal behaviors towards the child and other aspects of maternal personality (e.g., DeMeis, Hock, & McBride, 1986;Hock, Hart, Kang, & Lutz, 2004;Hock, McBride, & Gnezda, 1989;Hock & Schirtzinger, 1992;Lutz & Hock, 1995;McBride & Belsky, 1988). Yet, the familial antecedents of maternal anxiety have not been fully explicated, nor has their impact on children's separation anxiety and their adjustment to kindergarten.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The relationship of maternal separation anxiety and differentiation of self to children's separation anxiety and adjustment to kindergarten: A study in Druze families

Peleg

Halaby

Whaby

2006

Journal of Anxiety Disorders

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“…Another study also linked the mother's recollections of being parented to her maternal separation anxiety, such that heightened anxiety was reported by mothers who perceived their fathers as overprotective or their mothers as rejecting ͑Hock & Lutz, 1998͒. The authors suggested that elevated separation anxiety might represent an attempt by these mothers to compensate for their own experience of being parented ͑Hock & Lutz, 1998;Lutz & Hock, 1995͒.…”

Section: Perceptions Of Being Parentedmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Past research also indicates that a mother's separation anxiety is founded in her childhood experiences of separation and loss that are represented in her recollections of early parenting ͑Benedek, 1970; Lutz & Hock, 1995;Scher, Hershkovitz, & Harel, 1998͒. Mothers with insecure attachment representations and negative memories of parental caregiving ͑recalling parents as having discouraged independence͒ had higher separation anxiety than secure mothers when their babies were 2 months old ͑Lutz & Hock, 1995͒.…”

Section: Perceptions Of Being Parentedmentioning

confidence: 94%

Influence of adolescent maternal characteristics on infant development

Aiello¹,

Lancaster²

2007

Infant Mental Health Journal

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The present study proposed that several adolescent maternal variables would be associated with infant development. Using a sample of 71 adolescent mother-infant dyads, the study examined the relative influences of the adolescent's level of separation-individuation (Separation-Individuation Process Inventory), feelings of attachment towards the infant (Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale), and feelings of anxiety regarding separation (Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale) on infant mental and motor development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd ed.). As it was assumed that the adolescent's perceptions of being parented would provide the foundation for each of these independent variables, this factor was also included (Parental Bonding Instrument). In the current sample, adolescent separation-individuation was the only maternal psychological variable to uniquely predict infant development, but only on the mental scale. Present findings highlight the importance of considering critical developmental processes of adolescence when exploring cognitive functioning and other outcomes in infants of adolescents. A number of possible mechanisms for the influence of separation-individuation are considered in the discussion.

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Maternal Separation Anxiety: Relations to Adult Attachment Representations in Mothers of Infants

Cited by 37 publications

References 26 publications

Separation anxiety in families with emerging adults.

Separation anxiety in families with emerging adults.

The relationship of maternal separation anxiety and differentiation of self to children's separation anxiety and adjustment to kindergarten: A study in Druze families

Influence of adolescent maternal characteristics on infant development

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