The relation between attachment and intergenerational support.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Schwarz B
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5546346 | biostudies-other | 2005 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:The present study aimed to identify intergenerational patterns of attachment insecurity among grandmothers, adolescent grandchildren, and birth mothers in custodial grandfamilies and to test the relations among triadic attachment patterns and grandchild socioemotional outcomes. Prior research with custodial grandfamilies has found distinct "profiles" reflecting patterns of closeness between grandmothers, grandchildren, and birth mothers. However, no studies have tested patterns of attachment insecurity among members of the triad, despite the likelihood of attachment disruption in grandfamilies. Moreover, previous studies have only examined links between profile and grandmother outcomes or rudimentary grandchild outcomes. In a sample of 230 grandmother-grandchild dyads from a larger randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of an online social intelligence training program for grandfamilies, latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify profiles of intergenerational attachment insecurity, using grandmother and grandchild reports. Profile differences in grandchild internalizing and externalizing problems, social skills, self-esteem, and prosocial behavior were examined. We identified three profiles: isolated mother, grandchild-linked, and disconnected. Overall, grandchildren in disconnected families (in which attachment insecurity between all three members of the triad was high) fared worst. Grandchildren in isolated mother families (in which only grandmother-grandchild attachment insecurity was low) fared best. A secure attachment relationship between grandmother and adolescent grandchild may buffer effects of attachment insecurity between the grandchild and birth mother. These findings inform intervention efforts and highlight the utility of family- and attachment-focused research for building understanding of custodial grandfamilies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
| S-EPMC10843686 | biostudies-literature
Project description:After more than four decades of research and almost 100 attachment studies, the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of attachment still remain unclear. To better understand the mechanisms moderating the associations of attachment orientations from one generation to the next, this empirical study examined the roles of 1) shared and non-shared environmental factors that characterize critical events in adulthood such as career choice, income and child care; 2) gender differences in attachment between parents (Generation 1, G1) and their adult offspring (Generation 2, G2) and their possible interactions. A sample of 321 families with G2 adults aged 18 and over and two G1 parents up to the age of 81 took part in this study. Both generations completed the Experiences in Close Relationships attachment measure as well as a comprehensive detailed measure of current core characteristics in adulthood (e.g. employment status, income, whether they had children) and demographic variables (gender, age). The findings suggest that the associations between the attachment orientations of G1 and the attachment orientations of G2 were moderated by G2's income, their G1 paternal income and employment status, whether G2 had children (G3) of their own, and their family status after controlling for the age of G2, and the age of both paternal and maternal G1. When the associations for both paternal and maternal G1attachment orientation with both their male and female G2 was analyzed separately, this accounted for 35% of the variance of males' G2 attachment orientation. The discussion focuses on the contribution of these findings to attachment theory and draws clinical conclusions.
| S-EPMC7371162 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Using retrospective global reports, studies have found that middle-aged adults in the United States provide intermittent support to their aging parents and more frequent support to grown children. To date, studies have not examined support middle-aged adults provide to different generations on a daily basis. Daily support may include mundane everyday exchanges that may (or may not) affect well-being.Middle-aged adults (N = 191, mean age 55.93) completed a general interview regarding family ties, followed by interviews each day for 7 days (N = 1,261 days). Daily interviews assessed support (e.g., advice, emotional, practical help) participants provided each grown child (n = 454) and aging parent (n = 253). Participants also reported daily mood.Most participants provided emotional support (80%), advice (87%), and practical help (69%) to a grown child and also provided emotional support (61%) and advice (61%) or practical help (43%) to a parent that week. Multilevel models confirmed generational differences; grown children were more likely to receive everyday support than parents. Providing support to grown children was associated with positive mood, whereas providing support to parents was associated with more negative mood.Daily intergenerational support was more common than studies using global reports of support have found. Some daily support may be fleeting and not stand out in memory. The findings were consistent with the intergenerational stake hypothesis, which suggests middle-aged adults are more invested in their grown children than in their parents. Nonetheless, middle-aged adults were highly involved with aging parents.
| S-EPMC5019045 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Intergenerational support is important throughout the individual life course and a major mechanism of cultural continuity. In this study, we analyse support between older parents and their adult children among international migrant and non-migrant populations in North, Centre and Southern Europe. Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe are used to compare upward and downward practical support, grandparenting, and frequency of contact among 62,213 parent-child dyads. Findings indicate limited differences in support between migrants and non-migrants as well as between migrants of various origins. However, persistent differences in intergenerational support across Europe along a north-south gradient are found irrespective of migrant status.
| S-EPMC4992502 | biostudies-other
Project description:In a large sample of community-dwelling older adults with histories of exposure to a broad range of traumatic events, we examined the extent to which appraisals of traumatic events mediate the relations between insecure attachment styles and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity.Participants completed an assessment of adult attachment, in addition to measures of PTSD symptom severity, event centrality, event severity, and ratings of the A1 PTSD diagnostic criterion for the potentially traumatic life event that bothered them most at the time of the study.Consistent with theoretical proposals and empirical studies indicating that individual differences in adult attachment systematically influence how individuals evaluate distressing events, individuals with higher attachment anxiety perceived their traumatic life events to be more central to their identity and more severe. Greater event centrality and event severity were each in turn related to higher PTSD symptom severity. In contrast, the relation between attachment avoidance and PTSD symptoms was not mediated by appraisals of event centrality or event severity. Furthermore, neither attachment anxiety nor attachment avoidance was related to participants' ratings of the A1 PTSD diagnostic criterion.Our findings suggest that attachment anxiety contributes to greater PTSD symptom severity through heightened perceptions of traumatic events as central to identity and severe. (PsycINFO Database Record
| S-EPMC4844797 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Two literatures have explored some of the effects intimate relationships can have on physical and mental health outcomes. Research investigating health through the lens of attachment theory has demonstrated that more anxiously attached individuals in particular consistently report poorer health. Separate research on perceived social support (e.g., partner or spousal support) suggests that higher support has salutary influences on various health outcomes. Little to no research, however, has explored the interaction of attachment anxiety and perceived social support on health outcomes. The present study examined the attachment-health link and the moderating role of perceived social support in a community sample of married couples. Results revealed that more anxious persons reported poorer overall physical and mental health, more bodily pain, more medical symptoms, and impaired daily functioning, even after controlling for age, relationship length, neuroticism, and marital quality. Additionally, perceived social support interacted with attachment anxiety to influence health; more anxious individuals' health was poorer even when perceived social support was high, whereas less anxious individuals' health benefited from high support. Possible mechanisms underlying these findings and the importance of considering attachment anxiety in future studies of poor health in adulthood are discussed.
| S-EPMC3988242 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Insecure attachment to primary caregivers is associated with the development of depression symptoms in children and youth. This association has been shown by individual studies testing the relation between attachment and depression and by meta-analyses focusing on broad internalizing problems instead of depression or adult samples only. We therefore meta-analytically examined the associations between attachment security and depression in children and adolescents, using a multilevel approach. In total, 643 effect sizes were extracted from 123 independent samples. A significant moderate overall effect size was found (r?=?.31), indicating that insecure attachment to primary caregivers is associated with depression. Multivariate analysis of the significant moderators that impacted on the strength of the association between attachment security and depression showed that country of the study, study design, gender, the type of attachment, and the type of instrument to assess attachment uniquely contributed to the explanation of variance. This study suggests that insecure attachment may be a predictor of the development of depression in children and adolescents. When treating depression in children, attachment should therefore be addressed.
| S-EPMC7000490 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: A growing body of research underlines that interpersonal trauma in childhood leads to heightened susceptibility for substance use disorders (SUDs) in later life. Little research has been conducted on parenting experiences of mothers in recovery from substance use, taking into account their own upbringing as a child and the potential aftermath of interpersonal childhood trauma. Methods: Through in-depth qualitative interviews, 23 mothers with SUDs reflected on parenting experiences and parent-child bonding, related to both their children and parents. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data were analyzed adopting thematic analysis. Results: Throughout the narratives, consequences of trauma on mothers' sense of self and its subsequent impact on parenting arose as salient themes. Five latent mechanisms of intergenerational trauma transmission were identified: 1) early interpersonal childhood trauma experiences in mothers; 2) trauma as a precursor of substance use; 3) substance use as a (self-fooling) enabler of parental functioning; 4) continued substance use impacting parental functioning; and 5) dysfunctional parental functioning and its relational impact upon offspring. Discussion: Findings suggest disruptive attachment can increase the vulnerability for SUDs on the one hand, but can be an expression of underlying trauma on the other, hence serving as a covert mechanism by which trauma can be transmitted across generations. Results indicate the need for preventive, attachment-based and trauma-sensitive interventions targeted at disruptive intergenerational patterns.
| S-EPMC6813727 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Oxytocin is a primary neuropeptide which coordinates affiliative behavior. Previous researchers pointed to the association between genetic vulnerability on Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) and environmental factors (e.g., social relationships) to comprehend social behavior. Although an extensive knowledge of in-person social interactions has been obtained, little is known about online sociability. A gene-environment perspective is adopted to examine how OXTR and adult attachment moderate Instagram behavior. The genetic factors within the regions OXTR/rs53576 (A/A homozygotes vs G-carriers) and OXTR/rs2254298 (G/G homozygotes vs A-carriers) were assessed. The Experience in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) questionnaire was used to collect participants' (N = 57, 16 males) attachment with a partner. The number of posts, followed people ("followings") and followers were obtained from Instagram, and the Social Desirability Index (SDI) was calculated as the ratio of followers to followings. Interaction effects between OXTR groups and ECR-R scores on the number of posts and SDI were hypothesized. Results showed an effect of rs53576 on the number of Instagram followings. Specifically, people with A/A OXTR/rs53576 genotype had more followings than G-carriers independent of the anxiety or avoidance felt towards their partner. These preliminary results offer insights into future investigations on social media behavior.
| S-EPMC8477146 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionChildhood maltreatment (CM) is a developmental risk factor and can negatively influence later psychological functioning, health, and development in the next generation. A comprehensive understanding of the biopsychosocial underpinnings of CM transmission would allow to identify protective factors that could disrupt the intergenerational CM risk cycle. This study examined the consequences of maternal CM and the effects of psychosocial and biological resilience factors on child attachment and stress-regulatory development using a prospective trans-disciplinary approach.MethodsMother-child dyads (N = 158) participated shortly after parturition (t 0), after 3 months (t 1), and 12 months later (t 2). Mothers' CM experiences were assessed at t 0, attachment representation at t 1 and psychosocial risk and social support were assessed at t 1 and t 2. At t 2, dyads participated in the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). Children's attachmen status were classified as organized vs. disorganized, including their level of disorganized behavior, and heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were recorded as stress response measures of the autonomic nervous system. Maternal caregiving during SSP was assessed using the AMBIANCE scale. Child's single nucleotide polymorphisms rs2254298 within the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and rs2740210 of the oxytocin gene (OXT) were genotyped using DNA isolated from cord blood.ResultsMaternal CM experiences (CM+) were significantly associated with an unresolved attachment status, higher perceived stress and more psychological symptoms. These negative effects of CM were attenuated by social support. As expected, maternal unresolved attachment and child disorganized attachment were significantly associated. Maternal caregiving did not mediate the relationship between maternal and child attachment but influenced children's HR and RSA response and disorganized behavior. Moreover, the rs2254298 genotype of the OXTR gene moderated the stress response of children from mothers with CM. Children carrying the rs2740210 risk allele of the OXT gene showed more disorganized behavior independent from maternal CM experiences.ConclusionWe replicated and extended existing CM and attachment models by co-examining maternal attachment, social support, and child genetic susceptibility on child attachment and cardiovascular stress regulation. The findings contribute to an extended understanding of risk and resilience factors and enable professionals to target adequate services to parents and children at risk.
| S-EPMC9341217 | biostudies-literature