ABSTRACT Whereas attachment scholars argue that variations in crying in the SSP reflect the quality of child-parent relationships, temperament scholars contend that they primarily reflect temperamental traits. Few studies have examined this debate in preschoolers, who may display distinct crying responses. This paper explores whether preschoolers’ crying behaviors reflect their attachment relationships or their negative affectivity. Attachment dimensions and crying behaviors were assessed in 144 preschoolers who completed Preschool-SSPs during independent visits with their mothers and fathers. Parents completed the CBQ to measure child negative affectivity. Results showed that children high on insecure-ambivalence with one parent tended to cry more with that parent, while higher security was linked to less crying. Crying with one parent was modestly associated with crying with the other. Parent-reported negative affectivity did not predict crying or concordant attachment to both parents, suggesting that crying in the Preschool-SSP is mostly related to attachment relationships rather than temperament.

ABSTRACT Children in institutions often develop insecure attachments. Although recovery is observed in childhood and adolescence, evidence in adulthood is limited. This pre-registered study compared adoptees with institutional experience and non-adoptees from infancy to adulthood. Attachment was assessed in infancy (Strange Situation), preschool (Attachment Story Completion Task and Attachment Q-Sort), adolescence (Child Attachment Interview), and adulthood (Adult Attachment Interview; AAI). Adoptees at age 24 exhibited higher rates of insecurity (60% vs 31%) and lower coherence on the AAI compared to non-adoptees (Cohen’s d = 0.51). Stressful life events predicted insecurity in adulthood (β = −0.33, p = .005). Disorganized attachment in infancy did not predict attachment insecurity in adulthood (OR = 1.32, 95% CI [0.47, 3.70]). Attachment catch-up appears incomplete for some adult adoptees with early institutional experience, particularly following serious stressful life events, highlighting the need to consider both early adversity and ongoing environmental stress in understanding adult attachment outcomes.

ABSTRACT This longitudinal study examined the respective contributions of father–child and mother–child attachment to children’s later executive functions (EF) during toddlerhood. The sample included 88 Canadian toddlers (51% boys) and their parents (89% White) visited in their homes at about 13 (T1) and 19 (T2) months of age. At T1, father–child and mother–child interactions were evaluated using the Attachment Q-Set. At T2, toddlers’ hot and cool components of EF were assessed using behavioral tasks. Findings from two sets of analyses converged to suggest that developing secure attachment relationships with both parents may be optimal for the development of cool EF during toddlerhood.

ABSTRACT We investigated how feeding methods and maternal behaviors during feeding influence mother–infant bonding at 1 year postpartum using data from 80,394 mother–child pairs in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. Bonding, feeding methods, maternal behaviors during feeding, and covariates were obtained from questionnaires and medical records. Modified Poisson regression estimated associations between feeding-related factors and bonding outcomes. At 1 year postpartum, 11.0% (n = 8,822) of mothers showed poor bonding. Mothers who talked to and looked at their child during feeding had a lower risk of poor bonding (adjusted risk ratio: 0.79; absolute risk reduction: 2.6%) than those engaged in other activities. Breastfeeding was associated with a borderline reduction in risk (0.91) compared to formula feeding. The lowest risk was observed among mothers who both breastfed and interacted with their child (0.72; absolute risk reduction: 3.5%). These findings suggest that interaction during feeding may reduce poor bonding and enhance potential benefits of breastfeeding.

ABSTRACT Teachers’ mentalization may be particularly important for fostering positive classroom environments that support children’s cognitive and social-emotional development. To date, no studies have directly examined whether enhancing teachers’ mentalizing abilities leads to improvements in classroom climate. This study evaluated the impact of DUET, a mentalization-based group intervention for early childhood teachers and examined whether improvements in teachers’ mentalizing abilities were related to enhanced classroom Emotional Support, a key component of classroom climate. Eighty-six early childhood teachers participated in the intervention. Teachers’ mentalizing abilities and classroom Emotional Support were evaluated pre- and post-intervention. Following the intervention, significant improvements were observed in both teachers’ mentalizing abilities and classroom climate. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that changes in teachers’ mentalizing abilities significantly predicted improvements in classroom climate. These findings suggest that targeting teachers’ mentalization capacities may be a promising approach for creating more supportive early childhood learning environments.

ABSTRACTRecent scholarly insights show that nonverbal and subtle forms of sensitive responsiveness are more applicable to describing and assessing non-Western parent–infant interactions than the more extraverted Western varieties of responsiveness. This paper examines whether the original Ainsworth scale (that does not specify particular manifestations of sensitivity) reveals different patterns of results in 50 South African mothers when compared to the Maternal Behavior Q-sort mini that assesses a more specified array of behaviors that may vary in their goodness of fit regarding the cultural context. The analysis reveals that there are key differences in the way the two measures operationalize maternal sensitivity, as seen in the incongruence of sensitivity ratings. The two measures are also shown to relate differently to maternal education and reflective functioning in this sample. The paper concludes that the Ainsworth sensitivity scale is better suited for use in the context of Alexandra Township, Johannesburg.

ABSTRACT This study investigated the influence of parents’ Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) responses prior to the birth of a first child, on self-reported mental health symptoms of the first-born child in mid-adolescence. The sample comprised 51 first-born children aged 16 years, their mothers and fathers from a low-risk community urban sample, White, British and 70% middle class. Mothers’ responses to the AAI were the strongest predictor of their adolescent children’s self-reported mental health symptoms. Children’s infant-mother or infant-father attachment patterns were not predictive of these 16-year outcomes, but mothers’ insecure (primarily dismissing) attachment representations predicted children’s externalizing, aggressive, and delinquent difficulties (though not internalizing difficulties) at 16 years. If one or both parents were autonomous-secure in their response to the AAI then their adolescent children reported significantly fewer mental health problems. Discussion focuses on thepredictive validity of the Adult Attachment Interview, Mary Main’s legacy, and possible meanings (and limitations) of the results.

ABSTRACT Background Fathers remain neglected in attachment research, despite paternal sensitivity being important for children’s development. Past research suggested that fathers’ parenting may be influenced by contextual factors, including relationship functioning between parents. Objective This meta-analysis examined the association between paternal sensitivity and parental relationship functioning, and compared the magnitude of associations to those of maternal sensitivity. Method A search conducted across five databases up to February 2023 yielded 44 studies and N = 4,616 fathers (mean father age: 31.7 years; mean child age: 19.1 months). All studies included an observational measure of paternal sensitivity and a measure of parental relationship functioning. Results Paternal sensitivity was positively associated with the quality of the co-parenting relationship (r = .13, 95% CI [.01, .25]) and parental romantic relationship (r = .09, 95% CI [.03, .15]).. Associations were similar for mothers and fathers. Conclusion This study contributes to our understanding of factors that enhance paternal sensitivity. Implications The results of this research may inform family-wide intervention and prevention efforts to support child well-being.

ABSTRACT Before the maturation of higher-order cognitive functions, infants primarily communicate via bodily expressions. Their behavior adjustments are also shaped by caregiver reactions, which differ in timing, intensity, and nature. Although mentalizing, or reflective functioning, is thought to influence caregiver interactions, the literature has largely focused on mentalizing as an explicit, cognitive process. Given the inherently embodied nature of early parent-infant exchanges, this emphasis left a clear gap in capturing the implicit facets of parental mentalizing. Addressing this, the concept of “parental embodied mentalizing” (PEM) was developed, which pertains to a caregiver’s implicit capacity to discern and respond to an infant’s emotional states, thoughts, and intents through bodily movements, gauged via real-time, shared, kinesthetic interplays. This systematic narrative review explores the PEM construct, scrutinizing its theoretical foundations and empirical basis. We aggregate insights from relevant studies, review the current research landscape’s strengths and limitations, and pinpoint areas ripe for further investigation.

ABSTRACT The VIPP-SD (Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline) program has been shown to promote positive interactions between parents and children with behavior problems. This study evaluated an adapted version for teachers (VIPP-School) through a parallel-group randomized controlled trial involving 58 teacher–child dyads from kindergarten to second grade. Teacher–child dyads were randomly assigned to VIPP-School (n = 28) or an active control group (n = 30). Intention-to-treat analyses showed improvements in teacher sensitivity (d = 0.87) and supportive teacher classroom interactions (d = 0.53) in the VIPP-School condition compared to the control condition. VIPP-School had no significant effect on teachers’ observed sensitive discipline (although changes were in the expected direction), nor on reported child externalizing behavior, overall relationship quality, school happiness or teacher self-efficacy. These findings show that the intervention, originally developed for families, could be effectively applied to early elementary education. The limited number of sessions increases the feasibility of VIPP-School.