title: Predictors of mother-child interaction quality and child attachment security in at-risk families.
abstract: Child healthy development is largely influenced by parent-child interaction and a secure parent-child attachment is predictively associated with positive outcomes in numerous domains of child development. However, the parent-child relationship can be affected by several psychosocial and socio-demographic risk factors that undermine its quality and in turn play a negative role in short and long term child psychological health. Prevention and intervention programs that support parenting skills in at-risk families can efficiently reduce the impact of risk factors on mother and child psychological health. This study examines predictors of mother-child interaction quality and child attachment security in a sample of first-time mothers with psychosocial and/or socio-demographic risk factors. Forty primiparous women satisfying specific risk criteria participated in a longitudinal study with their children from pregnancy until 18 month of child age. A multiple psychological and socioeconomic assessment was performed. The Emotional Availability Scales were used to measure the quality of emotional exchanges between mother and child at 12 months and the Attachment Q-Sort served as a measure of child attachment security at 18 months. Results highlight both the effect of specific single factors, considered at a continuous level, and the cumulative risk effect of different co-occurring factors, considered at binary level, on mother-child interaction quality and child attachment security. Implication for the selection of inclusion criteria of intervention programs that support parenting skills in at-risk families are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Trento Rovereto, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Falco
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Trento Rovereto, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Emer
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Trento Rovereto, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martini
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Trento Rovereto, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rigo
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Trento Rovereto, Italy.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pruner
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Trento Rovereto, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Venuti
keywords: attachment; emotional availability; parenting; psychosocial prevention; psychosocial risk