title: Very extensive nonmaternal care predicts mother-infant attachment disorganization: Convergent evidence from two samples.
abstract: We examined whether a maximum threshold of time spent in nonmaternal care exists, beyond which infants have an increased risk of forming a disorganized infant-mother attachment. The hours per week infants spent in nonmaternal care at 7-8 months were examined as a continuous measure and as a dichotomous threshold (over 40, 50 and 60 hr/week) to predict infant disorganization at 12-15 months. Two different samples (Austin and NICHD) were used to replicate findings and control for critical covariates: mothers' unresolved status and frightening behavior (assessed in the Austin sample, N = 125), quality of nonmaternal caregiving (assessed in the NICHD sample, N = 1,135), and family income and infant temperament (assessed in both samples). Only very extensive hours of nonmaternal care (over 60 hr/week) and mothers' frightening behavior independently predicted attachment disorganization. A polynomial logistic regression performed on the larger NICHD sample indicated that the risk of disorganized attachment exponentially increased after exceeding 60 hr/week. In addition, very extensive hours of nonmaternal care only predicted attachment disorganization after age 6 months (not prior). Findings suggest that during a sensitive period of attachment formation, infants who spend more than 60 hr/week in nonmaternal care may be at an increased risk of forming a disorganized attachment.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin.
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Hazen
authors.affiliation: Charles Sturt University.
authors.forename: Sydnye D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University.
authors.forename: Caroline Heaton
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Christopher
authors.affiliation: Masaryk University.
authors.forename: Tomotaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Umemura
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin.
authors.forename: Deborah B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Jacobvitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers; D009769:Object Attachment; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult