MATERNAL REPRESENTATIONS AND INFANT ATTACHMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF THE PROTOTYPE HYPOTHESIS.
The prototype hypothesis suggests that attachment representations derived in infancy continue to influence subsequent relationships over the life span, including those formed with one's own children. In the current study, we test the prototype hypothesis by exploring (a) whether child-specific representations following actual experience in interaction with a specific child impacts caregiver-child attachment over and above the prenatal forecast of that representation and (b) whether maternal attachment representations exert their influence on infant attachment via the more child-specific representation of that relationship. In a longitudinal study of 84 mother-infant dyads, mothers' representations of their attachment history were obtained prenatally with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; M. Main, R. Goldwyn, & E. Hesse, 2002), representations of relationship with a specific child were assessed with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI; C.H. Zeanah, D. Benoit, & L. Barton, 1986), collected both prenatally and again at infant age 11 months, and infant attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Walters, & S. Wall, 1978) when infants were 11 months of age. Consistent with the prototype hypothesis, considerable correspondence was found between mothers' AAI and WMCI classifications. A mediation analysis showed that WMCI fully accounted for the association between AAI and infant attachment. Postnatal WMCI measured at 11 months' postpartum did not add to the prediction of infant attachment, over and above that explained by the prenatal WMCI. Implications for these findings are discussed.
University of Calgary.
Sheri
S
Madigan
University of Western Ontario.
Erinn
E
Hawkins
University of Laval.
Andre
A
Plamondon
University of Western Ontario.
Greg
G
Moran
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.
Diane
D
Benoit
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009769:Object Attachment; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Bindungsrepräsentationen; afectividad del infante; attachement du bébé; attachment representations; infant attachment; kindliche Bindung; representaciones de la afectividad; représentations d'attachement; 乳児の愛着 infant attachment; 依附表示法; 嬰兒依附; 愛着表象 attachment representations