Secure Bases Behind Bars? Attachment Histories and Parenting Among Incarcerated Mothers Co-residing With Their Toddlers in Türkiye.

Abstract

We examined the feasibility and value of qualitatively analyzing the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT) to gain insights into attachment representations and intergenerational patterns in their parenting among incarcerated mothers in Türkiye (N = 79, M_age = 29.7, SD = 5.6) co-residing with their toddlers. Participants responded to five attachment-related, stress-inducing story-stems. Thematic analysis under a constructivist framework identified five themes: Parental Profiles, Desire for Protection and Care, Self-Blame and Longing for Childhood, Feeling of Being Unloved, and Redemption of Remorse Based on Observed Parenting. Narratives reflected a lack of secure-base support and sensitive caregiving in childhood, marked by emotional neglect, disengaged fathers, and in some cases, abuse. Many mothers expressed shame, longing for affection, and intergenerational parallels with their children, pointing to preoccupied attachment tendencies. Findings emphasize the need for trauma-informed, attachment-based interventions to support caregiving in prison nurseries and address intergenerational cycles of adversity.