{"title":"Maternal sensitivity in Singapore: early educators' beliefs and mothers' reported versus observed behavior.","authors":"Huimin Tasha Soh, Ann Low, Gwendolyn Ngoh, Lit Wee Sim, Shamini Sanmugam, Yue Yu, Jambay Dorji, Galih Kunarso, Gianluca Esposito, Ngiap Chuan Tan, Anne Rifkin-Graboi","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2531320","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2025.2531320","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To better understand perceptions and self-evaluations of sensitive caregiving in Singapore we examined observed (<i>n=</i>301) and self-reported (<i>n=</i>85) maternal behavior, as well as local early educators' (<i>n</i> = 57) opinions concerning ideal maternal behavior, which we then used to create a local MBQS ideal criterion. The association between local educators' MBQS sorting and the standard MBQS ideal criterion was <i>r</i> = 0.67, indicating alignment. Maternal observed and self-reported scores were not significantly associated (MBQS sensitivity criterion: <i>r</i> = -0.13, <i>p</i> = .317; Local criterion: <i>r</i> = -0.10, <i>p</i> = .441). Observed scores (Sensitivity: <i>M</i> = 0.21, Local criterion: <i>M</i> = 0.27) were lower than self-reported scores (Sensitivity: <i>M</i> = 0.62, <i>t</i>(63) = -8.05, <i>p</i> < .001; Local criterion: <i>M</i> = 0.59, <i>t</i>(57) = -7.77, <i>p</i> < .001). The findings reinforce those of past research concerning cross-cultural similarities and limitations in self-reports. Regarding interventional efforts, these point to the need to counter parental resistance to intervention as \"unnecessary\" with a better understanding of the limits of self-evaluation. Concerning interventional efficacy, the need for observational assessment of change is reinforced.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"1-19"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145038836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing classroom emotional support: the positive impact of improved mentalizing abilities in early childhood teachers following a group-based intervention.","authors":"Yael Rozenblatt-Perkal, Noa Gueron-Sela, Naama Atzaba-Poria","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2534614","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2534614","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>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.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"1-16"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144871176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mentalization, emotional arousal and readiness to gather information in the context of an ongoing relational rupture.","authors":"Yotam Strifler, Gary M Diamond","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2539276","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2539276","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ability to openly consider the mental states of others has been termed mentalizing and is crucial to maintaining interpersonal relationships. Theory and previous research findings suggest that emotional arousal may impact mentalization. This study examined whether the arousal associated with a relational rupture impacted young adults' ability to mentalize about their family member with whom they were in conflict. Fifty-four young adults were interviewed about an ongoing conflict with a significant family member. Average heart rate, skin conductance, and level of mentalization were measured at the speech-turn level. Results showed a curvilinear association between mean heart rate and reflective functioning (RF). No effects were found for skin conductance. Logistic regression showed RF scores predicted participants' readiness to engage in information gathering. Moderate emotional arousal was associated with higher RF, and those with higher RF were nearly twice as likely to be ready to gather new information from the other.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"1-19"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144793362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jessica A Stern, Sayaka Awao, Mario Mikulincer, Phillip R Shaver, Jude Cassidy
{"title":"Relational roots of retributive vs. restorative justice: attachment insecurity predicts harsher responses to crime.","authors":"Jessica A Stern, Sayaka Awao, Mario Mikulincer, Phillip R Shaver, Jude Cassidy","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2532068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2025.2532068","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Crime is among the most important issues to U.S. voters, often determining the outcome of major elections, with consequences for public policy. In two studies, we examine the role of attachment in predicting responses to crime. In Study 1 (<i>N</i> = 561), attachment avoidance was associated with reduced support for restorative justice. Attachment anxiety was indirectly linked to support for retributive justice, via heightened beliefs in a dangerous world and mindsets that people cannot change. Study 2 (<i>N</i> = 327) replicated results from Study 1 and demonstrated that a brief experimental intervention to boost individuals' felt security reduced negative attributions about a crime suspect's motives. Among participants high in attachment avoidance at baseline, boosting security mitigated punitive responses toward the suspect - reducing recommended jail time, pessimistic beliefs about rehabilitation, negative attributions, and negative emotions. Findings have implications for understanding and shifting public attitudes and policy regarding criminal justice.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"1-22"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144793363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maiken Pontoppidan, Jonas Cuzulan Hirani, Mette Friis-Hansen
{"title":"Minding the Baby versus usual care: effects on parental sensitivity and parent-child interaction in a cluster quasi-randomized trial.","authors":"Maiken Pontoppidan, Jonas Cuzulan Hirani, Mette Friis-Hansen","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2534608","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2534608","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Infants depend on sensitive caregivers to develop secure attachments, and attachment-based interventions like Minding the Baby® (MTB), aim to support sensitive parenting in families at risk. MTB is an interdisciplinary home visiting intervention starting in the third trimester and continuing until age two. This cluster quasi-randomized trial examined the effects of MTB among 256 pregnant women at risk of adversity. No significant differences were found between MTB and care-as-usual groups on the primary outcome parental sensitivity at 12 or 24 months postpartum. Children in the MTB group exhibited significantly less withdrawal at 12 months (b = -0.17, CI: [-0.33, -0.02], d = -0.43), an effect not sustained at 24 months. For the remaining subscales intrusiveness, limit setting, involvement, compliance, dyadic reciprocity, and dyadic negative states, no significant differences were found between the groups at either time point. However, we observed significant within-group improvements in parental sensitivity and dyadic reciprocity in the MTB group from 12 to 24 months.Trial registration: The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03495895) on April 12th, 2018.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"567-590"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144726963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nasim Ansarifar, Zabihollah Kaveh Farsani, Jessica L Borelli
{"title":"Preliminary evaluation of a relational savoring prevention program for mothers in Iran.","authors":"Nasim Ansarifar, Zabihollah Kaveh Farsani, Jessica L Borelli","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2534612","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2534612","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Relational savoring improves parents' well-being but has seldom been tested outside of the United States. In Iran, discussing parenting difficulties is taboo, and there is less emphasis on the experience of joy in motherhood. This cultural variation underscores the need to examine the effects of relational savoring, which focuses on heightening positive emotion in the context of parenthood. In this study conducted in Iran, mothers of children ages 5 and under (<i>N</i> = 100) were randomized into the experimental (4 weekly relational savoring sessions) or control group (no intervention). Participants were assessed at pretest, posttest, and 2-month follow-up. Compared to control group mothers, relational savoring mothers had higher closeness to child and availability at post-test and 2-month follow-up. There were no differential impacts on parenting competence and sensitivity/responsiveness. This program can be effective in improving aspects of the mother-child relationship among mothers of young children in Iran.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"591-608"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144648409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is neglect the first form of threat?","authors":"Karlen Lyons-Ruth","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2518687","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2025.2518687","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Maternal childhood maltreatment is associated with child psychopathology in the next generation. One mechanism proposed to underly this intergenerational transmission is alterations in infant stress systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and limbic brain regions. McLaughlin and colleagues have shown that direct experiences of threat versus deprivation have different effects on brain development and need to be studied separately. However, human and animal studies generate contrasting predictions about how threat versus deprivation experiences might affect stress systems in infancy. The current paper reviews emerging findings from the Mother-Infant Neurobiological Development (MIND) Study regarding the intergenerational transmission of effects of threat versus deprivation and proposes a Developmental Salience Model of Threat to integrate findings in human and animal literatures. This model proposes that threat of lack of care poses the first survival threat across species and therefore is more salient than threat of attack for stress-sensitive brain regions in infancy.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":"27 4","pages":"511-538"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144793364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
William Trottier-Dumont, Eve-Line Bussières, Audrey-Ann Deneault, Sheri Madigan, Chantal Cyr
{"title":"Attachment in autistic children as measured with the strange situation procedure: a systematic review and a meta-analysis.","authors":"William Trottier-Dumont, Eve-Line Bussières, Audrey-Ann Deneault, Sheri Madigan, Chantal Cyr","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2541232","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2541232","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Since the inception of attachment theory, parent-child relationships has been examined in different populations, including autistic children. Attachment in autistic children has been measured using inconsistent separation-reunion procedures, making it difficult to examine whether autistic children are more or less likely to develop a secure attachment compared to non-autistic children. This study aims to meta-analyze data from studies that have assessed attachment in autistic children using a standardized version of the Strange Situation Procedure. Using the CASCADE catalogue, we identified six studies (<i>n</i> = 202). Results revealed that 45.6% were classified as secure, 18.7% as avoidant, 8.5% as resistant, and 27.2% as disorganized, which was statistically similar to the proportions of attachment categories in general population. Moderator analyses revealed a higher proportion of secure attachment among older children and more recently published studies. Future research should focus on unifying methodological approaches to studying attachment in autistic children.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"634-656"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144726962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An introduction and tribute to Karlen Lyons-Ruth.","authors":"Howard Steele","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2539585","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2539585","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"509-510"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144726961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laura E Brumariu, Marissa Gastelle, Theodore E A Waters, Kathryn A Kerns
{"title":"Multi-method assessment of attachment for middle childhood and early adolescence: links to parenting and parent attachment.","authors":"Laura E Brumariu, Marissa Gastelle, Theodore E A Waters, Kathryn A Kerns","doi":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2537701","DOIUrl":"10.1080/14616734.2025.2537701","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite advances in the measurement of parent-child attachment in middle childhood and early adolescence, most studies relied on a single measure to assess attachment and few studies tested the core assumption that parenting and parents' own attachment models are key factors associated with parent-child attachment security. We aimed to: (a) evaluate a multi-method approach to assessing attachment that included the Middle Childhood Attachment Coding System (MCAS), a behavioral measure of parent-child attachment; and (b) test a model linking parenting, parent attachment, and attachment security. Participants included 179 mother-child dyads with children aged 9-14 years. MCAS patterns showed some associations with a questionnaire measure of attachment security, but they were unrelated to narrative coherence on an autobiographical interview. MCAS patterns, reported attachment security, and narrative coherence showed some associations with maternal sensitivity and autonomy support. MCAS security was associated with maternal secure base scripts. A model assessing how parenting and maternal attachment scripts relate to a latent construct of security composed of narrative coherence, children's perceptions of security, and observed MCAS security fits the data well. Findings provide support for the use of multiple measurement approaches when disentangling associations of parent-child attachment and broadening the research focus on attachment and parenting.</p>","PeriodicalId":8632,"journal":{"name":"Attachment & Human Development","volume":" ","pages":"609-633"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144741055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}