Predicting preschoolers' attachment security from fathers' involvement, internal working models, and use of social support

Abstract

Associations between preschoolers' attachment security, fathers' involvement (i.e. parenting behaviors and consistency) and fathering context (i.e. fathers' internal working models (IWMs) and use of social support) were examined in a subsample of 102 fathers, taken from a larger sample of 235 culturally diverse US families. The authors' predicted that fathers' involvement would mediate associations between children's attachment security and less proximal fathering context. Fathers completed questionnaires regarding their parenting behaviors, IWMs of adult relationships, their use of social support, and an attachment Q‐list to assess their preschoolers' attachment security. Fathers' involvement mediated the relationship between fathering context and children's attachment security. Findings support an ecological view of children's attachment security within a multilayered system.