Mother– and father–infant attachment: Families in context.

Abstract

This study examined associations among family type (single-earner vs. dual-earner families of sons and daughters), parent sensitivity, marital adjustment, infant emotionality, infant-mother attachment, and infant-father attachment. Participants included 77 families who were observed in the laboratory at 4, 12, and 13 months. Similar to several previous studies, results indicated that boys from dual-earner families were more likely to have insecure attachments with their fathers but not with their mothers. In addition, fathers of sons in dual-earner households were less sensitive at 4 months and reported less affection in their marriages than did fathers in several other groups; sons were more negatively emotional toward mothers whereas infants in dual-earner families were more negatively emotional toward fathers during still-face at 4 months. Finally, family type moderated the effect that maternal sensitivity had on infant-mother attachment and the effect that infant negative emotionality had on infant-father attachment.