Mothers’ Attachment Style Predicts Response to Child Distress: The Role of Maternal Emotions and Attributions

A central hypothesis in attachment theory is that parents' own attachment will influence their parenting behavior in ways important to children’s well-being; little is known, however, about mechanisms through which self-reported adult attachment style influences parenting behavior. This study examines prospective links between mothers’ insecure attachment style and their unsupportive behavioral responses to child distress (i.e., punitive, minimizing, and self-focused responses) through mothers’ emotional and cognitive reactions to child distress (e.g., attributing crying to negative qualities of the child). Low-income mothers ( N = 164; 79% African American) of preschool children attending Head Start reported on their own attachment style (anxiety and avoidance) and typical responses to their children’s distress at Time 1. Approximately 4–6 months later (Time 2), mothers again reported on their responses to their children’s distress, as well as their emotions and attributions when watching videos of infants crying. Results from structural equation modeling analyses indicated that mothers’ attachment anxiety at Time 1 predicted more unsupportive responses to child distress at Time 2, an indirect link that was explained by heightened negative emotions/attributions about child distress. No paths from maternal attachment avoidance or paths involving positive emotions/attributions emerged. Results provide preliminary evidence for a possible mechanism through which parents’ attachment anxiety may influence their unsupportive responses to child distress. These findings contribute to a growing literature on the influence of adult attachment style on parenting and highlight the importance of longitudinal research examining mechanisms linking parent characteristics to parenting behaviors that have important implications for child development. Highlights We examined mothers’ attachment style, emotions and attributions about child distress, and responses to their preschoolers’ distress in a low-income, predominantly African American sample. Attachment-anxious mothers showed more unsupportive (e.g., punitive) responses to their children’s distress. This link was explained by attachment-anxious mothers’ heightened negative emotions/attributions about child distress. Results shed light on cognitive and emotional mechanisms by which adult attachment may shape parenting behavior.