Maternal Attachment and Maternal Behavior: The Role of Maternal Affect

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of maternal attachment style to children’s well-being, but the mediators of this relationship are understudied. Parental affect is one potential mediator. Previous research has documented the relationship between parental attachment and parental affect, and between parental affect and parental behaviors, but maternal affect has not yet been established as a mechanism through which attachment influences parenting behaviors. We hypothesized that parental affect would mediate the relationship between parental attachment and parental behaviors in mothers. A community-based sample of 132 mothers of at least one child between the ages of 2 and 12 completed questionnaires on maternal attachment, maternal affect, and parenting behaviors. Confirming previous research, significant relationships were found between maternal attachment and affect, maternal attachment and parenting behaviors, and maternal affect and parenting behaviors. As predicted, maternal affect mediated the relationship between maternal attachment style and parenting behavior. Specifically, positive affect mediated the relationship between maternal attachment and nurturance, secure base, safe haven, and companionship parenting behaviors. Negative affect mediated the relationship between maternal attachment and nurturance. Implications include acknowledging differential roles of positive and negative affect in their influence on parental behaviors.

Highlights

• Maternal affect may mediate the relation between parental attachment and parenting behaviors.
• Positive affect and negative affect differ in terms of how they influence the relation between parental attachment and parenting behaviors.
• Established relations between negative affect and parental behaviors in clinical populations are similar to those in community samples.
• The indirect relation between parental attachment and parenting behaviors via maternal affect is significant.
• Positive affect is also related to parental behaviors in a community sample.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University, 13800 Biola Ave., La Mirada, CA, 90693, USA Jennifer A. Lindh, Josiah Tey, M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall, Tamara L. Anderson, Michele M. Willingham & David Wang

1. Jennifer A. Lindh