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Yang R, Gu Y, Cui L, Li X, Way N, Yoshikawa H, Chen X, Okazaki S, Zhang G, Liang Z, Waters TEA. A cognitive script perspective on how early caregiving experiences inform adolescent peer relationships and loneliness: A 14-year longitudinal study of Chinese families. Dev Sci 2024:e13522. [PMID: 38676297 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Leveraging data from a longitudinal study of Chinese families (n = 364), this research aims to understand the role of secure base script knowledge as a cognitive mechanism by which early caregiving experiences inform adolescents' friendship quality and feelings of loneliness. Results showed that observed maternal sensitivity at 14 and 24 months old was negatively associated with adolescents' self-reported conflicts with close friends (β = -0.17, p = 0.044) at 15 years old, and this association was partially mediated by their secure base script knowledge assessed at 10 years old. Further, secure base script knowledge moderated the link between adolescents' friend conflict and feelings of loneliness (β = -0.15, p = 0.037). The results support a cognitive script perspective on the association between early caregiving experiences and later socio-emotional adjustment. Furthermore, this study adds to the developmental literature that has previously focused on more stringent and authoritarian aspects of parenting in Chinese families, thereby contributing to our understanding of how sensitive and supportive parenting practices contribute to socio-emotional development outside of Western contexts. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Maternal sensitivity during infancy and toddlerhood has a long-term association with adolescents' friendship quality and adolescents' secure base script partially explains the association. First evidence to demonstrate that the secure base script in attachment relationships mediates the association between early maternal caregiving and socio-emotional development in Chinese adolescents. Adolescents lacking secure base script knowledge are particularly vulnerable to feelings of loneliness when facing high levels of conflict in close friendships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Yang
- Department of Psychology, New York University- Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
| | - Yufei Gu
- Department of Psychology, New York University- Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, USA
| | - Lixian Cui
- Division of Arts and Sciences, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuan Li
- Division of Arts and Sciences, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark
| | - Niobe Way
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, USA
| | | | - Xinyin Chen
- Human Development and Quantitative Methods Division, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Sumie Okazaki
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, USA
| | - Guangzhen Zhang
- Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Zongbao Liang
- Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Theodore E A Waters
- Department of Psychology, New York University- Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, USA
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Hammarlund M, Granqvist P, Elfvik S, Andram C, Forslund T. Concepts travel faster than thought: an empirical study of the use of attachment classifications in child protection investigations. Attach Hum Dev 2022; 24:1-20. [PMID: 35695176 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2022.2087699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Scholarly discussion suggests prevalent, overconfident use of attachment classifications in child protection (CP) investigations but no systematic research has examined actual prevalence, the methods used to derive such classifications, or their interpretations. We aimed to cover this gap using survey data from a nationally representative sample of Swedish CP workers (N = 191). Three key findings emerged. First, the vast majority formed an opinion about young children's attachment quality in all or most investigations. Second, most did not employ systematic assessments, and none employed well-validated attachment methods. Third, there was overconfidence in the perceived implications of attachment classifications. For example, many believed that insecure attachment is a valid indicator of insufficient care. Our findings illustrate a wide researcher-practitioner gap. This gap is presumably due to inherent difficulties translating group-based research to the level of the individual, poor dissemination of attachment theory and research, and infrastructural pressures adversely influencing the quality of CP investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pehr Granqvist
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sara Elfvik
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Caroline Andram
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tommie Forslund
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Thompson RA, Simpson JA, Berlin LJ. Taking perspective on attachment theory and research: nine fundamental questions. Attach Hum Dev 2022; 24:543-560. [DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2022.2030132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeffry A. Simpson
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Lisa J. Berlin
- School of Social Work, University of Maryland School of Social Work, Baltimore, USA
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