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. 2009 Dec;23(6):828-38.
doi: 10.1037/a0016491.

Parental beliefs, infant temperament, and marital quality: associations with infant-mother and infant-father attachment

Maria S Wong  1 , Sarah C Mangelsdorf, Geoffrey L Brown, Cynthia Neff, Sarah J Schoppe-Sullivan
Affiliations

Parental beliefs, infant temperament, and marital quality: associations with infant-mother and infant-father attachment

Maria S Wong et al. J Fam Psychol. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

The present research examined parental beliefs about the importance of the paternal caregiving role, mothers' and fathers' reports of infant temperament, and observed marital quality as predictors of infant-mother and infant-father attachment security, over and above the effects of parental sensitivity. Infants' attachment security to mothers and fathers were observed in the Strange Situation at 12 and 13 months, respectively (N = 62 two-parent families). Hierarchical regression models revealed that mothers who viewed the paternal caregiving role as important were less likely to have securely attached infants, but only when infant fussiness was high. In addition, fathers who viewed the paternal caregiving role as important were more likely to have securely attached infants, but only when infants' fussiness or marital quality was high.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Association between mothers’ beliefs about the paternal caregiving role and infant-mother attachment security as a function of infant fussiness
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between fathers’ beliefs about the paternal caregiving role and infant-father attachment security as a function of infant fussiness
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between fathers’ beliefs about the paternal caregiving role and infant-father attachment security as a function of marital quality
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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