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. 2010;180(1-2):121-137.
doi: 10.1080/03004430903415015.

Observed and Reported Supportive Coparenting as Predictors of Infant-Mother and Infant-Father Attachment Security

Geoffrey L Brown  1 , Sarah J Schoppe-Sullivan  2 , Sarah C Mangelsdorf  3 , Cynthia Neff  4
Affiliations

Observed and Reported Supportive Coparenting as Predictors of Infant-Mother and Infant-Father Attachment Security

Geoffrey L Brown et al. Early Child Dev Care. 2010.

Abstract

This study examined associations between supportive coparenting and infant-mother and infant-father attachment security. Observed and parent-reported coparenting, and observed maternal and paternal sensitivity were assessed in a sample of 68 families with 3.5-month-old infants. Infant-mother and infant-father attachment security were assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) at 12 and 13 months of age, respectively. Observed and reported supportive coparenting were associated with greater attachment security in the infant-father, but not the infant-mother, attachment relationship. The link between observed coparenting and infant-father attachment remained after accounting for paternal sensitivity. Furthermore, child gender moderated some associations between coparenting and infant-parent attachment security. Among families with boys, observed and reported supportive coparenting was related to greater infant-mother and infant-father attachment security, respectively. Coparenting was unrelated to infant-mother or infant-father attachment security among families with girls. Results highlight a possible link between the coparental and father-child relationships and the need to consider both parent and child gender when examining associations between family functioning and attachment.

Keywords: attachment security; coparenting; father-child relations; gender; mother-child relations; sensitivity.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Association between observed supportive coparenting and infant-mother attachment security as a function of child gender.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between reported supportive coparenting and infant-father attachment security as a function of child gender.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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