Maternal Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) Collected During Pregnancy Predicts Reflective Functioning in AAIs from their First-Born Children 17 Years Later

TL;DR: The divergent measures of MCRQ, which seem to assess different aspects, are a barrier to investigate the association between the mother's recalled parental rearing behavior and MCRq, however, low M CRQ is associated with increased maternal psychopathology and maternal dysfunctional attributions on child behavior.

TL;DR: Since the increase in secure attachment style was associated with a decrease in prenatal self-evaluation score, or in other words, was linked with an increase in adaptation with pregnancy, education and counseling for improving secure attachment styles is suggested to reduce adverse consequences of unwanted pregnancy and improve the children's psychological health.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the tools used to explore the caregiver's internal working model, their perceptions of the child, and the child's world, and examine how a caregiver may place unconscious projections onto their child.

Abstract: We are grateful to the Institute of Human Development, Berkeley, and to the Society for Research in Child Development for funding that made the study of our sample at 6 years possible. In its earlier phases, the Social Development Project was supported by the William T. Grant Foundation, by the Alvin Nye Main Foundation, and by Bio-Medical Support Grants 1-444036-32024 and 1-444036-32025 for studies in the behavioral sciences. The Child Study Center at the University of California was invaluable in its provision of subjects and in the training provided for our observers and examiners. The National Center for Clinical Infancy Programs provided support and assistance to Nancy Kaplan. This project would not have been possible without the direction and assistance provided by Donna Weston and by Bonnie Powers, Jackie Stadtman, and Stewart Wakeling in its first phases. For the initial identification of infants who should be left unclassified-an identification critical to the present study-we gratefully acknowledge both Judith Solomon and Donna Weston. Carol George participated in the designing of the sixth-year project; Ruth Goldwyn served as adult interviewer; and Ellen Richardson served as the child's examiner. The videotapes and transcripts of the sixth-year study were analyzed by Jude Cassidy, Anitra DeMoss, Ruth Goldwyn, Nancy Kaplan, Todd Hirsch, Lorraine Littlejohn, Amy Strage, and Reggie Tiedemann. Mary Ainsworth, John Bowlby, Harriet Oster, and Amy Strage provided useful criticism of earlier versions of this chapter. The overall conceptualization was substantially enriched by suggestions made by Erik Hesse.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the available evidence with respect to these predictive validity issues and concluded that although the predictive validity of the AAI is a replicated fact, there is only partial knowledge of how attachment representations are transmitted (the transmission gap).

TL;DR: Findings are overviewed concerning the complex links between attachment and ultimate outcomes and the preservation of early patterns even during times of change and have implications both for future research and for clinical application.