The biological basis of parent-infant attachment: Foundations and implications for further development
Article Sidebar
How to Cite
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Societal impact
Main Article Content
Abstract
Attachment is one of the most important theories that has ever been produced in the field of Psychology. It explains not only the relationship that a child has with its mother, but also how a child is structured and developed into a psychic being. Understanding the Attachment Theory helps elucidate how the interactions that take place in the parent-infant relationship impact the rest of the child’s life by predicting the its neural, emotional, and social development. For this reason, it is important to explain the foundation of this important relationship. This article reviews some of the literature that, based on research from the fields of psychology, biology, and genetics, shows evidence on how this special tie is founded on genetic and endocrine substrates that, in interaction with the environment, function to create the expression of an individual.
Article Details
References
Ahern, T. H., & Young, L. J. (2009). The impact of early life family structure on adult social attachment, alloparental behavior, and the neuropeptide systems regulating affiliative behaviors in the monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 3(17), 1-19. doi: 10.3389/neuro.08.017.2009
Ainsworth, D. S., & Bell, S. M. (1970). Attachment, exploration, and separation: illustrated by the behavior of one-year-olds in a strange situation. Child Development, 41(1), 49-67. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.
Anglin, D. M., Cohen, P. R., & Chen, H. (2008). Duration of early maternal separation and prediction of schizotypal symptoms from early adolescence to midlife. Schizophrenia Research, 103(1-3), 143-150. doi:10.1016/j. schres.2008.02.016.
Armstrong, D. S., Hutti, M. H., & Myers, J. (2009). The influence of prior perinatal loss on parents' psychological distress after the birth of a subsequent healthy infant. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, 38(6), 654-666. doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2009.01069.x
Barr, C. S., Schwandt, M. L., Lindell, S. G., Higley, J. D., Maestripieri, D., Goldman, D., Suomi, S. J., & Heilig, M. (2008). Variation at the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) influences attachment behavior in infant primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(13), 5277-5281. doi_10.1073_pnas.0710225105
Barry, R. A., Kochanska, G., & Philibert, R. A. (2008). G × E interaction in the organization of attachment: Mothers’ responsiveness as a moderator of children’s genotypes. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(12), 1313–1320. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01935.x.
Bartz, J. A., & Hollander, E. (2006). The neuroscience of affiliation: Forging links between basic and clinical research on neuropeptides and social behavior. Hormones and Behavior, 50(1), 518-528. doi: 10.1016/j.ybeh.2006.06.018
Benoit, D. (2004). Infant-parent attachment: Definition, types, antecedents, measurement and outcome. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 9(8), 541-545.
Braungart-Rieker, J. M., Garwood, M. M., Powers, B.P., & Wang, X. (2001). Parental sensitivity, infant affect, and affect regulation: Predictors of later attachment. Child Development, 72(1), 252 - 270.
Bretherton, I. (1992). The origins of attachment theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental Psychology, 28(5), 759-775. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.28.5.759.
Brumariu, L. E., & Kerns, K. A. (2008). MotherChild attachment and social anxiety symptoms in middle childhood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(5), 393- 402. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2008.06.002.
Caldera, Y. M., & Lindsey, E.W. (2006). Coparenting, mother-infant interaction, and infant-parent attachment relationships in two-parent families. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(2), 275-283. doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.20.2.275.
Cashdan, E. (2000). Mother nature: A history of mothers, infants, and natural. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21, 215–22.
Cole, S. A. (2006). Building secure relationships: Attachment in kin and unrelated foster caregiver–infant relationships. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 87(4), 497-508.
David, D. H., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2005). Differential attachment responses of male and female infants to frightening maternal behavior: Tend or befriend versus fight or flight? Infant Mental Health Journal, 21(1), 1-18.
Fox, N. A., Hane, A. A., & Pine, D. S. (2007). Plasticity for Affective Neurocircuitry: How the Environment Affects Gene Expression. Psychological Science, 16(1), 1-5.
Grienenberger, J., Kelly, K., & Slade, A. (2005). Maternal reflective functioning, mother–infant affective communication, and infant attachment: Exploring the link between mental states and observed caregiving behavior in the intergenerational transmission of attachment. Attachment & Human Development, 7(3), 299-311. doi: 10.1080/14616730500245963
Guidano, V. F. (1999). Desarrollo de la terapia cognitiva post-racionalista. (Development of the post-rationalist cognitive therapy). Bilbao, Espana: Desclee de Brouwer.
Hofer, M. A. (2006). Psychobiological roots of early attachment. Current Directions in Psychological Sciences, 15, 84-88.
Levy, K. N., & Kelly, K. M. (2010). Sex differences in jealousy: A contribution from attachmenttheory.PsychologicalScience 21(2),168-173.doi:10.1177/0956797609 357708
Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized / disoriented during the ainsworth strange situation. In M. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti, & M. Cummings (Eds.), Attachment during the preschool years. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Pedrosa Gil, F., Weigl, M., Wessels, T., Irnich, D., Baumüller, E., & Winkelmann, A. (2008). Parental bonding and alexithymia in adults with fibromyalgia. Psychosomatics, 49(2), 115-122.
Stanton, J., & Simpson, A. (2001). Murder misdiagnosed as SIDS: a perpetrator’s perspective. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 85(6), 454-459.
Storey, A. E., Walsh, C. J., Quinton, R. L., & Wynne-Edwards, K. E. (2000). Hormonal correlates of paternal responsiveness in new and expectant fathers. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21(2), 79-95. doi: S1090-5138(99)00042-2
Thompson, L. A., & Trevathan, W. R. (2008). Cortisol reactivity, maternal sensitivity, and learning in three-month-old infants. Infant Behavior and Development, 31(1), 92-106.
Tyrka, A. R., Wier, L., Price, L. H., Ross, N., Anderson, G. M., Wilkinson, C. W., & Carpenter, L. L. (2008). Childhood parental oss and adult hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenalfunction. Biological Psychiatry, 63(12), 1147-1154. doi: 10.1016/j. biopsych.2008.01.011
Van Ijzendoorn, M. (1995). Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness, and infant attachment: A meta-analysis on the predictive validity of the Adult Attachment Interview. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 387-403. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.387
Volling, B. L., McElwain, N. L., Notaro, P. C., & Herrera, C. (2002). Parents' Emotional Availability and Infant Emotional Competence: Predictors of parent-infant attachment and emerging self-regulation. Journal of Family Psychology, 16(4), 447- 465. doi: 10.1037//0893-3200.16.4.447
Waters, S. F., Virmani, E. A., Thompson, R. A., Meyer, S., Raikes, H. A., & Jochem, R. (2010). Emotion regulation and Attachment: Unpacking two constructs and their association. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32(1), 37-47. doi:0.1007/s10862-009-9163-z
Wismer Fries, A. B., Shirtcliff, E. A., & Pollak, S. D. (2008). Neuroendocrine dysregulation following early social deprivation in children. Developmental Psychobiology, 50(6), 588- 99. doi:10.1002/dev.20319