Contributions of maternal adult attachment to socialization of coping

Abstract

This research examined whether maternal adult attachment predicted coping suggestions mothers made to their children. A sample of 157 youth (M age = 12.42, SD = 1.20) and their maternal caregivers completed semi-structured interviews and questionnaires in a two-wave longitudinal study. Results revealed that maternal insecure attachment predicted fewer engagement coping suggestions (orienting toward stress) and heightened disengagement coping suggestions (avoiding or denying stress) both concurrently and over time. These associations remained after adjusting for child, mother, and contextual characteristics. This study contributes to our understanding of the implications adult attachment has for parenting behavior, suggesting that insecure attachment undermines a parent’s ability to provide adaptive coping guidance to their children.