![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
The supervision partnership in middle childhood was proposed by Waters, Kondo-Ikemura, Posada, and Richters as the last phase of parent-child attachment. The present study elaborates this concept by proposing three components of the supervision partnership: availability and accessibility, willingness to communicate, and mutual recognition of the other’s rights. Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 1,050), we derived indices of the three components and related them to other attachment assessments and to maternal sensitivity. The three components of the supervision partnership were significantly related to one another, to attachment measured in preschool and adolescence, and to maternal sensitivity measured in middle childhood. The findings lend initial support to the proposal that the supervision partnership may more fully capture the secure base concept in late middle childhood than traditional approaches that focus only on availability and accessibility.
References
Section:
|
Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44, 709-716. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1990). Some considerations regarding theory and assessment relevant to attachments beyond infancy. In Greenberg, M. T., Cicchetti, D., Cummings, E. M. (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 463-488). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Allen, J. P. (2008). The attachment system in adolescence. In Cassidy, J., Shaver, P. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment (2nd ed., pp. 419-433). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Becker-Stoll, F., Fremmer-Bombik, E., Wartner, U., Zimmermann, P., Grossmann, K. E. (2008). Is attachment at ages 1, 6 and 16 related to autonomy and relatedness behavior of adolescents in interaction towards their mothers? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32, 372-380. doi:10.1177/0165025408093654 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books. Google Scholar | |
|
Branstetter, S. A., Furman, W., Cottrell, L. (2009). The influence of representations of attachment, maternal-adolescent relationship quality, and maternal monitoring on adolescent substance use: A 2-year longitudinal examination. Child development, 80, 1448-1462. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Brenning, K., Soenens, B., Braet, C., Bal, S. (2012). The role of parenting and mother-adolescent attachment in the intergenerational similarity of internalizing symptoms. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 802-816. doi:10.1007/s10964-011-9740-9 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Brenning, K. M., Soenens, B., Braet, C., Bosmans, G. (2012). Attachment and depressive symptoms in middle childhood and early adolescence: Testing the validity of the emotion regulation model of attachment. Personal Relationships, 19, 445-464. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2011.01372.x Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Bretherton, I. (1990). Communication patterns, internal working models, and the intergenerational transmission of attachment relationships. Infant Mental Health Journal, 11, 237-252. doi:10.1002/1097-0355(199023)11:3<237::AID-IMHJ2280110306>3.0.CO;2-X Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Brody, G. H., Moore, K., Glei, D. (1994). Family processes during adolescence as predictors of parent- young adult attitude similarity. Family Relations, 43, 369-373. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Cai, M., Hardy, S. A., Olsen, J. A., Nelson, D. A., Yamawaki, N. (2013). Adolescent-parent attachment as a mediator of relations between parenting and adolescent social behavior and wellbeing in China. International Journal of Psychology, 48, 1185-1190. doi:10.1080/00207594.2013.774091 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Cassidy, J., Marvin, R. S., and the MacAthur Attachment Working Group of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Network on the Transition from Infancy to Early Childhood . (1992). Attachment organization in preschool children: Procedures and coding manual. Unpublished coding manual, The Pennsylvania State University, State College. Google Scholar | |
|
Cattell, R. B. (1966). The scree test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1, 245-276. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Cohen, J. (1992). Statistical power analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1, 98-101. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.ep10768783 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
De Wolff, M., van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1997). Sensitivity and attachment: A meta-analysis on parental antecedents of infant attachment. Child Development, 68, 571-591. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Doyle, A., Markiewicz, D. (2005). Parenting, marital conflict and adjustment from early- to mid-adolescence: Mediated by adolescent attachment style? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, (34)2, 97-110. doi:10.1007/s10964-005-3209-7 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Dubois-Comtois, K., Cyr, C., Moss, E. (2011). Attachment behavior and mother-child conversations as predictors of attachment representations in middle childhood: A longitudinal study. Attachment & Human Development, 13, 335-357. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Eccles, J. S., Buchanan, C. M., Midgley, C., Fuligni, A. J., Flanagan, C. (1991). Individuation reconsidered: Autonomy and control during early adolescence. Journal of Social Issues, 47, 53-68. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Fearon, R., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Fonagy, P., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Schuengel, C., Bokhorst, C. L. (2006). In search of shared and nonshared environmental factors in security of attachment: A behavior-genetic study of the association between sensitivity and attachment security. Developmental Psychology, 42, 1026-1040. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.6.1026 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Fraley, R. (2002). Attachment stability from infancy to adulthood: Meta-analysis and dynamic modeling of developmental mechanisms. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6, 123-151. doi:10.1207/S15327957PSPR0602_03 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Furman, W., Wehner, E. A. (1999). The Behavioral Systems Questionnaire–Revised. Unpublished measure, University of Denver, CO. Google Scholar | |
|
Granot, D., Mayseless, O. (2001). Attachment security and adjustment to school in middle childhood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 25, 530-541. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Karavasilis, L., Doyle, A., Markiewicz, D. (2003). Associations between parenting style and attachment to mother in middle childhood and adolescence. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27, 153-164. doi:10.1080/0165025024400015 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Kerns, K. A. (2008). Attachment in middle childhood. In Cassidy, J., Shaver, P. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment (2nd ed., pp. 366-382). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Kerns, K. A., Aspelmeier, J. E., Gentzler, A. L., Grabill, C. M. (2001). Parent-child attachment and monitoring in middle childhood. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 69-81. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Kerns, K. A., Brumariu, L. E., Seibert, A. C. (2011). Multi-method assessment of mother-child attachment: Links to parenting and child depressive symptoms in middle childhood. Attachment & Human Development, 13, 315-333. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Kerns, K. A., Mathews, B. L., Koehn, A. J., Williams, C.T., Siener-Ciesla, S. 2015. Assessing both safe haven and secure base support in parent-child relationships. Attachment & Human Development. doi:10.1080/14616734.2015.1042487 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Kerns, K. A., Seibert, A. C. (2011). Finding your way through the thicket: Promising approaches to assessing attachment in middle childhood. Unpublished manuscript. Google Scholar | |
|
Kerns, K. A., Siener, S., Brumariu, L. E. (2011). Mother-child relationships, family context, and child characteristics as predictors of anxiety symptoms in middle childhood. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 593-604. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Kerns, K. A., Tomich, P. L., Aspelmeier, J. E., Contreras, J. M. (2000). Attachment-based assessments of parent-child relationships in middle childhood. Developmental Psychology, 36, 614-626. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Kerns, K. A., Tomich, P. L., Kim, P. (2006). Normative trends in children’s perceptions of availability and utilization of attachment figures in middle childhood. Social Development, 15, 1-22. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Laible, D. J., Thompson, R. A. (1998). Attachment and emotional understanding in preschool children. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1038-1045. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.34.5.1038 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Lynch, M., Cicchetti, D. (1997). Children’s relationships with adults and peers: An examination of elementary and junior high school students. Journal of School Psychology, 35, 81-99. doi:10.1016/S0022-4405(96)00031-3 Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Nickerson, A. B., Nagle, R. J. (2005). Parent and peer attachment in late childhood and early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25, 223-249. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Pinquart, M., Feussner, C., Ahnert, L. (2013). Meta-analytic evidence for stability in attachments from infancy to early adulthood. Attachment & Human Development, 15, 189-218. doi:10.1080/14616734.2013.746257 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Psouni, E., Apetroaia, A. (2014). Measuring scripted attachment-related knowledge in middle-childhood: The Secure Base Script Test. Attachment & Human Development, 16, 22-41. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rosenthal, N. L., Kobak, R. (2010). Assessing adolescents’ attachment hierarchies: Differences across developmental periods and associations with individual adaptation. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20, 678-706. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Scott, S., Briskman, J., Woolgar, M., Humayun, S., O’Connor, T. G. (2011). Attachment in adolescence: Overlap with parenting and unique prediction of behavioural adjustment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52, 1052-1062. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Seibert, A. C., Kerns, K. A. (2009). Attachment figures in middle childhood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33, 347-355. doi:10.1177/0165025409103872 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Shomaker, L. B., Furman, W. (2009). Parent-adolescent relationship qualities, internal working models, and attachment styles as predictors of adolescents’ interactions with friends. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 26, 579-603. doi:10.1177/0265407509354441 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Smetana, J. G., Asquith, P. (1994). Adolescents’ and parents’ conceptions of parental authority and personal autonomy. Child Development, 65, 1147-1162. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Solomon, J., George, C. (2008). The measurement of attachment security and related constructs in infancy and early childhood. In Cassidy, J., Shaver, P. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment (2nd ed., pp. 383-416). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Sroufe, L. A., Fleeson, J. (1986). Attachment and the construction of relationships. In Hartup, W. W., Rubin, Z. (Eds.), Relationships and development (pp. 51-71). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Google Scholar | |
|
Stattin, H., Kerr, M. (2000). Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development, 71, 1072-1085. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00210 Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Steele, H., Steele, M. (2005). The construct of coherence as an indicator of attachment security in middle childhood: The friends and family interview. In Kerns, K. A., Richardson, R. A. (Eds.), Attachment in middle childhood (pp. 137-160). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Steinberg, L. (1990). Interdependency in the family: Autonomy, conflict, and harmony in the parent-adolescent relationship. In Feldman, S. S., Elliott, G. (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 255-276). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Target, M., Fonagy, P., Shmueli-Goetz, Y. (2003). Attachment representations in school-age children: The development of the Child Attachment Interview (CAI). Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 29, 171-186. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Thompson, R. A. (2008). Early attachment and later development: Familiar questions, new answers. In Cassidy, J., Shaver, P. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment (2nd ed., pp. 348-365). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Toth, S. L., Cicchetti, D. (1996). The impact of relatedness with mother on school functioning in maltreated youngsters. Journal of School Psychology, 3, 247-266. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Waters, E., Cummings, E. M. (2000). A secure base from which to explore close relationships. Child Development, 71, 164-172. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Waters, E., Kondo-Ikemura, K., Posada, G., Richters, J. (1991). Learning to love: Mechanisms and milestones. In Gunnar, M. (Ed.), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology (pp. 217-255). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Google Scholar |
Author Biographies
Amanda J. Koehn is a doctoral student of child clinical psychology at Kent State University. Her research focuses on parenting practices and parent-child attachment in middle childhood and adolescence. Other research focuses on the link between emotion competencies and anxiety in childhood and adolescence.
Kathryn A. Kerns is professor of psychology at Kent State University. Her research focuses on how attachment and parenting are associated with children’s social and emotional development. One stream of research addresses questions regarding how best to conceptualize and measure attachment in middle childhood. Other research considers how attachment and parenting play a role in the development of children’s emotion regulation competencies, anxiety symptoms, and relationships with peers.
