Cited by 550Attachment and Relationship DynamicsPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology ResearchChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

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Narrowing the transmission gap: A synthesis of three decades of research on intergenerational transmission of attachment

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Verhage, Marije L., Schuengel, Carlo, Madigan, Sheri, Fearon, R. M. Pasco, Oosterman, Mirjam, Cassibba, Rosalinda, Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J., van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.·2016·Psychological Bulletin

DOI 10.1037/bul0000038

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Abstract

Twenty years ago, meta-analytic results (k = 19) confirmed the association between caregiver attachment representations and child-caregiver attachment (Van IJzendoorn, 1995). A test of caregiver sensitivity as the mechanism behind this intergenerational transmission showed an intriguing "transmission gap." Since then, the intergenerational transmission of attachment and the transmission gap have been studied extensively, and now extend to diverse populations from all over the globe. Two decades later, the current review revisited the effect sizes of intergenerational transmission, the heterogeneity of the transmission effects, and the size of the transmission gap. Analyses were carried out with a total of 95 samples (total N = 4,819). All analyses confirmed intergenerational transmission of attachment, with larger effect sizes for secure-autonomous transmission (r = .31) than for unresolved transmission (r = .21), albeit with significantly smaller effect sizes than 2 decades earlier (r = .47 and r = .31, respectively). Effect sizes were moderated by risk status of the sample, biological relatedness of child-caregiver dyads, and age of the children. Multivariate moderator analyses showed that unpublished and more recent studies had smaller effect sizes than published and older studies. Path analyses showed that the transmission could not be fully explained by caregiver sensitivity, with more recent studies narrowing but not bridging the "transmission gap." Implications for attachment theory as well as future directions for research are discussed.

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Authors: Verhage, M. L., Schuengel, C., Madigan, S., Fearon, R. M. P., Oosterman, M., Cassibba, R., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H.
Affiliations: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
University of Calgary (CA)
University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT)
ORCID: Verhage, Marije L.
Schuengel, Carlo
Madigan, Sheri
Fearon, R. M. Pasco
Oosterman, Mirjam
Cassibba, Rosalinda
van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.
Venue: Psychological Bulletin
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2016-04
Volume: 142
Issue: 4
Pages: 337-366
ISSN: 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
1939-1455
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000038
OpenAlex: W2305732132
Cited by: 550
References: 173
Citations by year: 2026: 40 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 60 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 64 · 2020: 76 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 67 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 14
FWCI: 70.91
Type: journal article
Language: en
Update notices: correction (2018-03-29)
Open access: green
research.vu.nl
Licence: other-oa
Locations: Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Bari Aldo Moro) (submittedVersion)
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords: intergenerational transmission of attachment, transmission gap, caregiver sensitivity, unresolved attachment, effect size, publication bias, biological relatedness, attachment theory
MeSH terms: Child, Child Rearing, Humans, Object Attachment, Parent-Child Relations, Parenting, Intergenerational Relations

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Narrowing the transmission gap: A synthesis of three decades of research on intergenerational transmission of attachment

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