Avoidant Attachment and the Experience of Parenting
Abstract
Guided by attachment theory, this research investigated connections between avoidant attachment styles and the experience of parenting after the birth of a couple's first child. One hundred and six couples completed a battery of measures approximately 6 weeks before and 6 months after the birth of their first child. As anticipated, parents with more avoidant attachment styles experienced greater stress after the birth of their child and perceived parenting as less satisfying and personally meaningful. Attachment theory maintains that adult attachment styles should affect relationships with adults and with one's children. The present findings provide some of the first evidence that self-reported adult romantic attachment styles, which have been the focus of attachment research by social and personality psychologists, are systematically associated with parent-child relationships. They also provide insight into the processes through which secure and insecure attachment styles might be transmitted from one generation to the next.
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Parenting may represent an approach-avoidance conflict for avoidant parents because caring for a child requires a sensitive and supportive response that keeps their attachment system activated.
“parenting may represent an 'approach-avoidance conflict' (Rholes et al., 2006, p. 282) because although avoidant parents wish to maintain emotional distance and turn off their attachment system, caring for a child requires a sensitive and supportive response to the child's needs that keeps their attachment system activated.”
From Exploring the link between maternal attachment-related anxiety and avoidance and mindful parenting: The mediating role of self-compassion. (2016) · cites this paper as Rholes et al., 2006
Cites
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“…are habitually rebuffed or if they elicit an unpredictable mixture of acceptance and rejection, insecure attachment patterns (avoidant-resistant or anxious-resistant) typically develop (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978; Bowlby, 1988; Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985; van IJzendoorn, 1995).”
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“The caregivers of highly avoidant children are particularly unresponsive when their children are distressed and need comfort (Crockenberg, 1981; Del Carmen, Pederson, Huffman, & Bryan, 1993).”
Background6/Use of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale with Older Adults
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Avoiding Interference: Adult Attachment and Emotional Processing Biases
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Adult attachment style and stress as risk factors for early maternal sensitivity and negativity
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Moreira, H., Carona, C., Silva, N., Nunes, J., & Canavarro, M. C. (2016) · Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice · doi:10.1111/papt.12082 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
The impact of sleep, stress, and depression on postpartum weight retention: A systematic review
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- Authors
- Rholes, W. S., Simpson, J. A., & Friedman, M.
- Affiliations
- Texas A&M University (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Venue
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2006-03
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 275-285
- ISSN
- 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7433
- OpenAlex
- W2145140397
- Cited by
- 220
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 5.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH495599-05)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- attachment avoidance, adult attachment styles, parental experiences, postpartum stress, parenting satisfaction, parent-child relationship, intergenerational transmission of attachment, romantic relationships, attachment theory
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Avoidance Learning, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Object Attachment, Parent-Child Relations, Personal Satisfaction, Personality, Personality Assessment, Predictive Value of Tests, Stress, Psychological, Parenting
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