Parenting attachment styles and children mental health

Journal title PNEI REVIEW
Author/s Stefania Carbonella, Marilena Coniglio
Publishing Year 2024 Issue 2024/1
Language Italian Pages 15 P. 7-21 File size 1143 KB
DOI 10.3280/PNEI2024-001002
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The attachment relationship is a significant, long-lasting bond of both an affective and emotional nature, which is created regardless of whether the parent is able to emotionally tune in to the child. Poor social-emotional competence of the caregiver has been associated with several types of dysfunctional developmental trajectories including poor ability in the school performance of the offspring. Attachment styles, parenting stress, and exposure to adverse childhood events can negatively affect the development of biological systems that regulate cognitive abilities such as executive functions (EF), the perception and the regulation of emotions. Neuroscience has highlighted the centrality of limbic circuits in the development of parent-child attachment bonds, human adaptation and learning processes, as well as highlighting the influence of attachment styles on the development of an adequate sense of self-efficacy and self-esteem.

Keywords: Attachment styles, Parenting styles, Parenting stress, Self-esteem, Emotional self-regulation, Executive functions.

  1. Abaszadeh H., Amani M., & Pordanjani T.R. (2024). The relationship between motivatio- nal-cognitive variables, academic self-efficacy of students mediated by parent’s educational expectations, parent-child interaction, and teacher-student interaction. Learning and Motiva- tion, 86, 101983.
  2. Abidin R.R. (1990). Introduction to the special issue: The stresses of parenting. Journal of clinical child psychology, 19(4), 298–301.
  3. Barone L., & Lionetti F. (2013). Quando l’attaccamento si disorganizza. Indicatori e fat- tori di rischio dell’esperienza traumatica nel ciclo di vita. Psicologia Clinica dello Sviluppo, 17(1), 3–26. DOI: 10.1449/7382
  4. Baumrind D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology, 4(1, Pt.2), 1–103.
  5. Blair B.L., Gangle M.R., Perry N.B., O’Brien M., Calkins S.D., Keane S.P., & Shana- han L. (2016). Indirect effects of emotion regulation on peer acceptance and rejection: The roles of positive and negative social behaviors. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 62(4), 415–439.
  6. Blossom J.B., Fite P.J., Frazer A.L., Cooley J.L., & Evans S.C. (2016). Parental psy- chological control and aggression in youth: The moderating effect of emotion dysregula- tion. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 44, 12–20.
  7. Bowlby J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Vol.1: Attachment. New York: Basic Books. Bowlby J. (1982). Attachment and loss: retrospect and prospect. American journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52(4), 664–678.
  8. Camisasca E., Di Blasio P., & Ardino V. (2010). Comportamenti di internalizzazione ed esternalizzazione nei bambini: Il ruolo dello stress materno e degli stili educativi. Età Evo- lutiva, 97, 34-53.
  9. Carter C.S., Botvinick M.M., & Cohen J.D. (1999). The contribution of the anterior cingu- late cortex to executive processes in cognition. Reviews in the Neurosciences, 10(1), 49–58.
  10. Coniglio M., Chiapale M., Nonpenso C., Soriano V., & Costantino M.A. (2017). Appli- cazione del Questionario QBS-G 8-13 all’interno del gruppo “Formiamoci ed informiamo- ci” rivolto ai genitori di bambini DSA della Neuropsichiatria Infantile. Poster presentato al XXVI Congresso Nazionale AIRIPA, Conegliano.
  11. Cortés Pascual, A., Moyano Muñoz, N., & Quílez Robres, A. (2019). The relationship between executive functions and academic performance in primary education: Review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1582.
  12. Devine R.T., & Hughes C. (2014). Relations between false belief understanding and exe- cutive function in early childhood: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 85(5), 1777–1794.
  13. Diamond A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168.
  14. Featherston R., Barlow J., Song Y., Haysom Z., Loy B., Tufford L., & Shlonsky A. (2024). Mindfulness-enhanced parenting programmes for improving the psychosocial outco- mes of children (0 to 18 years) and their parents. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1(1), CD012445.
  15. Flynn E. (2007). The role of inhibitory control in false belief understanding. Infant and Child Development, 16(1), 53–69.
  16. Harter S. (2012). Self-perception profile for adolescents: Manual and questionnaires. Denver, CO: Univeristy of Denver, Department of Psychology. https://psycnet.apa.org/ doi/10.1037/t05703-000
  17. Harter S. (2015). The construction of the self: Developmental and sociocultural founda- tions. New York: Guilford Publications.
  18. Hendry A., Jones E., & Charman T. (2016). Executive function in the first three years of life: Precursors, predictors and patterns. Developmental Review, 42, 1–33.
  19. Hill D. (2017). Teoria della regolazione affettiva. Un modello clinico. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  20. Homayoon M.N., & Almasi M. (2021). The Role of Family Communication Patterns and Parenting Styles in the Self-Esteem of Students with Learning Disabilities. Journal of Fa- mily Relations Studies, 1(2), 17–27.
  21. Imbasciati A., & Cena L. (2015). Psicologia Clinica Perinatale per gli operatori sanitari e psicosociali. Vol. II - Genitorialità e origine della mente del bambino. Milano: Franco Angeli.
  22. Koskulu-Sancar S., van de Weijer-Bergsma E., Mulder H., & Blom E. (2023). Examining the role of parents and teachers in executive function development in early and middle childhood: A systematic review. Developmental Review, 64, 10163.
  23. Levy K.N., Ellison W.D., Scott L.N., & Bernecker S.L. (2010). Attachment style. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67(2), 193–203.
  24. Maccoby E.E. (1994). The role of parents in the socialization of children: An historical overview. In: Parke R.D., Ornstein P.A., Rieser J.J., & Zahn-Waxler C. (Eds.), A century of developmental psychology. Washington: American Psychological Association (pp. 589–615).
  25. Madigan S., Oatley H., Racine N., Fearon R., Schumacher L., Akbari E., & Tarabulsy
  26. G. (2018). A meta-analysis of maternal prenatal depression and anxiety on child socioemo- tional development. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(9), 645–657.
  27. Main M., Kaplan N., & Cassidy J. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood and adulthood: a move to the level of representation. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Deve- lopment, 50(1/2), 66–104. DOI: 10.2307/333382
  28. Main M., Solomon J., Brazelton T.B., & Yogman M.W. (1986). Affective development in infancy. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
  29. Marek S., & Dosenbach N.U. (2022). The frontoparietal network: Function, electrophysio- logy, and importance of individual precision mapping. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 20(2), 133–140.
  30. Metwally A.M., Salah El-Din E.M., Shehata M.A., Shaalan A., El Etreby L.A., Kan- deel W.A., & Rabah T.M. (2016). Early life predictors of socio-emotional development in a sample of Egyptian infants. PLoS One, 11(7), e0158086.
  31. Miyake A., & Friedman N. (2012). The nature and organization of individual differences in executive functions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(1), 8–14. DOI: 10.1177/096372141142945
  32. Moses L.J., Carlson S.M., & Sabbagh M.A. (2005). On the specificity of the relation between executive function and children’s theories of mind. In: Schneider W., Schumann- Hengsteler R., & Sodian B. (Eds.), Young children’s cognitive development: Interrela- tionships among executive functioning, working memory, verbal ability, and theory of mind. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers (pp. 131–145).
  33. Nordahl D., Rognmo K., Bohne A., Landsem I.P., Moe V., Wang C.E.A., & Hoifodt R.S. (2020). Adult attachment style and maternal-infant bonding: the indirect path of parenting stress. BMC psychology, 8(1), 58.
  34. Parsa N., Yaacob S. N., Parsa P., & Esmaeili N.S. (2014). Parental attachment, inter-pa- rental conflict and late adolescent’s self-efficacy. Asian Social Science, 10(8), 123.
  35. Posada G., Waters E., Vaughn B.E., Pederson D.R., & Moran G. (2021). Mary Ainsworth, ethology, and maternal sensitivity. In: Waters E., Vaughn B.E., & Waters H.S. (Eds.), Measuring attachment: Developmental assessment across the life-span. New York: Guilford (pp. 1–38).
  36. Pellisier H. (2020). Stress and your child’s brain. Great schools. -- http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/how-stress-affects-your-child/ retrieved 2024-04-08
  37. Rose-Krasnor L. (1997). The nature of social competence: A theoretical review. Social De- velopment, 6(1), 111–135.
  38. Sabbagh M.A., Xu F., Carlson S.M., Moses L.J., & Lee K. (2006). The development of executive functioning and theory of mind: A comparison of Chinese and US preschoolers. Psychological science, 17(1), 74–81.
  39. Seim A.R., Jozefiak T., Wichstrøm L., Lydersen S., & Kayed N.S. (2021). Self-esteem in adolescents with reactive attachment disorder or disinhibited social engagement disorder. Child Abuse & Neglect, 118, 105141.
  40. Shah S., Laplante D., Atkinson L., & Wazana A. (2022). From temperament and paren- ting to attachment: a review of the interplay of gene and environment factors in the deve- lopmental pathway to attachment. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 35(6), 401–408. DOI: 10.1097/YCO.000000000000081
  41. Sheffield J.M., Repovs G., Harms M.P., Carter C.S., Gold J.M., MacDonald A.W. III, Ragland J.D., Silverstein S.M., Godwin D., & Barch D.M. (2015). Frontoparietal and cingulo-opercular network integrity and cognition in health and schizophrenia. Neuropsy- chologia, 73, 82–93.
  42. Shore A. (1994). Affect Regulation and the origin of the self: the neurobiology of emotional development. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
  43. Siegel D.J. (1999). La Mente Relazionale: Neurobiologia dell’Esperienza Interpersonale. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  44. Slot P.L., & Von Suchodoletz A. (2018). Bidirectionality in preschool children’s executive functions and language skills: Is one developing skill the better predictor of the other?. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 42, 205–214.
  45. Venuti P., Rigo P., & Simonelli A. (2018). Basi biologiche della Funzione Genitoriale: Condizioni Tipiche e Atipiche. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  46. Von Soest T., Wichstrøm L., & Kvalem I.L. (2016). The development of global and do- main-specific self-esteem from age 13 to 31. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110(4), 592.
  47. Wei W., Lu W.-T., Huang M.-M., & Li Y. (2023). Revisiting the relationship between ma- ternal parenting behaviors and executive functions in young children. Effect of measurement methods. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 985889.
  48. Williams G.V., & Goldman-Rakic P.S. (1995). Modulation of memory fields by do- pamine D1 receptors in prefrontal cortex. Nature, 376(6541), 572–575.
  49. Winnicott D.W. (1947). The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment. London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-Analysis
  50. Zajicek-Farber M., Mayer L., & Daughtery L. (2012). Connections among parental mental health, stress, child routines, and early emotional behavioral regulation of preschool children in low-income families. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 3(1), 31–50.
  51. Zelazo P.D., & Müller U. (2011). Executive function in typical and atypical development. In: Goswami U. (Ed.), Handbook of childhood cognitive development. Hoboken: Wiley- Blackwell (pp. 574–603).

Stefania Carbonella, Marilena Coniglio, Stili di attaccamento genitoriale e salute mentale dei figli in "PNEI REVIEW" 1/2024, pp 7-21, DOI: 10.3280/PNEI2024-001002