Attachment to mothers and fathers during middle childhood: an evidence from Polish sample

Abstract

BackgroundMiddle childhood is a significant period of change both for a child’s cognition and social functioning. Considering that the primary developmental theme of attachment in middle childhood is the balance between child’s growing autonomy and the constant need of relatedness, cultural differences in developmental trends in the attachment might be considered as a function of individualism and collectivism orientations. However, little is known about whether the findings on predictors of individual differences in the attachment in middle childhood found in Western cultures, hold within the non-Western ones. Moreover, still little is known about differences between attachment to mothers and fathers in middle childhood. Hence, one goal of the present study was to investigate the role of a child’s age, sex, and emotionality in a middle-childhood attachment to mothers and fathers in the Polish sample. The second aim was to compare obtained results to the attachment research that focused on Western cultures.MethodsThe sample consisted of 132 children aged 8–12 years (51% boys). They completed the Kern’s Security Scale and the Coping Strategies Questionnaire. Mothers completed a child’s EAS-C and short sociodemographic questionnaire. Pearson’s correlations were conducted to test relationships between a child’s age, sex, emotionality, SES, and attachment-related variables. A paired-samples t-test was used to compare the intensity of preoccupied and avoidant coping strategies with parents in the whole sample. The effects of a child’s age, sex, temperament, and attachment figure were tested with separate repeated-measures ANOVA.ResultsSome of the results replicated prior studies conducted in Western cultures. Similarly to the individualistic cultures, older Polish children reported less preoccupied and more avoidant coping strategies with their parents than younger children. Second, older girls reported higher felt-security with their fathers than with mothers, which suggests some significant changes in attachment relationships regarding the child’s sex. However, as opposed to Western cultures, there were no links between the child’s sex and preoccupied and avoidant coping. Polish children also reported higher rates of preoccupied coping than the avoidant one. Finally, children with relatively lower emotionality reported higher attachment security with both parents than children with relatively higher emotionality.ConclusionsThe current study extends previous work on attachment in middle childhood, the area of rather sparse research, as compared to other developmental periods. The findings reveal the existence of both some specificity in the middle-child attachment in the Polish sample, as well as some culture-universal developmental trends. However, as many questions remain unanswered, they also highlight the strong need for future cross-cultural and comparative studies.

A Cross-Cultural Study on Attachment and Adjustment Difficulties in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Self-Control in Italy, Spain, China, and Poland

“…It is noteworthy that the inclusion of gender as a covariate in all models did not suggest gender differences. This is in contrast with the broader literature, whereby the influence of the two parental figures upon adjustment changes as a function of children's and adolescents' gender [31,35,38,39,41].…”

“…It is noteworthy the differential contribution of maternal vs. paternal attachment upon adolescents' adjustment. Indeed, although mothers have historically been the parental figure mostly and mainly involved, compared to fathers, in the child-rearing process [17,[30][31][32][33][34], fathers also contribute to children and adolescents' adjustment [35][36][37][38][39][40]. However, research findings have highlighted the differential contribution of paternal vs. maternal attachment upon youngsters' adjustment and mental health changes as a function of the youth's gender [31,35,38,39,41], culture [42,43], and the related parenting practices [43,44].…”

“…Indeed, although mothers have historically been the parental figure mostly and mainly involved, compared to fathers, in the child-rearing process [17,[30][31][32][33][34], fathers also contribute to children and adolescents' adjustment [35][36][37][38][39][40]. However, research findings have highlighted the differential contribution of paternal vs. maternal attachment upon youngsters' adjustment and mental health changes as a function of the youth's gender [31,35,38,39,41], culture [42,43], and the related parenting practices [43,44]. As such, although it is clear that attachment to both parental figures is protective toward adolescent adjustment [35][36][37][38][39][40], the different influence of attachment to mothers vs. fathers needs to be further investigated.…”

“…However, research findings have highlighted the differential contribution of paternal vs. maternal attachment upon youngsters' adjustment and mental health changes as a function of the youth's gender [31,35,38,39,41], culture [42,43], and the related parenting practices [43,44]. As such, although it is clear that attachment to both parental figures is protective toward adolescent adjustment [35][36][37][38][39][40], the different influence of attachment to mothers vs. fathers needs to be further investigated.…”

Attachment representations to parents and emotional-behavioral problems: A comparison between children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and healthy children in middle childhood

“…Thus, the focus on the psychological processes of middle childhood may help clinicians to understand their impact on adaptation and consequently on the management of this chronic disease. In this way, middle childhood is a relevant period for profound emotional, cognitive and social changes in which the independence from parents increases, there is a greater investment in peer relationships, and the conflicts with parents increase (Bosmans & Kerns, 2015; Kamza, 2019). Concerning T1D children in middle childhood, they may be more vulnerable to have a weakened image of one’s identity and feel horizontal relationships more difficult; there may be a desire not to reveal one’s illness, as well as hiding from, and even failing to complete, therapeutic practices.…”