Family cumulative risk and at-risk kindergarteners’ social competence: the mediating role of parent representations of the attachment relationship

Abstract

Secure attachment relationships have been linked to social competence in at-risk children. In the current study, we examined the role of parent secure base scripts in predicting at-risk kindergarteners' social competence. Parent representations of secure attachment were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between lower family cumulative risk and children's social competence. Participants included 106 kindergarteners and their primary caregivers recruited from three urban charter schools serving low-income families as a part of a longitudinal study. Lower levels of cumulative risk predicted greater secure attachment representations in parents, and scores on the secure base script assessment predicted children's social competence. An indirect relationship between lower cumulative risk and kindergarteners' social competence via parent secure base script scores was also supported. Parent script-based representations of the attachment relationship appear to be an important link between lower levels of cumulative risk and low-income kindergarteners' social competence. Implications of these findings for future interventions are discussed.

Hope as a Protective Factor: Relations to Adverse Childhood Experiences, Delinquency, and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

“…Despite the risks associated with ACEs including delinquency and symptoms of post-traumatic stress, many adolescents with histories of adverse experiences demonstrate resilience in the face of adversity through adaptations that allow them to regain positive functioning (Rutter, 2012;Sapienza & Masten, 2011). Much of the work examining resilience involves contextual adaptive processes, or protective factors, that can help to foster resilient coping in the midst of adverse circumstances (Shiner & Masten, 2012;Sparks et al, 2018). While the term "protective factor" has a variety of meanings in contemporary literature, in the present study this term is used to label a positive individual quality that promotes positive adaptation to risky or adverse circumstances (Masten, 2001).…”

Evaluating risk factors in relation to preschool social–emotional skills using a person‐centred approach

“…The selection of demographic risk factors was determined based on previous literature (Felitti et al, 1998; Lengua et al, 2007; Sparks et al, 2017; Zeanah & Sonuga‐Barke, 2016) and limited to the accessible secondary data. In total, we included eight different risk variables from parent questionnaires, including ethnicity, poverty, parent education, parent depression, parent stress, father figure absence, single‐parent household and significant threatening experiences.…”

“…Other research has shown, more specifically, that lacking the presence of a father figure can be another significant risk factor for child development (Sarkadi et al, 2008; Yoon et al, 2018). Additionally, caregiver characteristics, such as parent stress and depression, and the experience of significant negative life events are also commonly considered as risk factors in early development (Felitti et al, 1998; Lengua et al, 2007; Sparks et al, 2017; Zeanah & Sonuga‐Barke, 2016).…”

Family risk and early attachment development: The differential role of parental sensitivity

“…(2010) concluded that cumulative risks do not better explain the development of insecure attachment than single risk factors. However, numerous studies have reported that specific constellations of risks are generally less strongly associated with negative developmental child outcomes than accumulated risk factors, and many families experience multiple risk factors (Evans et al., 2013; Sparks et al., 2018). Furthermore, empirical evidence shows that cumulative risk can indeed play a central role in the development of attachment insecurity (Candelaria et al., 2011; De Falco et al., 2014; Shaw & Vondra, 1993).…”