Dyadic synchrony, the temporal alignment of behaviors and affect between mother and child, is central to successful interactions. The role of maternal ADHD symptoms in this process is underexplored. Thirty mother-child dyads engaged in a free-play task. Maternal ADHD symptoms were assessed, dyadic synchrony was measured with human-coded ratings (Coding Interactive Behavior, CIB) and automated analysis (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA), and maternal affect was assessed before and after the interaction. Higher maternal ADHD symptoms were linked to lower CIB-rated synchrony, but not maternal affect. MEA showed complementary patterns, correlating with specific CIB dimensions. Findings highlight maternal ADHD symptomology as a risk factor for reduced dyadic synchrony and suggest additive value in combining human-coded and automated assessments.

Teachers' mentalization may be particularly important for fostering positive classroom environments that support children's cognitive and social-emotional development. To date, no studies have directly examined whether enhancing teachers' mentalizing abilities leads to improvements in classroom climate. This study evaluated the impact of DUET, a mentalization-based group intervention for early childhood teachers and examined whether improvements in teachers' mentalizing abilities were related to enhanced classroom Emotional Support, a key component of classroom climate. Eighty-six early childhood teachers participated in the intervention. Teachers' mentalizing abilities and classroom Emotional Support were evaluated pre- and post-intervention. Following the intervention, significant improvements were observed in both teachers' mentalizing abilities and classroom climate. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that changes in teachers' mentalizing abilities significantly predicted improvements in classroom climate. These findings suggest that targeting teachers' mentalization capacities may be a promising approach for creating more supportive early childhood learning environments.

Although 2023 U.S.-Mexico border encounters reached record levels, many involving Latinx immigrant youth vulnerable to trauma and mental health difficulties, little is known about linguistic features in these youths' attachment narratives. This study analyzed Child Attachment Interview (CAI) transcripts from 109 recently immigrated Central American high school students. Transcripts were processed with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software to capture linguistic markers of attachment and were also coded using established CAI procedures for comparison across modalities. With no prior research using CAI and LIWC in Spanish, analyses were exploratory. Findings aligned with earlier work: LIWC markers of security included greater use of cognitive, achievement, and anxiety words, reflecting coherence and openness. Dismissing narratives showed more negations, motion words, and adverbs, while preoccupied narratives featured more hearing words and fewer work terms. LIWC reliably distinguished attachment patterns in immigrant youth, underscoring the need for attachment-focused research and interventions.

One pathway to children's antisocial orientations implicates a longitudinal sequence from parents' attachment insecurity to their hostile representations of the child (Internal Working Models, IWMs) to negative parenting. The relevant research, however, is subject to limitations. One, although parts of that path have been robustly supported, few studies have formally examined the entire longitudinal cascade. Two, the pertinent studies have rarely considered child temperament. In a study of 200 families (mothers, fathers, and children), we examined whether the path from parental insecurity in infancy, to parental hostile IWMs of the child, to negative parenting, both at toddler age, to children's antisocial orientation at preschool age was moderated by children's toddler-age temperament. For mothers and children, the path was found only for children with highly difficult temperaments. Research bridging frameworks informed by attachment theory, social cognitive representations, parenting, and temperament can enhance our understanding of early origins of antisocial outcomes.

Crime is among the most important issues to U.S. voters, often determining the outcome of major elections, with consequences for public policy. In two studies, we examine the role of attachment in predicting responses to crime. In Study 1 ( = 561), attachment avoidance was associated with reduced support for restorative justice. Attachment anxiety was indirectly linked to support for retributive justice, via heightened beliefs in a dangerous world and mindsets that people cannot change. Study 2 ( = 327) replicated results from Study 1 and demonstrated that a brief experimental intervention to boost individuals' felt security reduced negative attributions about a crime suspect's motives. Among participants high in attachment avoidance at baseline, boosting security mitigated punitive responses toward the suspect - reducing recommended jail time, pessimistic beliefs about rehabilitation, negative attributions, and negative emotions. Findings have implications for understanding and shifting public attitudes and policy regarding criminal justice.

Infants' mental representations of attachment are thought to develop across the first year. Due to methodological challenges, empirical attempts to assess these representations are scarce. The study presents a preliminary attempt to validate a measure of infants' attachment representations. Seventy-two mother-infant dyads (34 girls) were assessed. At 4-months, 60 dyads were observed during free-play interactions. At 10-months, 72 infants viewed a puppet-show depicting a responsive vs. an unresponsive parent-puppet. Looking-time patterns indexed infants' expectations, and puppet choice indexed infants' preference for parent-puppets' responsiveness. Infants generally expected (d = 0.42) and preferred (66%) parent-puppet-responsiveness. Moreover, maternal "responsive secure-base" behavior at 4-months was associated with infants' expectations ( = .29,  = .025) and preference (d = 0.6) for responsiveness at 10-months. Findings support theoretical concepts, providing preliminary evidence for infants' preverbal attachment representations and their roots in early social experience with their attachment figures. Future research using larger samples and standard attachment assessments is needed to validate this measure.

The ability to openly consider the mental states of others has been termed mentalizing and is crucial to maintaining interpersonal relationships. Theory and previous research findings suggest that emotional arousal may impact mentalization. This study examined whether the arousal associated with a relational rupture impacted young adults' ability to mentalize about their family member with whom they were in conflict. Fifty-four young adults were interviewed about an ongoing conflict with a significant family member. Average heart rate, skin conductance, and level of mentalization were measured at the speech-turn level. Results showed a curvilinear association between mean heart rate and reflective functioning (RF). No effects were found for skin conductance. Logistic regression showed RF scores predicted participants' readiness to engage in information gathering. Moderate emotional arousal was associated with higher RF, and those with higher RF were nearly twice as likely to be ready to gather new information from the other.

Parental labour migration is a widespread phenomenon in developing countries across Central and Eastern Europe and may impact the emotional security of Left-Behind Children (LBC) due to prolonged separation from primary attachment figures. In Romania, official data estimate that nearly 58,000 children have parents working abroad. Parental migration has both positive and negative effects on children's development. This review examines the scope of the phenomenon and its psychological impact on Romanian children. A literature search was conducted across Web of Science, PubMed, SAGE, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and Google Scholar for studies published between 2007 and 2024. Fourteen studies were included, highlighting psychological effects of parental migration on children's mental health and parent-child relationships. The findings are discussed through the lens of attachment theory. Further research is needed to understand the long-term consequences of such separations. The findings are relevant not only to researchers but also to institutions seeking to develop policies aimed at reducing parental labour migration or mitigating its negative impact on LBC.

The Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) has long been central to attachment research but has rarely been applied to diverse family forms, such as same-sex parent families and families formed through assisted reproductive technologies (ART). This study was the first to use the SSP to compare attachment classifications across same-sex male parent families, same-sex female parent families, and different-sex parent families formed through ART. Data came from the New Parents Study, including 229 parent-child dyads (115 families, including 16 twin families) from the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom, with children assessed around 12 months of age. Multinominal regression analyses showed no associaton between family type and attachment classification. However, children from the Netherlands were more likely to be classified as securely attached. These findings suggest that infant-parent attachment secruity does not differ by family type, expanding the understanding of attachment beyond the traditional mother-father paradigm.

To better understand perceptions and self-evaluations of sensitive caregiving in Singapore we examined observed (301) and self-reported (85) maternal behavior, as well as local early educators' ( = 57) opinions concerning ideal maternal behavior, which we then used to create a local MBQS ideal criterion. The association between local educators' MBQS sorting and the standard MBQS ideal criterion was  = 0.67, indicating alignment. Maternal observed and self-reported scores were not significantly associated (MBQS sensitivity criterion:  = -0.13,  = .317; Local criterion:  = -0.10,  = .441). Observed scores (Sensitivity:  = 0.21, Local criterion:  = 0.27) were lower than self-reported scores (Sensitivity:  = 0.62, (63) = -8.05,  < .001; Local criterion:  = 0.59, (57) = -7.77,  < .001). The findings reinforce those of past research concerning cross-cultural similarities and limitations in self-reports. Regarding interventional efforts, these point to the need to counter parental resistance to intervention as "unnecessary" with a better understanding of the limits of self-evaluation. Concerning interventional efficacy, the need for observational assessment of change is reinforced.

Relational savoring improves parents' well-being but has seldom been tested outside of the United States. In Iran, discussing parenting difficulties is taboo, and there is less emphasis on the experience of joy in motherhood. This cultural variation underscores the need to examine the effects of relational savoring, which focuses on heightening positive emotion in the context of parenthood. In this study conducted in Iran, mothers of children ages 5 and under ( = 100) were randomized into the experimental (4 weekly relational savoring sessions) or control group (no intervention). Participants were assessed at pretest, posttest, and 2-month follow-up. Compared to control group mothers, relational savoring mothers had higher closeness to child and availability at post-test and 2-month follow-up. There were no differential impacts on parenting competence and sensitivity/responsiveness. This program can be effective in improving aspects of the mother-child relationship among mothers of young children in Iran.

Infants depend on sensitive caregivers to develop secure attachments, and attachment-based interventions like Minding the Baby® (MTB), aim to support sensitive parenting in families at risk. MTB is an interdisciplinary home visiting intervention starting in the third trimester and continuing until age two. This cluster quasi-randomized trial examined the effects of MTB among 256 pregnant women at risk of adversity. No significant differences were found between MTB and care-as-usual groups on the primary outcome parental sensitivity at 12 or 24 months postpartum. Children in the MTB group exhibited significantly less withdrawal at 12 months (b = -0.17, CI: [-0.33, -0.02], d = -0.43), an effect not sustained at 24 months. For the remaining subscales intrusiveness, limit setting, involvement, compliance, dyadic reciprocity, and dyadic negative states, no significant differences were found between the groups at either time point. However, we observed significant within-group improvements in parental sensitivity and dyadic reciprocity in the MTB group from 12 to 24 months.Trial registration: The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03495895) on April 12th, 2018.

Since the inception of attachment theory, parent-child relationships has been examined in different populations, including autistic children. Attachment in autistic children has been measured using inconsistent separation-reunion procedures, making it difficult to examine whether autistic children are more or less likely to develop a secure attachment compared to non-autistic children. This study aims to meta-analyze data from studies that have assessed attachment in autistic children using a standardized version of the Strange Situation Procedure. Using the CASCADE catalogue, we identified six studies ( = 202). Results revealed that 45.6% were classified as secure, 18.7% as avoidant, 8.5% as resistant, and 27.2% as disorganized, which was statistically similar to the proportions of attachment categories in general population. Moderator analyses revealed a higher proportion of secure attachment among older children and more recently published studies. Future research should focus on unifying methodological approaches to studying attachment in autistic children.

Despite advances in the measurement of parent-child attachment in middle childhood and early adolescence, most studies relied on a single measure to assess attachment and few studies tested the core assumption that parenting and parents' own attachment models are key factors associated with parent-child attachment security. We aimed to: (a) evaluate a multi-method approach to assessing attachment that included the Middle Childhood Attachment Coding System (MCAS), a behavioral measure of parent-child attachment; and (b) test a model linking parenting, parent attachment, and attachment security. Participants included 179 mother-child dyads with children aged 9-14 years. MCAS patterns showed some associations with a questionnaire measure of attachment security, but they were unrelated to narrative coherence on an autobiographical interview. MCAS patterns, reported attachment security, and narrative coherence showed some associations with maternal sensitivity and autonomy support. MCAS security was associated with maternal secure base scripts. A model assessing how parenting and maternal attachment scripts relate to a latent construct of security composed of narrative coherence, children's perceptions of security, and observed MCAS security fits the data well. Findings provide support for the use of multiple measurement approaches when disentangling associations of parent-child attachment and broadening the research focus on attachment and parenting.

Attachment theory has demonstrated the longitudinal impact that aspects of the parent-child dyad have on youth's social-emotional development. Yet, little to no work has investigated whether parents' attachment, including parental secure base script (SBS) knowledge and parental attachment styles, are associated with youth's social-emotional functioning or examined mechanisms by which parents' attachment leads to social-emotional functioning. Even less research has examined the role of parents' attachment in parent-child dyads with youth diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; further identified as autistic youth) and its impact on their subsequent social-emotional development. Thus, the current pre-registered study assessed whether parents' attachment was associated with children's maladaptive (internalizing/externalizing symptoms) and adaptive (social competence) social-emotional functioning via parenting quality (authoritative parenting) in 108 nonautistic parent-child dyads and 49 autistic parent-child dyads. Separate structural equation models were run by group. Higher levels of parents' SBS knowledge predicted social competence in autistic parent-child dyads. Additionally, higher levels of parents' predicted lower levels of social competence in autistic parent-child dyads. predicted lower levels of social competence in nonautistic parent-child dyads and higher levels of externalizing symptoms in autistic parent-child dyads. Results suggest parents' attachment representations may have unique contributions to youth's social-emotional functioning.

Maternal childhood maltreatment is associated with child psychopathology in the next generation. One mechanism proposed to underly this intergenerational transmission is alterations in infant stress systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and limbic brain regions. McLaughlin and colleagues have shown that direct experiences of threat versus deprivation have different effects on brain development and need to be studied separately. However, human and animal studies generate contrasting predictions about how threat versus deprivation experiences might affect stress systems in infancy. The current paper reviews emerging findings from the Mother-Infant Neurobiological Development (MIND) Study regarding the intergenerational transmission of effects of threat versus deprivation and proposes a Developmental Salience Model of Threat to integrate findings in human and animal literatures. This model proposes that threat of lack of care poses the first survival threat across species and therefore is more salient than threat of attack for stress-sensitive brain regions in infancy.

Foster children face an elevated risk of behavioral and mental health challenges, often stemming from early adversities such as abuse, neglect, or parental incapacity. This study assessed attachment representations in 28 Danish foster children (ages 4-10) using the Story Stem Assessment Profile (SSAP). Participants were enrolled in a trial comparing Mentalization-Based Family Therapy (MBT) to Care as Usual (CAU). Foster children showed more attachment disorganization than a community sample ((27) = 2.474,  = .019). Post-treatment, attachment security increased (z = -3.23,  = .001) and disorganization decreased (z = -2.82,  = .005). Age and gender patterns highlighted the need for specific SSAP norms. SSAP narratives were also coded for content reflecting the children's personal experiences to explore the intersection of their attachment representations and lived experiences. Fifteen children included narrative content of personal experiences, offering qualitative insights. These findings underscore the importance of tailored interventions and further investigation into attachment processes among foster children.

This paper reports on Adult Attachment Interviews (AAIs) obtained from a low-risk sample of 51 pregnant women expecting their first child who were interviewed again when the child was five years of age. This is the first report of test-retest results that extends over five years that includes the transition to motherhood. Results suggest significant levels of continuity at the level of AAI classifications with three-way stability being 90% and two-way stability being 88%. When change was observed, it was more likely to be a move toward rather than away from security. At the level of dimensional scores, significant changes indicated a softening stance with higher coherence ratings, lower idealization scores, and less insistence on an inability to recall. This move toward a significantly more balanced state of mind regarding attachment was most evident among those mothers who maintained or became autonomous-secure.