BREAKING THE INTERGENERATIONAL CYCLE OF INSECURE ATTACHMENT - A REVIEW OF THE EFFECTS OF ATTACHMENT-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON MATERNAL SENSITIVITY AND INFANT SECURITY

In this paper the effectiveness of preventive of therapeutic intervent ions aiming at enhancing parental sensitivity and children's attachmen t security is addressed. Sixteen pertinent studies have been reviewed, and 12 studies have been included in a quantitative meta-analysis (N = 869). Results show that interventions are more effective in changing parental insensitivity (d = .58) than in changing children's attachme nt insecurity (d = .17). Longer, more intensive, and therapeutic inter ventions appear to be less effective than short-term preventive interv entions. Interventions which are effective at the behavioral level may not necessarily lead to changes in insecure mental representations of the parents involved. The implications of changes at the behavioral l evel (sensitivity; attachment) without accompanying changes at the rep resentational level will be discussed.