Marital behavior and the security of preschooler-parent attachment relationships

Longitudinal and concurrent relations among positive and negative marital b ehaviors in 2 contexts and preschoolers' security of attachment were examin ed for 53 families. At 6 months postpartum, couples were observed in their homes during couple discussion and family play. At 3 years, parents complet ed the Attachment Q-Set (E. Waters, 1987); marital and parenting behavior w as also observed. Interparental hostility during family play at 6 months pr edicted less secure preschooler-mother attachment. Greater marital conflict at 3 years was associated with less security with mother and father, where as positive marital engagement at 3 years was associated with more secure c hild-father attachment. Mothers' parenting partially explained the linkages between marital behavior and child-mother attachment. These results highli ght the impact of positive and negative marital behaviors on children's abi lities to use their parents as a secure base.