Intergenerational transmission of attachment Japanese mother-child dyads

The purpose of the present study was to examine intergenerational transmiss ion of attachment between 50 Japanese mothers and their preschool-age child ren. The mothers' present state of mind with respect to attachment was asse ssed using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI); their children's level of attachment security was measured using the Attachment Q-set (AQS). The resu lts indicated that the children of secure mothers had the highest security scores on the AQS, while the children of unresolved mothers had the lowest AQS scores. Moreover, secure mothers' children mere likely to interact posi tively with their mothers as well as with strangers, and their emotion regu lation was positively organized. In contrast, the children of unresolved mo thers acted negatively with their mothers and with strangers, and their beh avior was disorganized. Children of dismissing and preoccupied mothers did not show marked differences. The present study is the first non-Western sam ple documenting empirically the association between the AAI and the AQS. Fu ture research should ascertain the validity of the AAI and the AQS with Jap anese samples, and should examine the role of familial/social influences on the development of attachment.