T. Jacobsen et al., Maternal expressed emotion related to attachment disorganization in early childhood: A preliminary report, J CHILD PSY, 41(7), 2000, pp. 899-906
Citations number
44
Categorie Soggetti
Psychiatry
Journal title
JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES
Using a longitudinal sample of children, this study examined the relation b
etween maternal Expressed Emotion (EE) and mother-child attachment disorgan
ization at age 6 years. A nonclinical sample of 33 children (at ages 12 mon
ths and 18 months) from Berlin, Germany participated with their mothers in
Ainsworth's Strange Situation. Thirty-two children were again observed with
their mothers at age 6 years in a standard laboratory attachment observati
on. At the time of the 6-year assessment, maternal EE was assessed based on
a Five-Minute Speech Sample. Mothers also completed the Life Events Questi
onnaire, a measure of family stress, and the Present State Examination, a m
easure of maternal depression.
Maternal Expressed Emotion was significantly linked to mother-child attachm
ent security at age 6 years. Further analyses revealed that High EE was mos
t closely linked to the disorganized attachment pattern at age 6 years, an
at-risk attachment pattern that has been associated with intrusive and host
ile maternal behavior. The relationship was upheld when other relevant vari
ables, including infant attachment disorganization and a measure of perceiv
ed family stress, were simultaneously considered. The study provides indepe
ndent validation of Expressed Emotion as a measure of relationship quality
in early childhood. It also provides a basis for the further investigation
of the nature of the relation between maternal Expressed Emotion and attach
ment disorganization.