The tactile context of a mother's caregiving: Implications for attachment of low birth weight infants

This study examined the degree to which specific properties of maternal tou ch may be associated with a low birth weight infant's security of attachmen t at one year of age, considering the potential modifying effects of matern al sensitivity and history of touch as well as infant gender and biological vulnerability. One hundred and thirty one socioculturally diverse infants and their mothers were evaluated for medical complications during the neona tal period, Videotapes were made of the infant-mother dyads during an infan t feeding at three months of age. Each videotape was analyzed for a mother' s properties of touch and her sensitivity as well as for infant responsiven ess. When the infant was six months old, each mother completed a questionna ire to determine felt security regarding her own history of touch as a chil d. Researchers completed the Attachment Q-Set for each infant at one year o f age. Analysis of covariance indicated that sheer frequency of touch had no relat ionship to infant attachment but use of nurturing touch by mothers was asso ciated with security of attachment. However, the degree of infant vulnerabi lity (i.e., perinatal complications, birthweight, and responsiveness) moder ated the effects of nurturing touch, Nurturing touch was associated with mo re secure attachment for robust infants but with less secure attachment for highly vulnerable babies. Neither maternal sensitivity nor gender appeared to moderate the relationship of touch to attachment or to have any direct relationship to attachment outcomes. Infant vulnerability decreased the lik elihood of a secure attachment while a mother's felt security regarding her own tactile experience as a child increased her infant's chances of having a secure attachment. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.