| Research has demonstrated higher prevalence rates of maternal and child insecure attachment classifications in adolescent-mother child samples, relative to non-clinical samples. Substantial research has also established a correspondence between mothers' mental representations of their own attachment relationships and the quality of their child's attachments to them, as well as the contribution of maternal sensitivity in this transmission. Nonetheless, the extant research has revealed considerable unexplained proportion of variance in the transmission of attachment, suggesting that other elements of mother-child interactions and maternal psychosocial variables, such as maternal antisocial traits, should be investigated in adolescent mother-child dyads because of the high-risk ecology surrounding them. Indeed, associations have been shown between adolescent motherhood and a history of conduct problems in girls, as well as between maternal antisocial traits and both maternal insecure states of mind and negative parenting practices, which have been demonstrated to be linked to child insecurity. The latter illustrates the pertinence of examining the contribution of maternal callous-unemotional traits in the transmission of attachment in an adolescent mother-child sample. Moreover, owing to the fact that research examining the process of intergenerational transmission beyond the infancy period is scarce, the exploration of the preschool/early school-age period in adolescent mother-child samples constitutes an important avenue of research.; Research has also shown that there is a greater likelihood for children of early school-age of adolescent mothers to show problem behaviors, particularly of an aggressive nature. Although scant, research investigating associations between maternal representations of attachment and child externalizing behavior problems has demonstrated a relation between the unresolved attachment classification and child behavior problems, thereby suggesting the importance of examining the unresolved attachment classification in the prediction of child behavior problems, particularly of an externalizing nature. Furthermore, research has shown that among the insecure attachment classifications, infant and preschool or school-age disorganization is most closely associated with externalizing problems. However, the majority of studies have demonstrated associations between infant or toddler attachment and preschool or school-age adaptation.; Accordingly, the main objectives of this study were the examination, in a sample of 42 adolescent mothers and their 4--7 year old children, of: (1) the correspondence between maternal representations linked to insecurity (ie. low agency of self on the Adult Attachment Projective: George, West, & Pettem, 1997) and child attachment classifications designated using the Preschool Attachment Classification System (Cassidy & Marvin with the MacArthur Working Group on Attachment, 1992); (2) potential mechanisms involved in attachment transmission, namely mother-child interactions rated using an observational coding system developed by Moss, Humber, & Roberge (1996) and callous-unemotional traits assessed using the Antisocial Process Screening Device (Frick & Hare, 2001); (3) the roles of both mother and child attachment in the prediction of externalizing behavior problems (measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983); (4) a mediation model in which child attachment acts as a mediator in the relation between mother attachment and externalizing behavior problems; and finally (5) a moderation model investigating interactions between child and mother attachment in the prediction of externalizing behavior problems.; Results showed a significant correspondence between maternal representations of attachment and child attachment. Given that maternal and child attachment were not found to be associated with mother-child interactions, the mediating role of interactions... |
