Mother Sensitivity And The Relationship Between Different Attachment Types Baby Internal Working Model

Internal working models refers to how his mother and other significant persons may be expected to behave, how he himself may be expected to behave, and how each interacts with all the others. These internal working models were thought to influence the child’s subsequent processing of social experiences and allow the child to anticipate, plan for, and adapt to his or her social world. However, little assessment has been conducted on internal working models of preverbal infants. Research has indicated maternal sensitivity is associated with internal working models in childhood. Moreover, there is inadequate research on maternal sensitivity and internal working models in infancy. It has been suggested that maternal sensitivity may affect infant’s attachment status. As such, internal working models may play an important role in relations between maternal sensitivity and infant’s attachment status.The current study explored relations among maternal sensitivity, internal working models of infant and infant’s attachment status. We hypothesized that infants of different attachment status have unique patterns of expectations of their mothers for separation, and their expectations about mother’s responsive behavior corresponds to maternal sensitivity. Forty one infants aged14moths and their mothers participated in the study. A visual habituation study using abstract animations tested the infants’internal work models of attachment. Infants’status was assessed using Strange Situation Procedure. And Maternal Behavior Q-Sort was estimated using maternal sensitivity in caregiver-infant interactions. The data were analyzed using repeated-measure analysis of variance,chi-square analyses, paired t tests, q-factor analysis and LCA.Results were as follows:(1) Securely attached infants expected caregivers to provide comfort. Insecure infants expected caregivers to withhold comfort.(2) The infants of the Child-center mothers expected caregivers to be responsive-The infants of the Self-center mothers expected caregivers to be unresponsive.(3) The results found by LCA indicate two models of attachment system:Category1, the infants of the Child-center mothers expected caregivers to be responsive, likely formed a secure attachment status. Category2, the infants of the Self-center mothers expected caregivers to be unresponsive, and show insecure attachment behavior in strange situation procedure.