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The interaction of maternal and infant vulnerabilities on developing attachment relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2001

JULIE POEHLMANN  and
BARBARA H. FIESE
JULIE POEHLMANN
Affiliation:
Syracuse University
BARBARA H. FIESE
Affiliation:
Syracuse University
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Abstract

The present study sought to document an example of how maternal and infant vulnerabilities interact in contributing to the quality of early attachment relationships. Maternal depressive symptoms, neonatal health characteristics, and infant–mother attachment were assessed for 42 preterm, low birth weight infants and 42 full-term infants at 12 months postterm. Results indicated that preterm birth moderated the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and quality of infant–mother attachment, even controlling for level of neonatal health complications. Preterm infants with more symptomatic mothers were most likely to be classified as insecurely attached to their mothers, whereas no direct relation between subclinical depressive symptoms and attachment was found for full-term infants.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , March 2001 , pp. 1 - 11
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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