At the heart of a debate… Stability vs. change of attachment orientations when facing to the transition to parenthood.
(2011) the 15th European Conference on Developmental Psychology — Location: Bergen, Norway (23.August.2011)
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- Abstract
- According to attachment theory, adult’s attachment orientations change during transition to parenthood. Attachment orientations are represented by two orthogonal dimensions: Anxiety (individuals worry that their close relatives do not really love them and are unavailable) and Avoidance (individuals desire limited intimacy with close relatives). People who score low on both dimensions are “secure”. Transition to parenthood is viewed as a period during which (a) individuals are more receptive to reevaluating and revising their current views of their relationships and (b) new personal and interpersonal experiences are lived. Previous studies have shown that it was an opportune time to experience changes in attachment orientations, accounting for spousal support. The present research intends to include an aspect of parenting: “coparenting” - how parents coordinate their parenting, support each other, and manage conflicts regarding child rearing. The objective is to examine changes in attachment orientations during transition to parenthood, with coparenting as a moderator. Two groups are compared: parents versus childless adults. First, no change would be observed in childless adults. Second, high-coparented parents would present a positive change (towards higher security). Third, low-coparented ones would present a negative change (towards higher anxiety or avoidance). This study is based on a 3-waves longitudinal program research (pregnancy, 6 months and 1 year postpartum). A questionnaire assessing attachment orientations and coparenting has been completed by 150 parents and childless adults. The results globally support our hypotheses. The discussion focuses on the relevance of considering coparenting as a moderator in adult attachment development both for research and clinical purposes.
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Galdiolo, S. (2011). At the heart of a debate… Stability vs. change of attachment orientations when facing to the transition to parenthood. the 15th European Conference on Developmental Psychology, Bergen, Norway. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/180386