The Relation between Mothers' Early Childhood Attachment Patterns and Their Own Parenting

Abstract

　　The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible influence of mothers' childhood attachment patterns on their own parenting in adulthood. The participants of the study were mothers (n=201) who had children attending kindergarten, and their children's kindergarten teachers (n=16). The mothers were classified into three categories: avoidant, secure, and ambivalent, according to how they answered questions about their relationships with their own mothers in early childhood based on Ainsworth's attachment pattern. The data were analyzed in order to investigate the relation between mothers' attachment patterns and four factors: attitude toward child-rearing, acceptance of maternal role, marital mutuality, and their children's behavior at kindergarten.

　　The findings revealed that secure mothers had more receptive attitudes toward child-rearing, perceived their maternal role as more positive, and reported higher marital mutuality, compared with avoidant and ambivalent mothers. Avoidant mothers perceived their maternal role more negatively than did secure mothers. Children of avoidant mothers had more behavioral problems in kindergarten than children of secure mothers. The results showed that mothers' early childhood attachments to their own mothers influenced their parenting, and that avoidant and ambivalent mothers tended to have more difficulties in child-rearing than did secure mothers. It also suggests that secure attachment in early childhood is important for individuals who will become mothers and rear children themselves.