How will the Parent-Child Relationship Developed in the Parent-Child Play at Nursery School Evolve?

— Based on Behaviors Related to Attachment —

Abstract

  How will the infant’s attachment developed in parent-child play at nursery school evolve? In this research, the development of the parent-child relationship related to the infant’s attachment is analyzed based on the parent-child play during a parents’ open day at a nursery school. First, parent-child play (36 pairs, the children’s mean age in months: 20.9, mothers’ average age: 33.7 years) was recorded on video and the behavior patterns of the children expressed in the parent-child relationship were classified according to six codes (contact-play, contact-looking on, proximity-play, proximity-looking on, separation-play, and separation-looking on). Next, a cluster analysis was carried out about the run times of each code. As a result, four groups (“the secure parent-child relationship”, “the parent-child relationship accompanied by separation anxiety”, “the parent-child relationship accompanied by secure desire” and “the parent-child relationship accompanied by conflict”) were identified. Following analysis of the run times of each code in the four groups, it was observed that the parent-child relationship with instability gradually developed into the secure state.