Article summary with Attachment security to mothers and fathers: A meta-analysis on mean-level differences and correlations of behavioral measures by Pinquart - 2021

What is attachment security?

Attachment security is the state of being secure or untroubled with the availability of an attachment figure. A child that is securely attached is confident in protection and trusts the attachment figure to be available and willing to provide comfort in the case of stress or threat. Having a secure attachment to parents has positive consequences for child development.

What are the theoretical arguments for children being more likely to form secure attachments with their mothers than their fathers?

Attachment to several figures tends to be hierarchically organized. The primary attachment figure is usually the mother. Also, security is influenced by the sensitivity of the response of the parents to the infant’s preferential bids for comfort and mothers tend to be more sensitive than fathers. However, more research is necessary to really test whether children are more secure with their mothers than with their fathers.

Why is children’s attachment security with both parents expected to be correlated?

There is evidence for an intergenerational transmission of security from parents to their children and security of both parents tends to be positively correlated. Also, the child’s temperament may cause similarities of attachment to different caregivers.

Do children show higher levels of attachment security with mothers than fathers?

The meta-analysis done by Pinquart (2021) found the following results:

• Attachment of children is, on average, slightly more secure with mothers than fathers.
• Attachment security with mothers and fathers is correlated.
• Correlations of attachments to mothers and fathers are larger in older children.
• Mean-level differences are larger when more children from non-intact families participate.

What could explain the larger mean-level differences when more children from non-intact families participate?

The results showed that higher attachment security with mothers compared to fathers was amplified if samples included more children from non-intact families in which the children tend to live with their mother. It is possible that the physical custody by an individual caregiver facilitates the development of a secure attachment relationship between the child and its caregiver. The development of a secure attachment with the other parents is hindered because that caregiver is less available for attending to the attachment needs.

Why can it not be concluded that young children are more likely to form secure attachments with their mothers than with their fathers?

Children tend to be slightly more secure with their mothers than with their fathers, but the size of this difference is very small in the first years of life. Larger differences emerge in non-intact families in which many fathers have limited opportunities to meet the attachment needs of their child, indicating a steeper attachment hierarchy.

What could explain the larger association of security with mothers and fathers in recent years?

A possible explanation can be found in the changes in the quality of fathers’ behavior and changes in women’s roles. Fathers are no longer simply breadwinners and are more involved in the day-to-day caretaking of their children, and women are no longer just mothering and often work outside of the home as well. This needs to be studied further.