Maternal Secure Base Scripts, Mother -Child Conversations, and Preschool Children's Attachment Security: A Comparison of *American and Korean Mothers and Their Children
Shin, Nana
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/87195
Description
Title
Maternal Secure Base Scripts, Mother -Child Conversations, and Preschool Children's Attachment Security: A Comparison of *American and Korean Mothers and Their Children
Author(s)
Shin, Nana
Issue Date
2007
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Kelly K. Bost
Department of Study
Human and Community Development
Discipline
Human and Community Development
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Speech Communication
Language
eng
Abstract
Attachment theory has provided an effective tool for examining early socioemotional and personality development. Caregiver sensitivity and responsiveness have shown to be crucial in forming a secure attachment relationship during the sensorimotor period. As children enter the preschool period, their developing linguistic and cognitive abilities makes it possible to access their attachment working models through their own narratives as well as through verbal conversations with others, especially with parents (Thompson, 1998, 2000). The purpose of this study was to examine links between maternal representations of attachment, mothers and child narrative style and content assessed in the context of reminisces about shared past experiences, and child attachment behavior and representations. A total of 30 American mother-child dyads and 28 Korean mother-child dyads participated in this study. Child attachment security was assessed using the attachment Q-set (AQS; secure base behavior) and MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB; attachment representations). Maternal attachment representations were measured using a recently designed instrument that assesses the script-like qualities of those representations. Mother-child narrative style and content were assessed using a memory talk procedure. Results indicated that maternal attachment script representations were significantly related to maternal narrative style and content, and these scores were significantly related to children's attachment scores in both cultural groups. Specifically, maternal secure base scripts were related to children's AQS security scores in both cultural groups. However, relations between maternal narrative variables and child attachment security differed somewhat across the two samples. In the U.S. sample, maternal narrative style and content were only significantly related to children's representation variables. In the Korean sample, maternal narrative variables were significantly related to both children's AQS and representation scores. In addition, maternal narrative style and content were significantly related to children's memory contribution and participation. The findings from the current study add to the literature by including maternal knowledge of secure base behavior when examining the relations between maternal narrative styles and attachment security.
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