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SECURE BASE SCRIPT CONTENT EXPLAINS THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ATTACHMENT AVOIDANCE AND EMOTION‐RELATED CONSTRUCTS IN PARENTS OF YOUNG CHILDREN
Author(s) -
Borelli Jessica L.,
Burkhart Margaret L.,
Rasmussen Hannah F.,
Brody Robin,
Sbarra David A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/imhj.21632
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , association (psychology) , narrative , attachment theory , humanities , psychotherapist , art , literature
The secure base script (SBS) framework is one method of assessing implicit internal working models of attachment; recently, researchers have applied this method to analyze narratives regarding relationship experiences. This study examines the associations between attachment avoidance and SBS content when parents recall a positive moment of connection between themselves and their children ( relational savoring ) as well as their association with parental emotion and reflective functioning (RF). Using a sample of parents ( N = 155, 92% female) of young children (53% boys, M age = 12.76 months), we found that parental attachment avoidance is inversely associated with SBS content during relational savoring, and that SBS content is an indirect effect explaining the association between attachment avoidance and postsavoring (positive and negative) emotion as well as avoidance and poststressor RF. Findings have implications for understanding attachment and parenting.