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Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Attachment Behavior in Children
Author(s) -
O'Connor Mary J.,
Kogan Nina,
Findlay Richard
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2002.tb02460.x
Subject(s) - alcohol , coping (psychology) , prenatal alcohol exposure , psychology , affect (linguistics) , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , chemistry , biochemistry , communication
Background This study examined the association between prenatal alcohol exposure and attachment behavior in 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children. Prenatal alcohol exposure was hypothesized to be associated with insecure attachment behavior of the child toward the mother. It was also hypothesized that children with heavier prenatal alcohol exposure would exhibit higher levels of negative affect as well as poorer coping skills. The quality of maternal support in interaction with the child was predicted to mediate prenatal exposure effects. Methods Participants were 42 mother‐child dyads, the majority of whom came from poverty backgrounds in which the mother was a single parent. Attachment security was measured using the Attachment Q‐Set. Results Results revealed that prenatal alcohol exposure was highly related to attachment insecurity. Eighty percent of children who were exposed to alcohol during gestation were insecure, whereas 36% of unexposed children were insecure. Prenatal alcohol exposure also predicted child negative affect, which was related to lower levels of maternal emotional support of the child. However, when the mothers of the prenatally exposed children provided high levels of support, these children evidenced better coping skills and more secure attachment relations. Conclusions Although prenatal alcohol exposure was found to relate to higher levels of insecure attachment, children of mothers who provided them with emotional support were more able to deal with frustration. These children also exhibited higher levels of attachment security. Thus, the mother's supportive presence may mediate the association between prenatal alcohol exposure and the child's security of attachment.