Revisiting the debate on effects of parental power-assertive control in two longitudinal studies: early attachment security as a moderator

Lilly C. Bendel-Stenzel; Danming An; Grazyna Kochanska

doi:10.1080/14616734.2023.2262979

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Revisiting the debate on effects of parental power-assertive control in two longitudinal studies: early attachment security as a moderator

Journal article

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Revisiting the debate on effects of parental power-assertive control in two longitudinal studies: early attachment security as a moderator

Lilly C. Bendel-Stenzel, Danming An and Grazyna Kochanska

Attachment & human development, Vol.25(5), pp.461-486

09/03/2023

DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2023.2262979

PMCID: PMC10841061

PMID: 37791805

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https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10841061/pdf/nihms-1933552.pdfView

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Abstract

Although there is a consensus that harsh, hostile, abusive discipline has uniformly adverse effects on children, scholars continue to debate implications of varying degrees of power assertion commonly used by most parents in daily interactions with young children. Attachment theory can inform this debate, as early attachment organization can serve as a catalyst, or moderator, of future socialization trajectories. Specifically, insecure attachment can amplify, whereas secure attachment can attenuate, detrimental effects of parental power-assertive control. In two community studies of mothers, fathers, and infants, Family Study (FS, N = 102), and Children and Parents Study (CAPS, N = 200), we assessed attachment security in infancy, parental power-assertive control at 4.5 years in FS and at 16 months in CAPS, and child positive orientation to the parent at 10 years in FS and at 3 years in CAPS. In both studies, fathers’ power-assertive control undermined children’s positive orientation toward the fathers, but only for children with less secure attachment histories in infancy (Attachment Q-Set in FS and Strange Situation Paradigm in CAPS), and not for those with more secure histories. The findings highlight indirect yet powerful, long-term effects of the early parent-child security, and suggest distinct processes in mother- and father-child dyads.

Details

Title: Subtitle: Revisiting the debate on effects of parental power-assertive control in two longitudinal studies: early attachment security as a moderator
Creators: Lilly C. Bendel-Stenzel - University of Iowa
Danming An - Lehigh University
Grazyna Kochanska - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Attachment & human development, Vol.25(5), pp.461-486
DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2023.2262979
PMID: 37791805
PMCID: PMC10841061
NLM abbreviation: Attach Hum Dev
ISSN: 1461-6734
eISSN: 1469-2988
Grant note: DOI: 10.13039/100009633, name: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, award: R01 HD069171, R01 HD091047; DOI: 10.13039/100006108, name: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, award: UL1TR002537; DOI: 10.13039/100000025, name: National Institute of Mental Health, award: R01 MH63096, K02 MH01446
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 10/04/2023
Date published: 09/03/2023
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984476431502771

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