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Beyond Sensitivity: Patterns Of Maternal Interaction In Secure Vs. Non-Secure Attachment Relationships, Tara Morley, Ya Xue, Kathleen O'Connor, Greg Moran, David Pederson, Sandi Bento

Psychology Presentations

Attachment theory proposes that the sensitivity of a mother’s interactions with her child is the main developmental determinant of the quality of their attachment relationship (Ainsworth et al., 1978; De Wolff & van Ijzendoorn, 1997).

Empirical findings have generally supported this assertion; however, the strength of this association remains a matter of debate as the results of empirical findings have been highly variable (Atkinson et al., 2000; DeWolff & van IJzendoorn, 1997).

Several researchers have suggested that assessing maternal behaviour as a single global dimension may fail to capture important variation in the quality of interactions that influence the developing …