Utilizing Mindfulness to Foster Secure Attachment in Early Parent-Child Relationships

Parenting is an important process that occurs in the lives of many people as they seek to promote and support the developmental, emotional, cognitive, and social development of a child. Psychiatrist John Bowlby has contributed greatly to the field of parent-child relationships and pioneered the work in attachment theory. The security in attachment between a parent and child influences the development and ability of the child to relate to others and to his environment. Various factors can affect a parent’s ability to develop a secure attachment with her child and thus her parental efficacy. Research has indicated mothers experiencing depression have more negative interactions with their children. Insecure attachment and increased negative parent-child interactions can cause children to have behavioral, cognitive, and emotional issues and affect their adulthood. Mindfulness has a long-standing origin but has become a topic of increasing psychological interest. Bringing awareness to the present moment and other tenets of mindfulness have crossed into psychological interventions and treatment. Research into this relatively new concept in psychology has indicated beneficial results in the treatment of several psychological disorders including depression. The promising indications from mindfulness research with depression have demonstrated the usefulness of mindfulness application for insecure attachment and parenting interventions. Focusing on utilizing mindfulness in the parent-child relationship promotes not only the intra-psychic benefits of mindfulness but interpersonal dynamics between parent and child as well. Preventative parenting interventions can utilize mindfulness to help parents become more mindful people and effective in parent-child interactions. The roundtable discussion will involve examining current and potential interventions that utilize mindfulness to enhance interpersonal relationships, focusing on the parent-child relationship. The possible effect of mindfulness on increasing attachment will be explored. Current research in the field will be offered and potential results for early parenting interventions utilizing mindfulness will be discussed