Infant mother and father attachment predict child behavior at 24 months

A large body of evidence indicates that secure infant-mother attachment significantly predicts optimal socialemotional development; however, fathers’ role in infancy has received less attention. Fathers’ role may be especially critical in families who are at higher risk due to fathers’ alcohol abuse/dependence and associated risks. We hypothesized that infants who are securely attached to both parents in the first year (as measured by the Strange Situation paradigm) of life will be more responsive and positive during play interactions with both parents in the second year. The sample consisted of 227 infants (50.1% female); 55.1% had a father who met the criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence. Results indicated that infants who were securely attached with both parents displayed higher positive affect, lower negative affect, more responsiveness and less passivity during parent-child interactions at 24 months, compared to infants who were insecurely attached to both parents