Attachment in Mothers with Anxiety Disorders and Their Children

MANASSIS, KATHARINA; BRADLEY, SUSAN; GOLDBERG, SUSAN; HOOD, JANE; SWINSON, RICHARD PRICE

doi:10.1097/00004583-199410000-00006

« Previous Next »Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Volume 33, Issue 8 , Pages 1106-1113, October 1994

Attachment in Mothers with Anxiety Disorders and Their Children

Dr. Manassis is Staff Psychiatrist, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Dr. Bradley is Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Hospital for Sick Children, and Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Dr. Goldberg is Research Scientist, Hospital for Sick Children, and Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Toronto; Ms. Hood is Research Fellow, Hospital for Sick Children, and a Doctoral Candidate, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto; Dr. Swinson is Clinical Director, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto

Accepted 4 April 1994.

ABSTRACT

Objective

This study examined adult attachment in mothers diagnosed with anxiety disorders and child-mother attachment in their children.

Method

Eighteen mothers with Axis I anxiety disorders completed the Adult Attachment Interview and standardized questionnaires. These mothers and their preschool children (n = 20) then participated in the Strange Situation Procedure.

Results

All mothers were classified as nonautonomous with respect to attachment, with 78% judged unresolved. When those judged unresolved were reassigned to their alternate categories, the proportion of nonautonomous mothers was 61%. Eighty percent of the children were classified as insecurely attached, with 65% judged disorganized. When those judged disorganized were reassigned to their alternate categories, the proportion of insecurely attached children was 55%. Sixty-five percent of the children matched their mother's attachment classification. Mothers of securely attached children reported fewer recent life events, fewer depressive symptoms, and a greater sense of parenting competence than mothers of insecurely attached children.

Conclusions

These results suggest that attachment measures can be applied to anxious populations. The high rate of insecurity among offspring of anxious mothers indicates a need for longitudinal studies of these children.

Key Words: attachment , anxiety disorder , parental psychopathology

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