Citation

Sette G, Coppola G, Cassibba R. Scand. J. Psychol. 2015; 56(3): 315-326.

Affiliation

Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Scandinavian Psychological Associations, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/sjop.12212

PMID

25810347

Abstract

The paper reviews the body of research testing the intergenerational transmission of attachment and the theoretical shift from the linear or mediation model (van IJzendoorn, 1995), according to which parental sensitivity is the main factor responsible for the correspondence between maternal and infant's attachment, to the ecological model of the transmission of attachment (van IJzendoorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 1997). This latter model has prompted researchers, over time, to identify potential mediators, other than caregiver's sensitivity, of the established association between parental representations regarding attachment and infant's attachment, as well as the potential moderators of the transmission process. Each of these two research domains will be carefully explored; lastly new perspectives on the intergenerational transmission of attachment and relevant areas of research needing more investigation are highlighted.

Language: en