@article{ref1,
title="Secure attachment predicts lower body mass index in young children with histories of child protective services involvement",
journal="Pediatric obesity",
year="2019",
author="Bernard, Kristin and Frost, Allison and Jelinek, Caitlin and Dozier, Mary",
volume="14",
number="7",
pages="e12510-e12510",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Children who experience early adversity are at risk for obesity; secure attachment may be a protective factor as it has been linked to reduced obesity risk. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether (1) participation in a parenting intervention and (2) secure attachment were associated with body mass index (BMI) among young children with histories of child protective services (CPS) involvement. <br><br>METHODS: A total of 105 parent-child dyads referred following CPS involvement were randomly assigned to receive Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), which was designed to increase parental sensitivity, or a control intervention. Attachment security was assessed during infancy, and BMI was assessed at annual follow-up visits until children were 4 years old. <br><br>RESULTS: Children in the ABC group were more likely to have secure attachments (52%) than children in the control intervention group (32%). Although the ABC intervention did not have a direct effect on children's BMI, secure attachment was associated with a steeper decline in BMI from age 2 to age 4, with secure children showing significantly lower BMI (M = 15.4, SD = 2.08; 16.6% overweight/obese) than insecure children (M = 17.6, SD = 3.81; 35.7% overweight/obese) at age 4. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Secure attachment was associated with reduced BMI among CPS-referred children; thus, secure attachment may be a novel target of early obesity prevention efforts.<br><br>© 2019 World Obesity Federation.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2047-6302",
doi="10.1111/ijpo.12510",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12510"
}