Rhythms of dialogue in infancy and attachment narratives in childhood.
Item
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Title
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Rhythms of dialogue in infancy and attachment narratives in childhood.
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Identifier
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AAI3284416
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identifier
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3284416
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Creator
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Markese, Sara Catherine.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Arietta Slade
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Date
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2007
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Social | Psychology, Developmental | Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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This study examined infant-adult coordination of vocal rhythms (mother, novel social partner) in face-to-face "play" interactions at 4 and 12 months as it related to childhood attachment representations at age 4, assessed by the Attachment Story Completion Task (Bretherton, Ridgeway & Cassidy, 1990). Degree of vocal rhythm coordination was considered a preverbal relational measure, not specific to infant attachment. Coordinated interpersonal timing (CIT) of adult-infant pause and switching pause was assessed by time-series analysis in 41 infant-mother (stranger) dyads, at home and in the lab.;Analysis I tested the low and high ends of vocal rhythm coordination between infant-adult partners at 4 and 12 months to determine attachment classifications at age 4 associated with vocal rhythm coordination outside of the midrange. Analysis II tested the ends of the distribution of attachment narratives in childhood; lowest scores indicated "disorganized" (D), highest scores were interpreted as overly organized "avoidant" (A) styles of representing attachment. This analysis determined vocal rhythm coordination patterns in infancy associated with both "disorganized" and overly organized "avoidant" insecure attachment in childhood.;Findings emerged in the 4-month stranger-infant interaction. In Analysis I, adult's lowered coordination of vocal rhythm with the infant predicted both "avoidant" (A) and "resistant" (C) attachment narratives in childhood. Mother's lowered coordination specifically predicted "resistant" narratives; stranger's lowered coordination predicted both. Heightened adult coordination also predicted both "avoidant" and "resistant" attachment; mother's heightened coordination predicted "avoidant," stranger's predicted "resistant" attachment in childhood. In Analysis II, children who told both overly organized "avoidant" (A) and "disorganized" (D) narratives at 4 years were associated with a pattern in which strangers lowered or inhibited vocal rhythm coordination with them at 4 months.;A midrange degree of vocal rhythm coordination, especially in the 4-month stranger-infant interaction, was indicated for developing attachment security. Both lowered ("withdrawn" or "inhibited") and heightened ("vigilant") patterns of stranger tracking the infant's communication were related to problematic, insecure (A, C, D) attachment narratives in childhood.;The implications of non-optimal early play interactions with novel partners is discussed in terms of infant social and emotional development, as is application of the research to early intervention, parent-infant therapy, and child treatment.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
