Child-father attachment in early childhood and behavior problems: A meta-analysis

Audrey Ann Deneault, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, Ashley M. Groh, Pasco R.M. Fearon, Sheri Madigan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

This meta-analytic study examined the associations between child-father attachment in early childhood and children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Based on 15 samples (N = 1,304 dyads), the association between child-father attachment insecurity and externalizing behaviors was significant and moderate in magnitude (r = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.27 or d = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.20, 0.55). No moderators of this association were identified. Based on 12 samples (N = 1,073), the association between child-father attachment insecurity and internalizing behaviors was also significant, albeit smaller in magnitude (r = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.15; or d = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.31). Between-study heterogeneity was insufficient to consider moderators. When compared to the effect sizes of prior meta-analyses on child-mother attachment and behavior problems, the quality of the attachment relationship with fathers yields a similar magnitude of associations to children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Results support the need to consider the role of the attachment network, which notably includes attachment relationships to both fathers and mothers, to understand how attachment relationships contribute to child development.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)43-66
Number of pages24
JournalNew Directions for Child and Adolescent Development
Volume2021
Issue number180
Early online date14 Oct 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2021

Bibliographical note

Special Issue: Early Attachment Networks to Multiple Caregivers.

Funding Information:
This research was funded by fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société et Culture awarded to the first author. The authors would like to thank Cheri Nickel, MLIS (University of Calgary) who conducted the literature search, and Anh Ly (University of Calgary) for her help in extracting the data.

Funding Information:
This research was funded by fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Fonds de Recherche du Qu?bec-Soci?t? et Culture awarded to the first author. The authors would like to thank Cheri Nickel, MLIS (University of Calgary) who conducted the literature search, and Anh Ly (University of Calgary) for her help in extracting the data.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Funding

This research was funded by fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société et Culture awarded to the first author. The authors would like to thank Cheri Nickel, MLIS (University of Calgary) who conducted the literature search, and Anh Ly (University of Calgary) for her help in extracting the data. This research was funded by fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Fonds de Recherche du Qu?bec-Soci?t? et Culture awarded to the first author. The authors would like to thank Cheri Nickel, MLIS (University of Calgary) who conducted the literature search, and Anh Ly (University of Calgary) for her help in extracting the data.

Keywords

  • child-father attachment
  • externalizing behaviors
  • internalizing behaviors
  • meta-analysis

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