Abstract
The present study investigated associations between parents' secure base script knowledge and parental sensitivity and sensitive discipline in 461 families with 922 same-sex twin children ( M age = 7.00, SD = 2.18). In addition, we explored whether the strength of the associations between parents' secure base script knowledge and parental sensitivity and sensitive discipline were similar for mono- and dizygotic twin siblings. Parental sensitivity was observed during a computerized version of a structured cooperative drawing task (Etch-A-Sketch). Sensitive discipline was observed during a "Don't touch task" or during a "Do-Don't task". Parental sensitivity and discipline strategies were observed twice, once with each twin sibling. Parents' knowledge of the secure base script was measured with the Attachment Script Assessment. Linear mixed model analyses showed that parents with more secure base script knowledge interacted with their twin children in a more sensitive manner and showed more sensitive discipline. These findings show for the first time that parents' secure base script knowledge predicts not only parental sensitivity but also sensitive discipline. Associations between parents' secure base script knowledge and parental sensitivity and sensitive discipline were not impacted by children's similarity in genetic makeup. Future longitudinal studies utilizing multiple measures of sensitivity and discipline across the infancy, childhood, and early adolescence periods could provide more insight into the continuity of relations between secure base script knowledge and parental sensitivity and sensitive discipline. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 966-976 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43) |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 18 May 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2023 |
Funding
The authors thank the participating families for their enthusiastic involvement in the Leiden Consortium on Individual Development (L-CID). The authors are also grateful to the data collection and data processing team, including all current and former students, research assistants, PhD students, and postdoctoral researchers for their dedicated and invaluable contributions. Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, Eveline Crone, and Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg designed the L-CID experimental cohort-sequential twin study “Samen Uniek” as part of the Consortium on Individual Development (Gravitation grant 2013–2023 awarded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science, and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek; Grant number 024.001.003). The authors thank Saskia Euser for training observers to code parental sensitivity, sensitive discipline, and parental secure base script knowledge.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science | |
| Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | 024.001.003 |