PREDICTIONS FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD TO LATER PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING

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The research objective was to follow the development of securely and insecurely attached children whose mothers were clinically depressed and mothers who were without psychiatric disorders. Depressive symptomatology involves impairments in domains of maternal functioning that, in attachment theory, are especially influenced by attachment: sense of self as unworthy, difficulties in engaging with the environment, dysregulated affect, negative expectations of others, and difficulties in developing positive, committed relationships. The research question is: how do secure and insecure attachments, relationships with depressed and well mothers, carry forward in children's psychosocial development? One hundred mother-child pairs, 37 normal control mothers, and 63 depressed mothers were studied. Attachment and family stressors were assessed when the children were preschool age. Children's psychiatric status was evaluated 3 years and 6 years later. No main effects were found for attachment. However, attachment exercises more subtle effects on child outcome in interaction with other family variables.