Maternal Sensitivity and the Behavioral and Representational Aspects of Attachment in Preschoolers: A Longitudinal Study

The study explored the relationships between maternal sensitivity, secure base behavior (SBB), and secure base scripts (SBS) in 34 mother-child dyads from Lima, Peru, assessed at two times during preschool years. The hypothesis was that maternal sensitivity would have a direct relationship with the SBS (representational aspect of attachment), however it has an indirect relationship, through the SBB (behavioral aspect of attachment). The selection of the sample was intentional. At time 1 of the study, children were 45.26 months old on average (SD = 7.132) and in time 2 they were 58.09 (DE = 7.025). The Maternal Behavior for Preschoolers Q-Set (MBPQS) was used to measure maternal sensitivity, the Attachment Q-Set (AQS) to assess SBB, and the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT) to assess SBS. A path analysis was performed. The results indicate that maternal sensitivity, measured at time 1, has a direct relationship with the SBS of the children assesed at time 2, and it has an indirect effect on the SBS through the SBB that was measured at time 1. This study is pioneer in the Peruvian and Latin American context to evaluate these relationships longitudinally and opens a research line to know better the relationship between these attachment theory constructs. However, results are preliminary given the small size of the sample.