Psyc 621

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACHIEVEMENT 1

Parental Attachment in Children's Classroom Behavior and Achievement

Victoria Skeeter

School of Behavioral Science, Liberty University

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACHIEVEMENT 2

Parental Attachment in Children's Classroom Behavior and Achievement

The interaction between parental attachment styles and the emotion and social development of

children plays a significant role in determining their behavior in classrooms as well as

achievement, which underscores the need for secure attachments to promote optimal

development among children.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Mónaco, E., Schoeps, K., & Montoya-Castilla, I. (2019). Attachment styles and well-

being in adolescents: How does emotional development affect this relationship?.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(14), 2554.

This study focuses on the relationship between attachment processes and emotional

competencies of adolescents, showing how these variables together determine one’s state. The

study uses a large sample of Spanish adolescents to assess the mediating effects of emotional

competencies on the relationship between parental attachment and well-being. One important

strength is its methodical approach of measuring items such as trust, communication, alienation,

and several emotional intelligences. Yet, the use of self-report measures in this study may have

introduced bias into its process. Its findings bring to attention the necessity of mother and father

attachments that shows how essential parental aspects are in adolescent emotional growth and

welfare. The research is especially helpful in that it encapsulates the depth of adolescent

development and the concomitant nature of emotional competencies subsumed under parental

attachment.

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACHIEVEMENT 3

2. Wang, J., Yang, Y., Tang, Y., Wu, M., Jiang, S., & Zou, H. (2021). Longitudinal links

among parent-child attachment, emotion parenting, and problem behaviors of

preadolescents. Children and Youth Services Review, 121, 105797.

This longitudinal study aims at establishing the link between parent-child attachment, emotion

parenting, and the problems faced by preadolescents. The longitudinal nature of the study,

involving three waves of data collection, is an important aspect to note and discuss here as this

makes it possible for us to study to dynamics between these variables as they change over time.

The study, therefore, encapsulates some of the factors that contribute to stable predictors of

emotion parenting like parent-child attachment and identifies emotion parenting as a significant

mediator in the linkage between attachment towards later problem behaviors. Nevertheless the

sample is reduced to Chinese fourth- to fifth-graders, which may cause some constraints

concerning generalizability. The results are essential in helping formulate intervention strategies

that will be targeting both parent and child and underscoring the vitality of raising positive

parent-child relationships and emotion parenting to curtail problem behaviors.

3. Boldt, L. J., Goffin, K. C., & Kochanska, G. (2020). The significance of early parent-

child attachment for emerging regulation: A longitudinal investigation of processes and

mechanisms from toddler age to preadolescence. Developmental Psychology, 56(3), 431.

This longitudinal study emphasizes that early parent-child attachment has a lasting effect on the

social regulation and adaptation to preadolescence. The most distinctive feature that is its

multiple-method approach, the longitudinal design of this particular study allows tracking 102

families from toddler years to preadolescence. The study contributes to early attachment security

indirectly to adaptive social regulation in preadolescence through early emotion regulating

abilities. Significantly, it addresses various routes for mother-child and father-child relationships,

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACHIEVEMENT 4

enhancing comprehension of parental roles. Limitations include potential bias from parental

reports and the narrow sampling base representing a demographically specific population that

may challenge generalizability. However, the study is useful to demonstrate the effect of primary

attachment on the comparison and emotional maturing.

4. Koehn, A. J., & Kerns, K. A. (2018). Parent–child attachment: Meta-analysis of

associations with parenting behaviors in middle childhood and adolescence. Attachment

& Human Development, 20(4), 378-405.

This meta-analysis offers a broad overview of the connection between parent-child attachment

and different parenting practices in older kids and teens. It focuses on a vast age span (5-18

years) and concerns several aspects of parenting. The results of the study show that there is a

correlation between secure attachment and responsive and supportive parenting behavior which

can be attributed to less responsiveness and behavioral control of avoidant attachment. Two

major gaps are identified: the lack of noteworthy findings concerning ambivalence attachment;

and the limited discussion of disorganized attachment. This meta-analysis helps to reveal

important styles of parenting linked to various attachment patterns and, thus, provides clues for

family interventions aimed at high-risk youth.

5. Cooke, J. E., Kochendorfer, L. B., Stuart-Parrigon, K. L., Koehn, A. J., & Kerns, K. A.

(2019). Parent–child attachment and children’s experience and regulation of emotion: A

meta-analytic review. Emotion, 19(6), 1103.

In this meta-analytic review, children’s emotional experience and regulation are researched as a

result of the parent-child attachment pattern. Notably, the most significant features include its

large database (72 studies) and detailed analysis of the affective experiences, emotion regulation

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACHIEVEMENT 5

efficiency, and coping mechanisms in children. The review establishes strong links between

secure attachment and favorable emotional outcomes such as enhanced emotion regulation and

coping skills. But also it states that patterns of insecure attachments are associated with specific

emotion profiles, which require further studies. Attachment to parent figure can be a useful

source for making conclusions and more studies should focus on insecure attachment patterns.

6. Snyder, K. S., Luchner, A. F., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2023). Adverse childhood

experiences and insecure attachment: The indirect effects of dissociation and emotion

regulation difficulties. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.

Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001532

This research investigates the indirect effects of dissociation and emotion regulation problems in

the connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and insecure attachment at later

life. Its relative contribution lies in the fact that it was aimed at assessing the long-term effects of

ACEs, controlled by dissociation and emotion regulation. The study shows that the effect of

ACEs on insecure attachment is mediated by dissociation and emotion regulation problems,

which demonstrates the convoluted nature of this relationship. But the study is constrained by a

cross-sectional design and reliance on self-report measurements. These results are crucial for

tracing the maintenance of insecure attachment through development and clinical intervention.

7. Wang, R. (2021, December). The influence of attachment types on academic

performance of children. In 2021 4th International Conference on Humanities Education

and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2021) (pp. 512-517). Atlantis Press.

This study examines the role of attachment styles in children’s non-intellectual learning

characteristics, including motivation and attention, which are crucial for scholars’ success. The

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACHIEVEMENT 6

quantitative approach employed by the study, through surveys and academic data, validly shows

a statistical relation between security attachment and better academic results. It emphasizes the

contribution of responsiveness on the part of caregivers in developing secure attachment.

Nevertheless, the limitations of the study are highlighted some effects being caused by

socioeconomic status and that longitudinal research should be carried out to determine long-term

cognitive effects. The importance of the research is revealed in the fact that the authors draw

attention to the paramount role of secure attachment and favorable parent-child relations for

children’s academic achievement.

8. Zarrella, I., Lonigro, A., Perrella, R., Caviglia, G., & Laghi, F. (2018). Social behaviour,

socio-cognitive skills and attachment style in school-aged children: what is the relation

with academic outcomes?. Early Child Development and Care, 188(10), 1442-1453.

In this study, the correlation between the socio-cognitive skills, social behavior, attachment style,

and academic performance is evaluated in the school-age children. It relies on a wide range of

evaluation tools, producing an in-depth analysis of relationship between these variables. The

study indicates that secure attachment is linked to better social interaction, socio-cognitive

performance as well as academic performance. Such cases include the fact that the study depends

on teachers and learning tests that may be used to introduce bias. The findings show that despite

the overall attachment’s effect on academic success, without a secure attachment, the child

cannot have socioemptive and social skills hence there is a need for holistic child development

approach in education.

9. Samadi, S. L., & Amraghan, H. A. Relationship between family affective atmosphere and

attachment styles with student's prerogatives in elementary school students in the second

part of Sabzevar city.

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACHIEVEMENT 7

In this paper, the aim is to understand how family affective environment and attachment styles

affects the tendency to study in female elementary students. The study’s reliance on multivariate

regression and the utilization of a large sample size serve to support its results. The study ends

with an observation that the attachment styles entirely predict mental health and academic

procrastination. Yet the fact that the study is centered only at women students and focuses its

research areas on just one region limits its generalizability. The conclusions pertaining to family

dynamics and attachment styles relative to the influence on academic bent can be quite helpful;

for instance, fostering a conducive family setting and that of secure attachment may facilitate a

positive inclination towards academia.

10. Deneault, A. A., Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J., Groh, A. M., Fearon, P. R., & Madigan,

S. (2021). Child‐father attachment in early childhood and behavior problems: A

meta‐analysis. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2021(180), 43-

66.

This meta-analysis evaluates the association between child-father attachment in early childhood

and children’s behavioral problems. Its thorough analysis of 15 samples provides an in-depth

insight into the relationship between child-father attachment insecurity and externalizing

behaviors. The results of the study indicate that the significance of father-child attachment and

mother-child attachment to children’s behavioral results are comparable. Nevertheless, the lack

of mentioned moderators and the research study about early childhood narrows down its scale.

This result has strengthened the necessity of application a whole network of attachment,

including fathers to explain child development and behavior problems.

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACHIEVEMENT 8

11. Pallini, S., Chirumbolo, A., Morelli, M., Baiocco, R., Laghi, F., & Eisenberg, N. (2018).

The relation of attachment security status to effortful self-regulation: A meta-analysis.

Psychological Bulletin, 144(5), 501.

This meta-analysis assesses the connection between attachment security status in children and

effortful self-regulation. The uniqueness of the study includes its large dataset and the

incorporation of different studies, which provides strong evidence that secure attachment is

associated with better self-regulation. The analysis reveals several moderators, including age and

the method of attachment assessment that affect this relationship. But, publication bias and the

diversity in tools used to determine scores between studies are limitations of this study. This

highlights the regulatory nature of secure attachment in self-regulation of children and so

provides insights on how attachment might relate to regulation.

12. Dagan, O., Schuengel, C., Verhage, M. L., Madigan, S., Roisman, G. I., Bernard, K., ... &

Volling, B. L. (2024). Configurations of mother–child and father–child attachment

relationships as predictors of child language competence: An individual participant data

meta‐analysis. Child Development, 95(1), 50-69.

The described individual participant data meta-analysis focuses on understanding the role of

mother–child and father–child attachment relationships as predictors of language competence in

children. A unique feature of the study is that data from seven studies were meticulously

analyzed in respect to a wide range in age and several demographic groups. It reveals that the

language competence scores for children with secure attachments from both parents turn higher

emphasizing equal values of maternal and paternal attachments. On the one hand, the study’s

assessment is mostly composed of studies produced by western populations, which could affect

its usefulness in other cultural settings. The study offers important findings concerning the

PARENTAL ATTACHMENT IN CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACHIEVEMENT 9

relevance of parental attachment in promoting children’s linguistic development and stressing

the need for both parents to be involved in children’s language learning.