Tutuklu/Hükümlü Anneleriyle Birlikte Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarında Kalan Çocukların Bağlanma Güvenliğini Açıklayan Faktörler

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to investigate the factors explaining attachment security of 1- to 3-year-old children co-residing with their incarcerated mothers in prison facilities. In this regard, this study examines the attachment transmission between incarcerated mothers and their children as well as the mediating role of maternal sensitivity in this transmission. Finally, child (temperament) and mother (psychosocial adjustment) related moderators in the relationship between maternal sensitivity and child’s atachment security were investigated. The study sample consists of 85 incarcerated mothers (Mage = 30.19, SD = 6.30) and their 11- to 43-month-old children (Mmonth= 25.39, SD = 8.31, 56.5% boys) who co-resided with their mothers in a prison. Maternal and child’s attachment were evaluated using a story completion task and observation of mother-child interaction, respectively. Negative affectivity and effortful control were examined as dimensions of children’s temperament. Maternal psychosocial adjustment represents maternal social support perception, psychological symptoms, stress related to child(ren) who reside outside of the prison, and feelings to the primary caregiver of that child. Analyses showed that the majority of children (69.88%) were securely attached to their mothers. Positive relation between maternal anxious attachment and child’s disorganized attachment was the only finding indicating attachment transmission. The mediating role of maternal sensitivity in the attachment transmission was not tested due to the lack of relation between mothers’ attachment and sensitivity. Analyses demonstrated that maternal sensitivity was negatively related with child’s avoidant and disorganized attachment only for children who are low in negative affectivity and high in effortful control. Furthermore, maternal sensitivity of children with limited effortful control capacity was negatively associated with child’s anxious attachment. Finally, findings showed that maternal sensitivity positively predicted secure attachment and negatively predicted disorganized attachment only for mothers reporting low levels of psychosocial adjustment. Findings of the current study supported the discussion highlighting attachment transmission and mediating role of maternal sensitivity in this transmission are limited for disadvantaged mother child dyads. Moreover, findings revealed that easy children with sensitive mothers tend to attach more securely compared to their difficult counterparts. Finally, it was revealed that sensitivity of inmate mothers with low levels of psychosocial adjustment has an important role in their children’s attachment. Results of this study were evaluated within the framework of attachment theory.