Parent-Child Attachment and Emotion Regulation

Abstract

Given the centrality of both parent-child attachment and emotion regulation in children's development and adjustment, it is important to evaluate the relations between these constructs. This article discusses conceptual and empirical links between attachment and emotion regulation in middle childhood, highlights progress and challenges in the literature, and outlines future inquiries. Studies have established that securely attached children internalize effective emotion regulation strategies within the attachment relationship and are able to successfully employ adaptive emotion regulation strategies outside the attachment relationship, when the attachment figure is not present. There are not enough studies to conclude yet that the insecure attachment patterns (ambivalent, avoidant, and disorganized) may relate differentially with emotion regulation processes. Studies investigating whether there are unique links between the four attachment patterns and the various emotion regulation processes will advance the field considerably. Studies evaluating the associations between attachment and emotion regulation will benefit from a multimethod approach in measuring these constructs. Embedding the relation between parent-child attachment and emotion regulation within broader developmental models will further advance the research on this topic.