Stress-Related Neural Responses Linking Toddler-Mother Attachment and Adolescent Adjustment

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

Early family relationships lay the foundation for children's successful development across the lifespan. One particularly important aspect of early family relationships is child-mother attachment security. A child whose attachment-related bids (e.g., clinging, crying) are consistently met with a timely and sensitive response by the caregiver will likely develop a secure attachment to that caregiver, whereas a child whose bids are met with rejection, hostility, or inconsistent responsiveness will likely form an insecure attachment. Variations in early attachment security play a role in 'sculpting' the brain of the developing child. Yet, we know little about the potential neurobiological mechanisms linking child-mother attachment to children's later adjustment. The goals of this research are twofold: (1) to examine how early child-mother attachment security (measured at age 2.5 years) relates to stress-related neural responses at age 13, and (2) test whether stress-related neural responses are associated with adolescent adjustment at age 14. To carry out this work, participants will be recruited from an existing longitudinal study, the Children's Social Development Project (CSDP), in which child-mother attachment was assessed at 2.5 years. Ten years later, at age 13, mother-adolescent interactions will be observed and adolescents will be interviewed about current attachment relationships. Adolescents' neural responses in two stress-eliciting tasks will be assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). At ages 13 and 14, adolescent adjustment in multiple domains will be assessed via self, maternal, and paternal reports. The proposed study will be the first of its kind to assess how child-mother attachment security in early childhood relates to stress-related neural processes and, in turn, adjustment in adolescence. Project findings have the potential to shed light on fundamental questions regarding how early experiences set the stage for later adjustment and will provide a much needed window into the extent to which typical variation in early human attachment predicts brain functioning in later development.