Maternal Separation Anxiety in Infancy: Precursors and Outcomes

The relationships among aspects of mothers' childhood memories, her maternal anxiety--when separated from her infant and the child's attachment pattern were studied with 58 low risk dyads participating in a longitudinal investigation. It was found that mother's perceived relationships with her own mother significantly predicted her offspring's attachment to her. While maternal separation anxiety was equally characteristic of secure and insecure mothers at early infancy, by the end of the first year preoccupied mothers reported higher levels of maternal anxiety and separation concerns compared to the secure mothers. Although not designed as a clinical study, the present results highlight important psychological constructs and measurements which may be relevant for assessment and intervention.