Quality of Parenting and Adolescent Attachment Security
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Quality of Parenting and Adolescent Attachment Security: A Twin Study to Explore the Impact of Genetic Factors Katie Glazebrook, PhD. D.Clin.Psy. Thesis (Volume 1) 2015 University College London UCL Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Thesis Declaration Form I confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signature: Name: Date: 1 Overview The overall focus of the thesis is the role of genetic and environmental influences in the relationship between quality of parenting and adolescent attachment security. Part one is a literature review exploring interactive antecedents of attachment security beyond infancy. The review includes 16 papers exploring the relationship between the quality of parent- child interactions and attachment security in children and adolescents, with security assessed using a representational measure of attachment, in order to establish which aspects of parenting are most strongly associated with attachment security. Part two of the thesis reports findings from a twin study designed to explore child-based genetic influences in quality of parenting and adolescent attachment security, using archived data from the Twins Early Development Study. Specifically, the study firstly aimed to examine the relative contribution of child genetic factors on quality of parenting, when parenting is assessed using observational methods. Secondly, the study examined whether common genes or common environments can account for the covariance between parenting quality and adolescent attachment security. Part three is a critical appraisal of the research process, which considers the conceptual issues and dilemmas involved in observational research and reflects on the implications of the study findings for future research and clinical practice. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... 9 Part 1 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 10 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 12 Interactive Antecedents of Attachment in Infancy ................................................................ 14 Interactive Antecedents of Attachment beyond Infancy ....................................................... 15 Study Aim ................................................................................................................................... 17 Method ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Search Strategy ....................................................................................................................... 18 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria .............................................................................................. 18 Data Extraction and Study Analysis ........................................................................................ 20 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Study Characteristics .............................................................................................................. 22 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 24 Quality of Included Studies .................................................................................................... 25 The Relationship between Interactive Antecedents and Children’s Attachment Security .... 28 Relatedness/ Mutuality .......................................................................................................... 43 Style of Conversation.............................................................................................................. 53 Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 54 Limitations .............................................................................................................................. 60 Clinical Implications ................................................................................................................ 61 3 Further Research .................................................................................................................... 62 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 63 References .................................................................................................................................. 65 Part 2 Empirical paper ..................................................................................................... 71 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 72 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 73 Genetic Origins of Attachment Style ...................................................................................... 74 Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Attachment in Infancy and Toddlers .............. 76 Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Attachment beyond Infancy .......................... 78 Genes Influence the Rearing Environment Provided By Parents ........................................... 79 Evidence for the Influence of Children’s Genes on Parenting (Evocative rGE) ...................... 81 Consequences of the Influence of Children’s Genes on Parenting ........................................ 83 Study Aims .................................................................................................................................. 85 Research Questions .................................................................................................................... 85 Method ....................................................................................................................................... 86 Participants ............................................................................................................................. 86 Measures ................................................................................................................................ 88 Procedure ............................................................................................................................. 101 Inter-Rater Reliability for Parenting Variables ..................................................................... 103 Ethics .................................................................................................................................... 105 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 105 Results ...................................................................................................................................... 108 4 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 108 Preliminary Analysis ............................................................................................................. 108 Genetically Based Child Effects on Parenting: Descriptive Statistics ................................... 114 Genetically Based Child Effects on Parenting: ACE Twin Modelling .................................... 116 Genetic Factors in the Association between Quality of Parenting and Adolescent Attachment Security ............................................................................................................. 120 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 122 Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 126 Clinical Implications .............................................................................................................. 127 Future Research.................................................................................................................... 128 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 128 References ................................................................................................................................ 129 Part 3 Critical appraisal ................................................................................................. 134 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 135 Conceptualisation and Design of the Research Project ........................................................... 135 Working as Part of an Established Research Project