Secure base script knowledge represents the components of aninternal working modelthat organizes knowledge and rules for effectively utilizing attachment figures as a secure base for exploration and a safe haven in times of distress. Specifically, it comprises procedural “if-then” rules for seeking and receiving care.
circle of attachment security
key Points
Rationale
Previous attachment research has shown thatadults’ attachment representations, assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), are associated with the quality of caregiving behaviors (Verhage et al., 2016).
For instance, mothers with insecure attachment representations on the AAI showed lower sensitivity towards their infants than mothers withsecure attachment representations(Verhage et al., 2016). Attachment scholars have recently argued that attachment representations can be conceptualized as secure base script knowledge (Waters & Waters, 2006).
The secure base script is a cognitive script that organizes knowledge and expectations about the availability and responsiveness of attachment figures when needed during distress.
However, little is known about whether secure base script knowledge shapes other important caregiving behaviors, such as discipline strategies.
Furthermore, whether child-genetic factors influence the association between secure base script knowledge and parenting behaviors is unknown.
Method
The study sample consisted of 461 families with same-sex twins (48.6% boys) participating in the Netherlands Leiden Consortium on Individual Development (L-CID) study.
The sample included an early childhood twin cohort (ECC; n = 214 families with 4-year-old twins) and a middle childhood twin cohort (MCC; n = 247 families with 9-year-old twins).
During a home or lab visit, parent-child interactions were observed and coded for parental sensitivity (7-point rating scale) during a cooperative Etch-A-Sketch drawing task and for parental sensitive discipline (7-point rating scale) during a ‘Don’t touch’ task (ECC) or ‘Do-Don’t’ task (MCC).
Parents completed the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) to assess their secure base script knowledge. The ASA uses prompt word sets to elicit narratives coded for secure base script content on a 7-point rating scale.
Sample
The primary parent was mostly the mother (91.1%). Parents were, on average, 39.51 years old (SD = 5.14). Most parents completed higher vocational education (41.3%) or post-higher vocational education (26.0%).
Children were, on average, 7.00 years old (SD = 2.18), with the ECC being 4.77 years old (SD = 0.58) and the MCC being 8.94 years old (SD = 0.67) on average.
Statistical measures
Linear mixed models accounted for the nested data structure (twins within families). Models were run with parental secure base script knowledge predicting parental sensitivity and sensitive discipline.
Results
Parents with more secure base script knowledge showed higher levels of parental sensitivity (B = 0.22, SE = 0.08, p = .007) and more sensitive discipline (B = 0.29, SE = 0.11, p = .007) during interactions with their twin children.
The strengths of the associations between secure base script knowledge and parental sensitivity (r = .11) and sensitive discipline (r = .12) were similar.
There was no evidence that zygosity impacted the association between secure base script knowledge and parental sensitivity or sensitive discipline.
Insight
This study uniquely shows that parents’ secure base script knowledge not only predicts parental sensitivity, consistent with prior work, but also extends to shaping parents’ discipline strategies.
This highlights the value of assessing secure base script knowledge concerning multiple aspects of parental caregiving.
Strengths
Limitations
Implications
The findings underscore the importance of secure base script knowledge in shaping not just sensitive responsiveness but also effective discipline strategies.
This highlights the value of assessing and potentially intervening in parents’attachment representationsto improve multiple aspects of parenting quality.
The results also provide initial evidence that child-genetic factors do not account for links between secure base script knowledge and caregiving behaviors.
Interventions incorporating opportunities to practice new relational behaviors and receive feedback may be especially impactful for changing attachment representations. The ABC approach provides in-vivo coaching.
Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) Intervention
Theattachment and biobehavioral catch-up(ABC) intervention can help increase their child’s attachment security:
The ABC intervention is designed to help parents learn how to interact with their children in ways that promote secure attachment (Dozier et al., 2016). Children with secure attachments feel safe, comforted, and able to explore when their caregiver is present.
In the 10 weekly sessions, parents get one-on-one coaching with video feedback and guidance to master these skills. As parents implement what they learn, children receive the comfort, support, and gentle guidance needed to develop secure attachment. Research shows children of parents who complete the ABC intervention are more likely to form secure attachments.
The ABC intervention provides a supportive way for parents to learn positive skills that fulfill a child’s need for nurturing care. Over time, these responsive interactions lay the foundation for a strong lifelong attachment bond.CopyRetry
Future Research
Parents’ secure base script knowledge has implications for the quality of both sensitivity and discipline strategies toward children. Longitudinal research should investigate the stability of these associations over time.
Exploring interventions that successfully impact parents’ secure base script knowledge may inform programs aiming to enhance parental sensitivity and discipline quality.
While child-genetic factors do not seem to confound observed links between secure base script knowledge and parenting behaviors, future genetically informed studies should explore potential genetic effects stemming from parents.
Enhancing our understanding of how parents’ attachment representations guide caregiving can ultimately inform interventions promoting child wellbeing.
The effects of attachment-based interventions on representation and caregiving should be examined across diverse cultural groups. Findings linking script knowledge to sensitivity were consistent across high-risk and low-risk parents.
References
Primary paper
Witte, A. M., Runze, J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2023). Parents’ secure base script knowledge predicts observed sensitive caregiving and discipline toward twin children.Journal of Family Psychology, 37(7), 966–976.https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001091
Other references
Coppola, G., Vaughn, B. E., Cassibba, R., & Costantini, A. (2006). The attachment script representation procedure in an Italian sample: Associations with adult attachment interview scales and with maternal sensitivity.Attachment & Human Development, 8(3), 209-219.https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730600856065
Verhage, M. L., Schuengel, C., Madigan, S., Fearon, R. M. P., Oosterman, M., Cassibba, R., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2016). Narrowing the transmission gap: A synthesis of three decades of research on intergenerational transmission of attachment.Psychological Bulletin, 142(4), 337-366.https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000038
Waters, H. S., & Waters, E. (2006). The attachment working models concept: Among other things, we build script-like representations of secure base experiences.Attachment & Human Development, 8(3), 185-197.https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730600856016
Research Organizations
Further Reading
Dozier, M., & Bernard, K. (2017). Attachment and biobehavioral catch-up: Addressing the needs of infants and toddlers exposed to inadequate or problematic caregiving.Current Opinion in Psychology,15, 111-117.
Dozier, M., Roben, C. K., Caron, E. B., Hoye, J., & Bernard, K. (2018).Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up: An evidence-based intervention for vulnerable infants and their families.Psychotherapy Research,28(1), 18-29.
Steele, R. D., Waters, T. E., Bost, K. K., Vaughn, B. E., Truitt, W., Waters, H. S., … & Roisman, G. I. (2014). Caregiving antecedents of secure base script knowledge: a comparative analysis of young adult attachment representations.Developmental Psychology,50(11), 2526.
Waters, T. E., & Roisman, G. I. (2019). The secure base script concept: An overview.Current Opinion in Psychology,25, 162-166.
Waters, T. E., Ruiz, S. K., & Roisman, G. I. (2017).Origins of secure base script knowledge and the developmental construction of attachment representations.Child Development,88(1), 198-209.
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Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
