Maternal personal resources and children's socioemotional and behavioral adjustment

Michal Al-Yagon*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

The study examined the role of three maternal personal resources [sense of coherence (SOC), attachment style, and social/emotional feelings of loneliness] in explaining children's socioemotional adjustment (self-rated loneliness and SOC, and mother-rated child behavior) and children's (self-rated) secure attachment. The sample included 58 mother-child dyads (27 boys and 31 girls) aged 8-11 years. Preliminary analyses indicated significant group differences between mothers with high or low scores on the two subscales of the attachment scale (i.e., avoidance and anxiety), on their SOC, and their social/emotional loneliness. Findings revealed that maternal SOC significantly contributed to all child socioemotional adjustment measures and attachment scores. In addition, the current findings demonstrated the role of maternal anxious attachment in explaining children's externalizing behaviors. Discussion focused on the unique value of maternal characteristics for understanding social and emotional adjustment among school-age children.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)283-298
Number of pages16
JournalChild Psychiatry and Human Development
Volume39
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Attachment
  • Emotional adjustment
  • Parenting
  • Sense of coherence
  • Social adjustment

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