Convergence de la représentation des mères et des pères concernant la relation d'attachement avec leur enfant d'âge préscolaire

Abstract

This study aims at providing a better understanding of the representational convergence of mothers' and fathers' assessment of their attachment relationship with their child. In assessing this convergence, the contribution of age and temperamental characteristics were taken into consideration. Two samples of unselected families participated in this study: the first sample involved parents of 24-month-old toddlers (n = 57), and the second group was composed of parents of 48-months-old children (n = 73). A validated French language translation of the original version of Waters and Deane's (1985) attachment Q-Sort was completed by both parents. In addition, parents completed the toddler and preschool versions of the Temperament Scales (Carey, Fullard and McDevitt, 1978, 1984). Results indicated a preference for the mother as an attachment figure and independence in parental representations of the relationship with their child. Our analysis also revealed a greater convergence of parental representations at 48 months in comparison to 24 months. Results related to parents' assessment of child temperament were quite similar at both age levels. Finally, we identified a weak contribution of temperament variations to the convergence of parental representations. In conclusion, our results confirm to a certain degree current conceptions about the construct of attachment, but also demonstrate the specificity and complementary of the mother-child and father-child relationships.