Journal of Pediatric Psychology 21(3) pp. 401-417, 1996
© 1996 Society of Pediatric Psychology
research-article |
Quality of Attachment as a Predictor of Maternal Visitation to Young Hospitalized Children1
Case Western Reserve University, Drake University, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
2All correspondence should be sent to Jane R. Robinson, Department of Psychology, Case Western Reserve University. 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7123
Tested a comprehensive model of factors predicting maternal visitation with hospitalized children. Subjects were 86 mothers who completed the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a 12-item attachment measure derived from the Waters and Deane Attachment Q-sort, and a demographic questionnaire. Children were 10 months to 4 years old (37 female, 49 male) and hospitalized for acute nonsurgical illness. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that, of the subset of variables tested (SES, number of children at home, gender, age, number of previous hospitalizations, state anxiety, and security of attachment), quality of attachment was the only significant predictor of maternal visitation rate. Mothers who reported that their children displayed insecure attachment behaviors maintained a significantly lower rate of visitation than mothers who reported that their children displayed secure attachment behaviors. Results of this study highlight the importance of understanding parent-child attachment in predicting maternal visitation when a child is hospitalized.
Key words: attachment; separation; distress; material visitation rate.