Abstract (eng)
Although the transgenerational transmission of attachment has been studied for decades, a significant aspect of it remains unexplained (van Ijzendoorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2019). Subsequently, the objective of this qualitative study was to present new approaches for future research. This was done by creating an explorative research which combined the traditional transmission mechanism of parental sensitivity with parental mentalization and autonomy support. Furthermore, the conceptual overlap of these mechanisms was studied. Specifically, this overlap entails that parental mentalization is a prerequisite for parental sensitivity, while in combination they are a requirement for parental autonomy support. The sample consisted of five married women, in average 53 years of age and mothers of two or three adult children each. In semi-structured interviews, participants were asked to describe their relationships to their own mother and their own children. The questions were based upon the triad of transmission mechanisms and participants were requested to draw connections between the aforementioned relationships. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), the results showed similarities between the descriptions of participants´ relationship to their own mothers and to their children, especially concerning parental sensitivity, mentalization and autonomy support. Moreover, the considered conceptual overlap concerning these mechanisms was supported by the data. The author concluded that the triad of mechanisms of the transgenerational transmission of attachment and their conceptual overlap are important starting points for future research. Lastly, it was recommended that in order to better understand the transmission of attachment, a dimensional approach would be superior to the categorical classification.