پیش‌بینی امنیت دلبستگی کودکان بر اساس رفتارهای مراقبتی خاله به‌عنوان شخصیت دلبستگی جایگزین

غزاله جاودانی باروح; فخری السادات  حسینی; نواب  کاظمی

Authors

Ghazaleh Javedani Barooh MA, Department of General Psychology, Motahar Rationalist Higher Institute, Mashhad, Iran. Corresponding author https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2274-3376
Fakhri Sadat Hosseini Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Counseling, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8973-3053
Navab Kazemi PhD in Psychology, Farhangian University, Guilan, Iran. Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8666-8700

Keywords:

attachment security, caregiving behaviors, maternal aunt, alternative attachment figure, children, authoritative caregiving

Abstract

The present study aimed to predict children’s attachment security based on the caregiving behaviors of maternal aunts serving as alternative attachment figures. This study employed a descriptive-correlational design. The statistical population consisted of children aged 5 to 10 years living in Mashhad whose maternal aunts had assumed primary responsibility for their daily care due to family circumstances. A total of 250 children were selected through convenience sampling. Attachment security was assessed using the Security Scale, and maternal aunts’ caregiving behaviors were evaluated using a parenting practices questionnaire addressing authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive dimensions. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients and simultaneous multiple regression analysis. The results showed that authoritative caregiving was positively and significantly associated with children’s attachment security (r = 0.57, p < 0.01), whereas authoritarian caregiving (r = -0.41, p < 0.01) and permissive caregiving (r = -0.29, p < 0.01) were negatively and significantly associated with attachment security. The multiple regression model was statistically significant, F(3, 246) = 50.26, p < 0.001, and explained 38% of the variance in attachment security. Authoritative caregiving was the strongest positive predictor (β = 0.49, p < 0.001), while authoritarian caregiving (β = -0.24, p < 0.001) and permissive caregiving (β = -0.14, p = 0.015) were significant negative predictors. The findings indicate that the quality of maternal aunts’ caregiving behaviors is significantly related to children’s attachment security when the aunt serves as the primary caregiver. Warm, responsive, supportive, and appropriately structured caregiving may strengthen attachment security, whereas controlling or inconsistent caregiving may undermine it. Thus, maternal aunts can function as meaningful alternative attachment figures when they provide stable and supportive care.

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