Parents’ empathy and child attachment security

Routledge eBooks, pp. 30–42

Abstract

The present review examined the association between parents’ empathy and the quality of child-parent attachment relationships. A systematic search yielded five published empirical studies, including nine effect sizes. A three-level meta-analysis yielded a significant, moderate, and positive association of r = .27 between empathy of the parent and children’s attachment security. It was concluded that parental empathy is significantly related to child attachment security. The magnitude of the effect size is comparable to the effect sizes found in meta-analyses on the relation between parental sensitivity, parental mentalisation, and child attachment security. Future studies should investigate the relation between parents’ (cognitive and affective) empathy, their internal working models of attachment, and their child’s attachment security.

Authors 5

1. Evelyn Heynen corresponding

   Open University of the Netherlands

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Clinical Psychology and Educational Sciences, Open University, Heerlen, the Netherlands

2. Ellin Simon

   Open University of the Netherlands

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Clinical Psychology and Educational Sciences, Open University, Heerlen, the Netherlands

3. Peer van der Helm Aachen Youth Expert Center

   University of Applied Sciences Leiden · University of Amsterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

   Youth Expert Center, Leiden University of Applied Sciences, Leiden, the Netherlands

4. Geert Jan J. M. Stams
5. Mark Assink

   University of Amsterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands