Paternal attachment, parenting beliefs and children's attachment

Relationships between fathers' romantic attachment style, parenting beliefs and father-child attachment security and dependence were examined in a diverse sample of 72 fathers of young children. Paternal romantic attachment style was coded based on fathers' endorsement of a particular style represented in the Hazan and Shaver Three-Category measure of attachment. Fathers also reported on their children's attachment security using the Waters Attachment Q-Sort. Fathers who rated themselves as secure had low levels of abuse potential and parenting stress and high levels of parenting efficacy and knowledge of child development. Abuse potential was also related to children's dependency, whereas parenting stress was related to children's security. The results suggest that fathers with different romantic attachment styles may have different ideas about parenting that result in different patterns of attachment security and dependence in their children.