Japanese Children's Reactions to Family Photographs: Associations with Mothers' Attachment Status.

This study examined differences in children's responses to their family photographs within a sample of Japanese 6-year-olds (N = 44), exploring associations with their mothers' attachment status. The differences in children's photo reactions were captured by a 5-point continuous scale to rate how engaged children were and how positively they responded to the photographs taken earlier with their mothers. Mothers' attachment security was assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview. The findings revealed that children of mothers with secure attachment status were significantly more engaged/positive in their photo reactions than were children of mothers with insecure attachment status. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.