Susannah Smedresman, Psy.D.
The Relation Between Scheduled vs. On Demand Feeding Style and Maternal Attachment in Infants
Chair: Camilo Ortiz, Ph.D.
Abstract
Despite a dearth of research into the effects of feeding schedules or demand feeding for infants, parenting experts make bold claims relating feeding style to maternal sensitivity and attachment. The present study aimed to begin to shed light on the validity of these claims. Two hundred and nine mothers of babies aged five through seven months were recruited to complete a set of online surveys. Mothers completed the Parent Attachment Diary (PAD) in order to classify their child’s attachment status. They completed the Feeding Style Survey, which was developed for this study, in order to determine whether they fed on demand or on a schedule. Principal components analysis was conducted on both surveys in order to extract their underlying factors and cluster analysis was used to group participants based on their feeding style scores. The relation between the two constructs was examined through t-tests and correlations. A statistically significant relation was not found between feeding style and attachment overall. However, participants who were responsive to their babies throughout feeding sessions had babies who showed less propensity for avoidance in their attachment and a greater ability to be calmed than participants who were initially responsive to hunger cues and less responsive to other signals. These findings suggest a more nuanced relation between feeding style and hunger than previously demonstrated (Ainsworth & Bell, 1969). Longitudinal research that examines the relation between feeding style and attachment is recommended, as are studies investigating the relation between feeding style and existing measures of maternal sensitivity.