Adult attachment as a predictor of savoring quality in mothers of toddlers: Results from a 4-week randomized trial

Parental attachment is a robust predictor of parents’ emotion regulation and parent-child interaction quality. However, little is known about how attachment representations influence parents’ ability to engage in savoring, the process of attending to and prolonging positive emotional experiences. This study examined the association between maternal attachment and two aspects of savoring quality in the context of a large randomized controlled trial. Mothers (N = 147) of toddlers (aged 18–27 months) participated in this longitudinal study. Prior to being randomized to a Personal Savoring (PS) or Relational Savoring (RS) condition (delivered four times over a 4-week period), participants completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire (ECR-R). Savoring quality was coded from transcripts of the savoring sessions and two indices of savoring quality were derived, positivity and specificity. AAI secure attachment predicted higher savoring quality (higher positivity and specificity), whereas AAI dismissing attachment predicted lower savoring quality (specifically, lower positivity but not specificity). Neither ECR-R avoidance nor ECR-R anxiety was associated with savoring quality. These results suggest that narrative assessments, such as the AAI, can reveal attachment dynamics that may be not captured by self-report measures in relation to savoring quality. AAI dismissing attachment is associated with lower positivity during savoring, highlighting the need for interventions that specifically address the emotional distancing characteristic of dismissing attachment. Additionally, the link between AAI secure attachment and specificity suggests that enhancing specificity could be an effective intervention target to promote positive outcomes in savoring practices.