Parental oxytocin and early caregiving jointly shape children's oxytocin response and social reciprocity.

ABSTRACT: Oxytocin (OT) has an important role in bond formation and social reciprocity, and animal studies indicate that OT functioning is transferred from parent to child through patterns of parental care. Perspectives on attachment suggest that the individual's various attachment bonds are underpinned by the oxytocinergic system. However, prospective human studies that demonstrate the cross-generation transfer of OT as mediated by early caregiving and its impact on children's multiple attachments are lacking. To address these concerns, the current study included 160 mothers and fathers and their firstborn child who participated in a 3-year longitudinal study. At the first and sixth postpartum months, parents' plasma OT was assayed, parent-infant interactions were videotaped and micro-coded, and al

SUBMITTER: Feldman R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3656367 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature