Loading...
Oxytocin's role in promoting social interactions is increasingly recognized (e.g., Biol Psychiatry 2010; 67:692), but research into maternal oxytocin levels is less studied. To address possible connections between peripheral oxytocin levels and maternal attachment, researchers characterized adult attachment in women during the third trimester of their first pregnancies and followed the women for 14 months.
At 7 months after the child's birth, plasma oxytocin levels were similar in mothers with secure attachment and in mothers with insecure and dismissive attachment. However, after mothers and infants interacted, secure mothers had significantly higher oxytocin levels than insecure mothers. When children were 11 months old, mothers underwent …