Parenting Journal · Volume 1 · Issue 1 · Licensed source edition
The longitudinal and concurrent relationship between caregiver sensitivity and preschool attachment: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Originally published 2021-01-22 · PLoS ONE
PLOS · DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0245061 ↗
Editorial reading guide · Trust
How is sensitive caregiving related to preschool children’s sense of security?
The paper examines whether consistent, appropriately responsive care is associated with preschool attachment security, a developmental expression of a dependable relationship.
Who was studied?
Thirty-six studies representing 21 samples and 3,847 children
Age / stage: Preschool children
Read with three questions
- How were sensitivity and preschool attachment actually observed?
- How did unidimensional and multidimensional sensitivity measures change the estimates?
- Which languages, attachment systems and study designs were outside the review’s scope?
Keep the limits in view
The review was restricted to English/French studies and selected observational attachment systems. Measurement differences and limited reliability statistics affect synthesis; associations do not establish causation.
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Original authorship, publication date, journal and DOI are preserved. This issue’s TRICK placement and reading questions are editorial additions, not claims made by the original authors.
Monica C. O’Neill; Shaylea Badovinac; Rebecca Pillai Riddell; Jean-François Bureau; Carla Rumeo; Stefano Costa (2021). The longitudinal and concurrent relationship between caregiver sensitivity and preschool attachment: A systematic review and meta-analysis PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245061
Permissions checked against the saved article notice; repository publication notices screened 2026-11-04. This is not a new peer-review decision. The source authors and publishers are not represented as endorsing this issue.