Association between Spousal Relationship Quality and Mother-child Attachment Styles among Mothers in Blended Families in Selected Churches in Nairobi County, Kenya

Dysfunctional spousal relation can significantly affect the mother child attachment within a family setup. This in turn leads to emotional insecurity, behavioral issues in children, and strained family dynamics that may hinder healthy child development. This research sought to investigate the influence of spousal relationships on mother-child attachment for both biological and step-children within blended families in Nairobi County, Kenya. Both attachment theory by J. Bowlby (1950) and structural family theory by Salvador Minuchin (1960) were used. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was employed with a sample of 170 mothers. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on the study objectives Participants signed an informed consent before participation and the research adhered to ethical guidelines on confidentiality and anonymity. The study used descriptive statistics to summarize and interpret data. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between spousal relationships and mother-child attachment. SPSS version 27 was used to analyze data. The findings established a high-quality spousal relationship, a high level of mother-child closeness depicting secure attachment and moderate level of mother-child conflict. There was a weak positive relationship between quality of spousal relationship and mother child closeness, and a weak negative relationship between quality of spousal relationship and mother child conflict, p<0.05. The study concluded that spousal relationship was positively associated with secure mother-child attachment. The study recommends implementation of therapeutic intervention strategies geared towards enhancing secure parental attachment and reducing insecure attachment within blended families and further research in the area of blended families.

Spousal relationship, mother–child attachment, blended families, religious beliefs

1. Adare, A. A., Zhang, Y., Hu, Y., & Wang, Z. (2021). Relationship between parental marital conflict and social anxiety symptoms of Chinese college students: Mediation effect of attachment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 640770. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Bryman, A. (2016). Social Research Methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Cassidy, J., Jones, J. D., & Shaver, P. R. (2013). Contributions of attachment theory and research: A framework for future research, translation, and policy. Development and Psychopathology,25(4pt2), 1415–1434. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579413000692 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Ember, C. R., Gonzalez, B., & McCloskey, D. (2021). Marriage and Family. EHRAF. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Ferreira, T., Matias, M., Carvalho, H., & Paula Mena Matos. (2024). Parent-partner and parent-child attachment: Links to children’s emotion regulation. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 91, 101617–101617. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Fraley, R. C. (2019). Attachment in Adulthood: Recent Developments, Emerging Debates, and Future Directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 70(1), 401–422. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Goldberg, J. S., & Carlson, M. J. (2014). Parents' relationship quality and children's behavior in stable married and cohabiting families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(4), 762-777. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Guo, J. (2023). The impact of parental marital relationships on children's multi-domain development outcomes. significance, 22. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Jensen, T. M., & Ganong, L. H. (2019). Stepparent–Child Relationship Quality and Couple Relationship Quality: Stepfamily Household Type as a Moderating Influence. Journal of Family Issues, 41(5), 0192513X1988166. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Jensen, T. M., Lippold, M. A., Mills‐Koonce, R., & Fosco, G. M. (2018). Stepfamily relationship quality and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Family process, 57(2), 477-495. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Karanja, T. (2016). The effects of divorce on children’s social development. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Karakaş, N. M., Sarı, B. A., Aksakal, F. N. B., Özdemir, D. F., & Dağlı, F. Ş. (2020). Mother-child attachment patterns in mothers with and without a history of adverse childhood experiences. Current Psychology, 40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00657-9 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. KAZUNGU NGUMBAO, J., Kang’ara, Dr. H., & Kamau, Ms. J. (2020). The Influence of Blended family Structures on Socio-emotional Development of Pre-primary School Learners in Ganze Sub-county, Kilifi County, Kenya. International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 8(4), 503–513. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Madhe. K, Mayekar. N, & Madhe. G (2024). The Role of Family Structure in Influencing Attachment Styles and comparison of gender. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 9(8), c835-c847. https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRD2408292.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Martin-Uzzi, M., & Duval-Tsioles, D. (2013). The experience of remarried couples in blended families. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 54(1), 43-57. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Mohseni, M., & Salehi, S. (2024). The Mediating Role of Attachment Styles in the Relationship of Parent-child Relationship and Parenting Styles With Children’s Behavioral Problems After Divorce. Iranian Rehabilitation Journal, 22(2), 227-244. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Mutlu, B., Erkut, Z., Yıldırım, Z., & Gündoğdu, N. (2018). A review on the relationship between marital adjustment and maternal attachment. Revista Da Associação Médica Brasileira, 64(3), 243–252. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.64.03.243 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Njoroge, M., & Kirori, G. (2018). Blended Family Dynamics and Social Behaviour Outcome of the Child in Kenya: Case of Kabete Sub-County in Kiambu County [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Quintigliano, M., Trentini, C., Fortunato, A., Lauriola, M., & Speranza, A. M. (2021). Role of parental attachment styles in moderating interaction between parenting stress and perceived infant characteristics. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(730086). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Raley, R. K., & Sweeney, M. M. (2020). Divorce, Repartnering, and Stepfamilies: A Decade in Review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 81–99. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Scholarworks, S., & Brown, K. (2020). The Long-Term Biopsychosocial Effects of Children Reared in The Long-Term Biopsychosocial Effects of Children Reared in Blended Families Blended Families. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Travers, M. (2021a). Understanding Blended Family Stability: A Phenomenological Study. Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Travers, M. (2021b). Understanding blended family stability: A phenomenological study. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Wahyuningsih, H., Kusumaningrum, F. A., & Novitasari, R. (2020). Parental marital quality and adolescent psychological well-being: A meta-analysis. Cogent Psychology, 7(1), 1819005. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Wimalasena, N. A. (2016). An analytical study of definitions of the term “marriage”. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 6(1), 166-174. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Zemp, M., Fang, S., & Johnson, M. D. (2025). Family shapes child development: The role of codevelopmental trajectories of interparental conflict and emotional warmth for children’s longitudinal development of internalizing and externalizing problems. Development and Psychopathology, 37(4), 1971-1984. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• The Impact of Ownership Structure on Dividend Payout Policy of Listed Plantation Companies in Sri Lanka
• Urban Sustainability in North-East India: A Study through the lens of NER-SDG index
• Performance Assessment of Predictive Forecasting Techniques for Enhancing Hospital Supply Chain Efficiency in Healthcare Logistics
• The Fractured Self in Julian Barnes' Postmodern Fiction: Identity Crisis and Deflation in Metroland and the Sense of an Ending
• Impact of Flood on the Employment, Labour Productivity and Migration of Agricultural Labour in North Bihar