The transactional relationship between mother-child attachment, father-child attachment and self-compassion

Recent research indicates that the association between self-compassion and interpersonal relationships might be reciprocal. Many studies suggest that self-compassion originated from early parent-child attachment. As one of the earliest forms of interpersonal relationships, parent-child attachment may be influenced by self-compassion. Our study used a cross-lagged method to explore the reciprocal relationship between parent-child attachment and children's self-compassion. A total of 808 children (Mage = 9.58, SD = 0.95) participated in three follow-up surveys (T1 started in November 2018, T2 in May 2019, T3 in May 2020). The results indicated that there was a reciprocal relationship between mother-child/father-child attachment and self-compassion. Compared to father-child attachment, the reciprocal relationship between mother-child attachment and self-compassion was more stable. Meanwhile, both T1 mother-child and father-child attachment could influence T3 mother-child attachment through T2 children's self-compassion, indicating a dynamic virtuous circle in the family system. Our study provided implications for family education that building positive parent-child relationships was a great start to promoting healthy family functioning.