The role of the mother on child adaptation and maternal care during infancy are central to the theory of attachment. Although, numerous studies have shown an association between security of attachment and child development of competencies, data on the continuity of parental function after infancy are rather scant. For a better understanding of the enduring role of parental protection on child development, I propose a revision of the concept of maternal sensitivity that integrate the notion of empathic, social and personal goal regulation. This revision is based upon Bowlby's attachment theory, Ainsworth's maternal sensitivity concept, and Dix's model of maternal goal regulation.
Maternal sensitivity; mother-child attachment; parental practices