Research supports the notion that a mother’s history of attachment-related experiences as
a child will influence the nature of the attachment she cultivates with her own child. Evidence
of this intergenerational transmission of attachment behavior abounds (Benoit & Parker,
1994; George & Solomon, 1996; Steele, Steele & Fonagy, 1996; van IJzendoorn, 1995; Ward
& Carlson, 1995). Within the theoretical tradition of Bowlby and Ainsworth, an individual’s
physical contact experience with the attachment figure would be an integral feature of overall
attachment security. A mother’s state of mind with respect to the touch in her family of origin
would constitute part of her internal working model of attachment behavior (i.e., her
cognitive and emotional expectations of how attachment figures respond when they are
turned to for support or security).