Parent-Infant Attachment and Gross Motor Development During the First 2 Years of Life: A Systematic Review.

The included studies were observational, not randomised trials, so they cannot show that attachment causes motor development. No included study tested an attachment intervention, so the review does not show that changing interaction improves motor outcomes. Heterogeneous attachment and motor measures prevented a meta-analysis, so the synthesis is qualitative. Only peer-reviewed articles in English or Spanish were included, which may have missed relevant studies. Only two studies included fathers, and most samples were mother-focused, so paternal effects are uncertain. Children with diagnosed disabilities or pathologies were excluded, so the findings may not apply to infants already referred for developmental delay. Most participants had completed secondary education, which may limit generalisability.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding was from Eusko Jaurlaritza (IT1598-22, IT1797-26).

Do not conclude that improving parent-infant attachment will improve infant gross motor development. The review included only observational studies, and no included study tested an attachment intervention or showed cause.