Attachment representations of school-aged Korean children: comparing family drawing and narrative assessments in a clinical and a community sample

This study explored the links between two different methods of assessing children’s attachment representations, a narrative task (the Manchester Attachment Story Task, MCAST) and a drawing task (the Family Drawing Task, FDT), in a clinical sample of 51 and a community sample of 45 Korean children aged 7–9. In both samples, attachment classifications derived from the MCAST were related to attachment classifications and global ratings derived from the FDT. In addition, rates of insecure attachment determined by MCAST classifications and by FDT global scales indicative of insecure attachment were higher in the clinical sample than the community sample. Variations in attachment patterns for these Korean samples are discussed in relation to Korean child-rearing customs. Results of this study contribute to the cross-cultural validation of both of these instruments, as well as extending our understanding of patterns of attachment in Korea from infancy to middle childhood.     

Assessing disorganized attachment representations: a systematic psychometric review and meta-analysis of the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task

Narrative story stem measures are increasingly popular for the assessment of attachment representations among early school-age children. Given their clinical and theoretical importance, disorganized representations are typically a focus of assessment procedures. The Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) is one such measure. A systematic literature review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the documented reliability and validity of the MCAST with a focus on assessing disorganized representations. Twenty-five studies were included in the review encompassing 1,876 children from nine countries. Results suggest that inter-rater reliability for the MCAST is acceptable and the prevalence of disorganization identified on the MCAST among various subgroups (e.g. community, clinical, adopted/maltreated) is comparable to prevalence estimates from other developmental periods using other assessment methods. In addition, prevalence of disorganization on the MCAST differed in hypothesized ways between the various subgroups. However, MCAST disorganization did not correlate in predictable ways with many constructs when relationships were examined within samples. Few studies examined the relationship of disorganization on the MCAST with parenting variables, aspects of adoption and maltreatment, and emotion regulation skills. Recommendations for further study of the MCAST and for how the tool might be integrated into clinical and developmental research are provided.     

Continuity and discontinuity of attachment patterns: a short-term longitudinal pilot study using a sample of late-adopted children and their adoptive mothers

This study analysed the attachment patterns of 28 late-adopted children (placed when they were between four and seven years of age) and their adoptive mothers. The change in the children's internal working models (IWMs) within seven to eight months of their placement was evaluated. In addition, we wanted to observe the influence of a secure-autonomous maternal state of mind in facilitating the change in the children's IWMs and the possible associations between the maternal IWMs and the children's IWMs in the adoptive dyads. The separation-reunion procedure (SRP) was used for the late-adopted children in order to assess their attachment behavioural patterns, and the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) was used to evaluate their attachment narrative patterns. The adoptive mothers completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) in order to classify their state of mind with regard to attachment. The results showed a significant change in the attachment behavioural patterns of late-adopted children, from insecure to secure (p = .002). Furthermore, the children who presented this change were predominantly placed with secure-autonomous adoptive mothers (p = .047), although the link between the adoptive mothers' representations of their attachment history and their adopted children's completed narratives was not significant. In conclusion, it seems possible to revise the attachment behaviour of late-adopted children but, for about one-third of children, the adverse history will persist at a narrative/representational level.     

Convergence between attachment classifications and natural reunion behavior among children and parents in a child care setting

The current study examined the convergence between young children's attachment classifications in the laboratory-based Strange Situation Procedure and children's and parents' behaviors during naturalistic reunions after a day in child care. Fifty-eight parent-child dyads participated in this study. Children's attachment security assessed from the Strange Situation Procedure was significantly associated with ratings of children's security, avoidance, and delight toward their parents during the natural reunion episodes, and with parents' responsiveness during the natural reunion episodes. These findings suggest that natural reunions at the end of the day in child care reflect the quality of attachment relationships between young children and their parents.     

Affect dysregulation in the mother-child relationship in the toddler years: antecedents and consequences

The purpose of this study was to examine child, maternal, and family antecedents of children's early affect dysregulation within the mother-child relationship and later cognitive and socioemotional correlates of affect dysregulation. Children's affect dysregulation at 24 and 36 months was defined in the context of mother-child interactions in semistructured play and toy cleanup. Dyads were classified as dysregulated at each age based on high negative affect. Affect dysregulation was associated with less maternal sensitivity and stimulation, more maternal depressive symptoms, and lower family income over the first 36 months of life. Children with early negative mood, lower Bayley Mental Development Index scores and insecure-avoidant (15 months) or insecure-resistant attachment classifications (36 months) were more likely to be in an affect-dysregulated group. Controlling for family and child variables, affect-dysregulated children had more problematic cognitive, social, and behavioral outcomes at 54 months, kindergarten, and first grade. The findings are discussed in terms of the early role played by parents in assisting children with affect regulation, the reciprocal nature of parent-child interactions, and the contribution of affect regulation to children's later cognitive, social, and behavioral competence.     

Development and preliminary validation of the caregiving behavior system: association with child attachment classification in the preschool strange situation

The Marvin and Britner system for classifying caregiver behavior patterns in the preschool Strange Situation is presented to complement the Cassidy and Marvin (1992) preschool child-parent attachment classification system. Participants were 110 mothers and their preschool children (aged 2 to 4 years) with medical risks (epilepsy or mild cerebral palsy) or no diagnosis (i.e., healthy). As coded by reliable, independent raters, there was a highly significant level of concordance between the 5-category caregiver and child classifications in the preschool Strange Situation across the medical risk levels. In comparison to other caregivers, mothers classified as secure in their caregiving behavior pattern were rated as more sensitive; they also showed greater delight and were more supportive of their children's exploration. Combinations of the ten, 9-point caregiver rating scales were useful in discriminating among the insecure caregiver patterns.     

The relationship between attachment strategies and psychopathology in adolescence

Aim: The majority of research investigating attachment and psychopathology has focused largely on children, and more recently adults. By comparison, few studies have considered the role of attachment on the development of psychopathology during adolescence. The scarcity of studies in this area is surprising given that adolescence is a critical period of psychological adjustment. This study investigates attachment patterns in adolescence and their relationship to symptomatology and interpersonal difficulties. Method: A two‐sample comparative design was employed so that a clinical group of adolescents were compared with a matched non‐clinical group, on attachment classifications (using a modified Separation Anxiety Test), reported interpersonal difficulties and clinical symptoms. Results: Significant differences were found between the clinical and non‐clinical groups on attachment classifications. Adolescents with ambivalent attachment patterns reported significantly more interpersonal difficulties and symptoms compared to young people classified as having secure and avoidant attachment classifications. The results are suggestive of specific differences in the way difficulties are reported. Conclusion: The findings are consistent with two strategies of affect regulation. It is proposed that a ‘hyperactivating’ strategy and a ‘deactivating’ strategy may be operating among those adolescents with ambivalent and avoidant attachment classifications, respectively. The implications of using self‐report measures in clinical work and for evidence‐based practice are discussed.     

A new method of evaluating attachment representations in young school-age children: The Manchester Child Attachment Story Task

We describe a new instrument, using a doll-play vignette completion method, which applies concepts and methodologies from infant and adult attachment research to enable identification and detailed classification of internal representations of attachment relationships in young school-age children. Validation of the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) in a normal population (N = 53) shows good interrater reliability and content validity. Patterns of attachment representation identified show stability over time. Comparisons are made with existing methodologies, and potential applications of the instrument and directions for future research are discussed.     

Longitudinal association between infant disorganized attachment and childhood posttraumatic stress symptoms

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether children with a history of disorganized attachment in infancy were more likely than children without a history of disorganized attachment to exhibit symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at school age following trauma exposure. The sample consisted of 78 8.5-year-old children from a larger, ongoing prospective study evaluating the effects of intrauterine cocaine exposure (IUCE) on children's growth and development from birth to adolescence. At the 12-month visit, children's attachment status was scored from videotapes of infant-caregiver dyads in Ainsworth's strange situation. At the 8.5-year visit, children were administered the Violence Exposure Scale-Revised, a child-report trauma exposure inventory, and the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents by an experienced clinical psychologist masked to children's attachment status and IUCE status. Sixteen of the 78 children (21%) were classified as insecure-disorganized/insecure-other at 12 months. Poisson regressions covarying IUCE, gender, and continuity of maternal care indicated that disorganized attachment status at 12 months, compared with nondisorganized attachment status, significantly predicted both higher avoidance cluster PTSD symptoms and higher reexperiencing cluster PTSD symptoms. These findings suggest that the quality of early dyadic relationships may be linked to differences in children's later development of posttraumatic stress symptoms following a traumatic event.     

Changing toddlers' and preschoolers' attachment classifications: the Circle of Security intervention

The Circle of Security intervention uses a group treatment modality to provide parent education and psychotherapy that is based on attachment theory. The purpose of this study was to track changes in children's attachment classifications pre- and immediately postintervention. Participants were 65 toddler- or preschooler- caregiver dyads recruited from Head Start and Early Head Start programs. As predicted, there were significant within-subject changes from disorganized to organized attachment classifications, with a majority changing to the secure classification. In addition, only 1 of the 13 preintervention securely attached children shifted to an insecure classification. Results suggest that the Circle of Security protocol is a promising intervention for the reduction of disorganized and insecure attachment in high-risk toddlers and preschoolers.     

Naïve observers' perceptions of family drawings by 7-year-olds with disorganized attachment histories

Previous research has succeeded in distinguishing among drawings made by children with histories of organized attachment relationships (secure, avoidant, and resistant); however, drawings of children with histories of disorganized attachment have yet to be systematically investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine whether na?ve observers would respond differentially to family drawings of 7-year-olds who were classified in infancy as disorganized vs. organized. Seventy-three undergraduate students from one university and 78 from a second viewed 50 family drawings of 7-year-olds (25 by children with organized infant attachment and 25 by children with disorganized infant attachment). Participants were asked to (1) circle the emotion that best described their reaction to the drawings and (2) rate the drawings on 6 bipolar scales. Drawings from children classified as disorganized in infancy evoked positive emotion labels less often and negative emotion labels more often than those children classified as organized. Furthermore, drawings from children classified as disorganized in infancy received higher ratings on scales for disorganization, carelessness, family chaos, bizarreness, uneasiness, and dysfunction. These data indicate that naive observers are relatively successful in distinguishing selected features of drawings by children with histories of disorganized vs. organized attachment.     

Developmental protective and risk factors in borderline personality disorder: A study using the Adult Attachment Interview

Mental representations and attachment in a sample of adults with Borderline Personality Disorder were assessed using the George, Kaplan and Main (1985) Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Eighty subjects participated in the study: 40 nonclinical and 40 with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The results obtained showed a specific distribution of attachment patterns in the clinical sample: free/autonomous subjects (F) represented only 7%, dismissing classifications (Ds) reached about 20%, entangled/preoccupied (E) 23% and unresolved with traumatic experiences (U) 50%. The two samples differed in their attachment patterns distribution by two (secure vs. insecure status), three (F, Ds and E) and four-way (F, Ds, E and U) categories comparisons. In order to identify more specific protective or risk factors of BPD, 25 one-way ANOVAs with clinical status as variable (clinical vs. nonclinical) were conducted on each scale of the coding system of the interview. Results support the hypothesis that some developmental relational experiences seem to constitute pivotal risk factors underlying this disorder. Results demonstrated potential benefits in using AAI scales in addition to the traditional categories. Implications for research and treatment are discussed.     

Recent trends in research on teacher-child relationships

Theoretical and empirical work on relationships between teachers and children relies on developmental systems theory as the foundational conceptual model, drawing heavily from basic work in attachment as well as research on social development. Recently, the focus on relational processes in effort to support children's development in the classroom has proliferated, with multiple disciplines and fields engaging in research on teacher-child relationship quality to understand and improve the experiences and learning of students. This paper updates the conceptual framework and continues the necessary integration between disciplines by exploring three areas of research: (1) concordance between children's relationships with teachers and parents; (2) the moderating role of teacher-child relationships for the development of at-risk children; and (3) training teachers from a relational perspective. Each of the three areas of research on teacher-child relationships is examined in light of recent findings and considers implications for understanding the nature and impact of relationships between teachers and children.     

Developmental protective and risk factors in borderline personality disorder: a study using the Adult Attachment Interview

Mental representations and attachment in a sample of adults with Borderline Personality Disorder were assessed using the George, Kaplan and Main (1985) Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Eighty subjects participated in the study: 40 nonclinical and 40 with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The results obtained showed a specific distribution of attachment patterns in the clinical sample: free/autonomous subjects (F) represented only 7%, dismissing classifications (Ds) reached about 20%, entangled/preoccupied (E) 23% and unresolved with traumatic experiences (U) 50%. The two samples differed in their attachment patterns distribution by two (secure vs. insecure status), three (F, Ds and E) and four-way (F, Ds, E and U) categories comparisons. In order to identify more specific protective or risk factors of BPD, 25 one-way ANOVAs with clinical status as variable (clinical vs. nonclinical) were conducted on each scale of the coding system of the interview. Results support the hypothesis that some developmental relational experiences seem to constitute pivotal risk factors underlying this disorder. Results demonstrated potential benefits in using AAI scales in addition to the traditional categories. Implications for research and treatment are discussed.     

Continuity and discontinuity of attachment patterns: A short-term longitudinal pilot study using a sample of late-adopted children and their adoptive mothers

This study analysed the attachment patterns of 28 late-adopted children (placed when they were between four and seven years of age) and their adoptive mothers. The change in the children's internal working models (IWMs) within seven to eight months of their placement was evaluated. In addition, we wanted to observe the influence of a secure-autonomous maternal state of mind in facilitating the change in the children's IWMs and the possible associations between the maternal IWMs and the children's IWMs in the adoptive dyads. The separation-reunion procedure (SRP) was used for the late-adopted children in order to assess their attachment behavioural patterns, and the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) was used to evaluate their attachment narrative patterns. The adoptive mothers completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) in order to classify their state of mind with regard to attachment. The results showed a significant change in the attachment behavioural patterns of late-adopted children, from insecure to secure (p = .002). Furthermore, the children who presented this change were predominantly placed with secure-autonomous adoptive mothers (p = .047), although the link between the adoptive mothers' representations of their attachment history and their adopted children's completed narratives was not significant. In conclusion, it seems possible to revise the attachment behaviour of late-adopted children but, for about one-third of children, the adverse history will persist at a narrative/representational level.     

Attachment organizations in children with difficult life circumstances

The purpose of this study was to use the Attachment Q-Set to create categories of attachment organization that were conceptually consistent with organizational categories derived from other attachment assessments, reliable, and valid. We were particularly interested in creating categories that would describe insecure attachment organizations in children from difficult life circumstances. Our sample of relationships included 3062 teacher-child relationships. Children ranged in age from toddlers to kindergartners and were diverse in ethnic background. Two percent of the children were diagnosed with severe social and emotional problems and enrolled in a therapeutic preschool. Sixteen percent were enrolled in intervention programs on the basis of family poverty and another 34% of the children attended subsidized child care programs for low-income children. All of the children's child-teacher relationships were assessed with the Attachment Q-Set (AQS). Independent observers observed or rated children's peer play. Teachers completed behavior problem questionnaires and Student Teacher Relationships Scales. Using the AQS we created five subscales and six attachment organizational categories. These subscales and organizational categories were associated in theoretically meaningful ways with measures of behavior problems, social competence with peers, and teacher perceptions of child-teacher relationship.     

Mental representations of attachment in Eating Disorders: a pilot study using the Adult Attachment Interview

Mental representations of attachment in a sample of adults with Eating Disorders (ED) were assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Sixty subjects participated in the study: 30 non-clinical and 30 clinical. The results obtained showed a specific distribution of attachment patterns in the clinical sample: 10% Free/Autonomous (F), 47% Insecure-Dismissing (Ds), 17% Insecure-Entangled/Preoccupied (E) and about 26% disorganized (CC/U). The two samples differed in their attachment pattern distribution and were significantly different on some coding system scales. Further information was obtained by analyzing differences between the three ED subtypes considered (i.e. Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder) and by investigating the differential role of the two parental figures in the definition of attachment representations. Results showed potential benefits in using the AAI coding system scales in addition to the main classifications in order to understand better the developmental issues involved in these disorders. Implications for developmental research and clinical nosology are discussed.     

Japanese children's family drawings and their link to attachment

This study explored the applicability of family drawings as a tool to estimate attachment security in a sample of Japanese six-year-olds (N?=?47), applying Kaplan and Main's ( 1986 ) Family Drawing system. Maternal secure/insecure attachment status judged by the Adult Attachment Interview predicted family drawings' secure/insecure distinction produced by Japanese six-year-olds. However, insecure Japanese drawings took forms not seen in the original Berkeley drawings, such as a lineup of faces alone. Further examination of the Japanese children's drawings using global rating scales (Fury, Carlson, & Sroufe, 1997 ) yielded significant gender differences, rarely reported in the attachment literature, with girls scoring higher in scales that predict attachment security and boys scoring higher in scales that predict attachment insecurity. However, attachment security, as captured in the drawings, was not related to attachment security, observed behaviorally using Main and Cassidy's ( 1988 ) sixth-year reunion system. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of measurements, gender, and culture.     

Attachment security and parenting quality predict children's problem-solving, attributions, and loneliness with peers

The influence of early relational experience on later social understanding has evoked rich theoretical discussion but relatively little empirical inquiry. Enlisting data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, measures of the security of attachment in infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood, together with measures of parenting quality (maternal sensitivity and depressive symptoms) gathered longitudinally throughout infancy and early childhood, were used to predict differences in children's thoughts and feelings about peers (i.e., social problem solving, negative attributional biases, aggressive solutions to ambiguous social situations, and self-reported loneliness) when children were 54 months and in first grade. Relational experiences, especially before 36 months, were significantly predictive of later peer-related representations. Attachment security at 24 and 36 months was associated with enhanced social problem-solving skills and less loneliness, but security of attachment at 15 months was nonpredictive. Early maternal sensitivity was positively associated with later social problem-solving and negatively with aggressive responses, and early maternal depressive symptoms were positively associated with children's negative attributions. Concurrent parenting quality was also associated with children's thoughts and feelings about peers, but less consistently. These findings shed new light on how early relational experiences may contribute to social information processing with peers at the end of the preschool years, and that the timing of relational influences may be crucial.     

Associations between parental and child attachment representations

In the present article on intergenerational transmission of attachment representations, we use mothers' and fathers' Adult Attachment Interview classifications to predict a 3-year-old's responses to the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT). We present a Q-sort coding procedure for the ASCT, which was developed for children as young as three. The Q-sort yields scores on four attachment dimensions (security, deactivation, hyperactivation, and disorganization). One-way ANOVAs revealed significant mother-child associations for each dimension, although results for the hyperactivation and disorganization dimensions were significant only according to contrast tests. Conversely, no father-child association was found, regardless of the dimension considered. Findings are discussed in terms of the respective part played by each parent in their children's emotional development.