“Classical” and Contextual
Determinants of Attachment
Belsky, J., Rosenberger, K., & Crnic,
K. (1995). The origins of attachment
security: “Classical” and contextual
determinants. In S. Goldberg, R. Muir,
& J. Kerr (Eds.), Attachment theory:
Social, developmental, and clinical
perspectives (pp. 153-83). Hillsdale,
NJ: The Analytic Press.
Introduction
 Controversy about “classicial” theories of
personality development.
 Bowlby and Ainsworth: emphasizes role of
caregiving in development of security.
 Temperament theorists: parents are “blamed”
for difficulties inherent in the child.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Reasons for Integration of Attachment
and Ecological Perspectives
 Ecological theory seeks to understand
contextual influences on the caregiverchild relationship.
 This turns the independent variable from
attachment research into a dependent
variable.
 “It must be emphasized that this ecological or
contextual view of classical atatchment theory
and research in no way violates the premises
of the theory or research traditions it has
spawned; rather, it is our view that it enriches
it while preserving its strengths” (p. 154).
 Attachment theory and ecological theory
both emphasize “the importance of the
lifespan and the developmental makeup
of the parent providing care to the child”
(p. 154).
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
“Classical” Determinants of
Attachment Security
 Infant Temperament
 Some theorists suggest that temperament
may shape the “kind” of secure or insecure
attachment that develops.
 Infant temperament alone does not seem to
predict secure versus insecure attachment.
This is supported by “Crockenberg’s (1981)
findings that highly irritable infants are
more likely to develop insecure attachment
relationships prinicpally when their mothers
experience low levels of social support (p.
156; emphasis added).
Other studies, including reported results
from Belsky’s lab, seem to refute the
hypothesis that temparament is a major
determinant of attachment security.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
“Classical” Determinants of
Attachment Security (cont.)
 Role of Parent/Caregiver
 Quality of maternal care: although there is still
some controversy about the lasting effect of
attachment at a particular time (cf., Thompson,
1999), the evidence does suggest that quality
of caregiving influences type of attachment.
 Quality of nonmaternal care: experience of
caregiving from others seems to influence
present attachment style.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
“Classical” Determinants of
Attachment Security (cont.)
 Conclusion
 “Even though infant temperamental
characteristics may contribute to the quality of
interaction between caregiver and child, the
evidence that such attributes are the primary
determinants of attachment security is weak”
(pp. 162-163).
 Individual differences in attachment security
seem to be “related to the nature of the care
that an infant or toddler experiences with a
particular caregiver. What makes the
evidence particularly convincing is that it is
both correlational and experimental in nature;
it is both longitudinal as well as crosssectional; it involves samples of so-called
normal mother-child dyads as well as more
clinical samples; and it applies to fathers and
day-care providers as well as to mothers"”(p.
162; emphasis added).
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Psychological and Social-Contextual
Determinants of Attachment Security
 Parental Psychological
Resources/Personality
 Psychological health of parents seems to
influence attachment in children.
 Chronicity and intensity: parental depression
over a long-period of time and parental anxiety
seem to influence attachment.
 The following personality subscales used to
measures caregivers seem to predict
attachment in children: nurturance,
understanding, autonomy, inquisitiveness,
dependence.
 Contextual Sources of Stress and
Support
 Marital Relationship
 Nonspousal social support
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson