What security of attachment
predicts
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1
Review
Most infants are attached but only 2/3 of
infants are typically securely attached.
 There is strong but limited experimental
evidence and extensive evidence from metaanalyses that caregiver sensitivity predicts
secure attachment
 What does secure attachment predict?

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What does secure attachment
predict?





Describe the stability (or instability) of attachment security
as in infancy?
What evidence supports the idea that attachment security
predicts the timing of puberty in girls?
What does insecure and disorganized attachment predict in
childhood?
Describe and explain correspondences between parental
and infant security of attachment.
EC. Describe the effects of double insecurity. 10 points.
The figure was correct.
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The Big Question
How do early experiences of attachment
relationships impact later relationships?
 Through behavioral and then internal
representations of what can be expected
from relationships

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Internal Working Models

Mental representations of the availability of
the attachment figure and what to do when
the attachment system is activated
•

Mental rules for organizing, accessing, and limiting
access to information relevant to attachment.
Impact individual differences in strange
situation behavior and, hence, infant
attachment classification.
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The Big Question

How do early experiences of attachment
relationships impact later relationships?
–
–
–
–
Early infancy to later infancy
Infancy to childhood
Infancy to adulthood
Infancy to parenthood
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Impact of early experiences
Stability

Attachment classification should be stable
–
If you’re secure, you should remain secure
Or
 Transition should be linked to life-events
–
–
Negative events: Secure -> Insecure
Positive events: Insecure -> Secure
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Strange Situation classification
shows only moderate stability


NICHD, 2001, Dev. Psy
Similar to Seifer et al.,
MLS findings
And similar to Belsky,
Campbell, Cohn, &
Moore, 1996 findings
9
Stability of infant classification?

75% stability in ABC from 12 to 18 months
–

five studies of "nonrisk" samples, N = 205 (1980s)
46-55% (non-significant) ABC ‘stability’ from 12
to 18 months
–
–
–
1 study with 3 independent samples (n = 125, n = 90,
and, with fathers (n = 120) (1990s)
Bigger single sample
Coding Disorganization may influence coding
•
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Belsky et al. 1996
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Large scale study stability

Modest stability for A, B, C, and D classifications
from 15 to 36 months
–
–
Low maternal sensitivity from 24 to 36 months
predicted shift from secure to insecure
Higher maternal sensitivity from 24 to 36 months
predicted change from insecure to secure


NICHD Early Child Care Research Network
Marginal stability for A, B, C, and D
classifications from 18 to 36 months
–
Kappa = .06; p < .05

Maternal Lifestyle Study
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Disorganized stability

Disorganized infants show reasonably
stable categorization in the Strange
Situation
–
two studies; r=.34 over a mean of 25 months
 Also
have higher stress reactions (salivary cortisol)
than other infants
•
Meta-analysis: Van Ijzendoorn, Schuengel, & BakermansKranenburg (1999)
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The Big Question

How do early experiences of attachment
relationships impact later relationships?
–
–
–
–
Early infancy to later infancy
Infancy to childhood
Infancy to adulthood
Infancy to parenthood
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Is security a ‘vaccination’?

Most competent 3-yr-olds have both secure
attachment (at 15 mo) & (relatively) highsensitive mothering (at 24 mo)
NICHD Study of Early Child Care
Insecurely attached children who subsequently
experienced high-sensitive mothering significantly
outperformed secure children who subsequently
experienced low-sensitive mothering.
–


Belsky, J. and R. M. P. Fearon (2002). "Early attachment security, subsequent maternal sensitivity, and later child development:
Does continuity in development depend upon continuity of caregiving?" Attachment & Human Development 4(3): 361-387.
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Sensitivitybeyond attachment
through age 15
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Fraley, R. C., Roisman, G. I., & Haltigan, J. D.
(2013). The legacy of early experiences in
development: Formalizing alternative models of how
17 Dev
early experiences are carried forward over time.
Psychol, 49(1), 109-126.
Enduring Effects of Maternal Sensitivity

The Enduring Predictive Significance of
Early Maternal Sensitivity: Social and
Academic Competence Through Age 32
Years
–
Raby, Roisman, Fraley, & Simpson, 2014
RESULTS: TRANSACTIONAL +
COVARIATES
Maternal
Sensitivity
Social and
Time
1
Academic
Competence at
Different Times
Covariates
Social Competence:
ΔΧ2 = 0.82, p =.37
Time
2
Time
3
Time
4
Time
5
Time
6
Enduring effects of:
Gender**
Maternal Education**
Socioeconomic Status
Ethnicity
RESULTS: TRANSACTIONAL +
COVARIATES
Maternal
Sensitivity
Social and
Time
1
Academic
Competence at
Different Times
Covariates
Academic Competence:
ΔΧ2 = 3.96, p <.05
Time
2
Time
3
Time
4
Time
5
Time
6
Enduring effects of:
Gender*
Maternal Education*
Socioeconomic Status
Ethnicity
Early care  later attachment
avoidance/anxiety
Fraley, et al., 2013
Est. early
sensitivity
received
Est.
change
in qual.
of care
Father
Social
Maternal
Friendship
Competence
Absence
Competence
Sensitivity
Depression
Quality (M)
(T)
Carter
Bichay
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Purpose Of Study

Investigate attachment continuity and
parental sensitive support from infancy to
adolescence in 125 adopted adolescents

Expected that continuity or discontinuity
of attachment security would be explained
by parental sensitive support
Bichay
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Methods
Age
Assessment
Method
12 months old
Strange Situation
Procedure
Observation
Maternal Sensitive
Support
Observation
Temperament
Parent Report
7 years old
Questionnaire on
Stressful Life Events
Parent Report
14 years old
Adult Attachment
Interview
Respondent Interview
Maternal Sensitive
Support
Observation
Questionnaire on
Stressful Life Events
Parent Report
Temperament
Parent Report
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Results

Attachment of Adolescents
–

Sensitive Support
–

39% showed secure, 61% showed insecure
Mothers of secure adolescents showed more
sensitive support at 14 years
Continuity of Attachment was not
significant
Bichay
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Results cont’d

Secure-secure vs. secure-insecure
–

Insecure-insecure vs. insecure-secure
–

Continuously secure participants had more
sensitive mothers at 12 months and 14 years old
Insecure-secure group had less supportive
mothers at 12 months but more supportive
mothers at 14 years old
Stressful life events and temperament did
not predict attachment continuity
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Discussion
Overall, in adoptive families, continuity of
attachment is dependent on continuity of
child rearing context
 Effect of attachment based intervention?
 Different effects if considered disorganized
attachment style?

Bichay
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Attachment & emotional
development

In 2nd and 3rd yrs, secure children  less angry.
–

Higher attachment  less fear and anger at 33 mo
Insecure children's negative emotions increased:
–
–
Avoidant children  fearful
Resistant children were most fearful / least joyful,

–
distress even in episodes designed to elicit joy.
Disorganized/ unclassifiable children more angry.
•
Kochanska, G. Child Development. 2001, 72 474-490
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Insecure & disorganized
 risk of externalizing problems

Disorganized at elevated risk, weaker effects for
avoidance & resistance
 Meta-analysis,
–
•

69 samples (5,947).
overall d = 0.31 (95% CI: 0.23, 0.40)
Larger effects for boys, clinical samples, observationbased outcome assessments, attachment assessments other
than the Strange Situation.
Fearon, R. P., M. J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, et al. (2010). "The significance of insecure attachment and disorganization in the development of children s externalizing behavior: A
meta-analytic study." Child Development 81(2): 435-456.
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Disorganized
externalizing
Disorganized/Nonsecure 
Internalizing/Externalizing
Based on 42 independent samples (N = 4,614),
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(Groh, Roisman, van
Ijzendoorn, BakermansKranenburg, & Fearon,
37
2012)
Double insecurity  Behavior problems
(insecurity with dad key variable..)
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Prediction from father…




Disorganized attachment with dad at 15 months predicts
children’s higher externalizing behavior problems
Child’s resistance with mother and father predicted
higher teacher-rated externalizing behavior problems.
Even when children showed high resistance with their
father, if the child demonstrated low resistance with
mom it served as a protective factor
Low resistance with dad also predicted lower teacher
reported behavior problems despite level of resistance
with mom
But insecure attachment may
have positive functions
The function of attachment is safety
 Avoidance minimizes unfruitful attempts to
elicit caregiving
 Resistance maximizes attention to
separation & minimizes separation
 Even disorganization balances exposure to a
threatening but needed caregiver
 Security may not be the only way to ‘get it
right.’

•
Crittenden (Dahra Jackson)
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Attachment and Maturation

Evolutionary framework
–
–

Does infant attachment
change maturation?
Does attachment signal
challenges an infant faces?
Difficult environment
=> Earlier menarche
Belsky, Houts, & Fearon 2010
Mattson
44
Attachment-Maturation Model


Early menarche:
insecure overrepresented
Is insecurity a
better fit to
certain
environments?
Belsky, Houts, & Fearon 2010
controlled for mother’s age of menarche
Mattson
Attachment and Children's Peer Relations

“Small-to-moderate” association between
attachment security to mother and quality of
children’s peer relations
–

meta-analysis of 63 studies indicates
Effects “higher for studies that focused on
children's close friendships rather than on relations
with other peers.”
–
Effects larger after early childhood

“Gender & cultural differences … minimal”
–
A Quantitative Review (Schneider et al ’2001)
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The Big Question

How do early experiences of attachment
relationships impact later relationships?
–
–
–
–
Early infancy to later infancy
Infancy to childhood
Infancy to adulthood
Infancy to parenthood
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Stability: Infant to adult


2 studies report significant levels of stability
between infant attachment security and adult
security
2 studies do not
–

But 1 did not use a traditional strange situation
In all studies, negative life events associated with
transitions from infant security to adult insecurity
–
But negative life events (e.g. divorce, parental
depression) are not the same in all studies
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The Big Question

How do early experiences of attachment
relationships impact later relationships?
–
–
–
–
Early infancy to later infancy
Infancy to adulthood
Infancy to childhood
Infancy to parenthood
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Overview
Introduction to the Adult Attachment
Interview (AAI)
 Correspondence between parents’ security
of attachment (from AAI) and their
children’s security of attachment
 Practice the Adult Attachment Interview
(AAI)

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A Big Question

Do parents’ representation of their own attachment
experiences relate – presumably through their own
parenting behaviors – to the attachment
classification of their children in the next
generation?
To answer such questions, attachment theory has moved to
the level of representation.
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In adulthood

Internal working models impact attachment
behavior
–
–

Mental representations of the availability of the
attachment figure
What to do when the attachment system is
activated
Purpose of the Adult Attachment Interview
is to classify these internal working models.
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Interview

18 questions with follow-up probes, semistructured, hour-long, transcribed verbatim
–
–
–
–
5 adjectives describing each parent with
supporting (or contradicting) memories
what occurred when upset (when the
attachment system was activated)
impact of those experience on current
functioning
current relationship with parents
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How Speakers are Categorized

As Autonomous (secure), Dismissing (avoidant),
or Preoccupied (resistant)
–


Not based on experiences themselves
But on speaker’s current relationship to the
experiences
–

And, independently, as Unresolved/Disorganized
how they’ve processed their past
Based on the coherence of their discourse
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Discourse coherence

Adherence or violation of Grice’s maxims of
coherent discourse
–
–
–
–

Quality: Have evidence for what you say.
Quantity: Be succinct but complete.
Relation: Be relevant.
Manner: Be clear and orderly.
Helps categorize speakers as autonomous,
dismissing, or preoccupied
–
Disorganized categorized in 3 main categories
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Specifics of the Hypothesized Link


Autonomous parents are sensitively responsive
and promote security
Dismissive parents avoid acknowledging
attachment needs of infants
–

who respond by minimizing attachment needs and
becoming avoidant
Preoccupied parents do not respond to infant
attachment needs predictably
–
Who respond by chronic attempts to achieve security
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Correspondence
Adult state of mind

Autonomous
–


Coherent narrative

Generalized normalizing
without specific examples
–

Lapses in reasoning
Not comforted by parent
Disorganized
–
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Does not make contact with parent
or express attachment needs
Resistant
–

Soothed by parent
Avoidant
–
Long, entangled narratives
Unresolved
Secure –
Preoccupied
–


Dismissing
–
Infant SS behavior
No coherent strategy
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Autonomous (secure)

“Presentation and evaluation of attachmentrelated experiences is coherent and
consistent and their responses are clear,
relevant, and reasonably succinct” whether
or not experiences themselves were positive
or negative.
•
Messinger
(van IJzendoorn, 1995, p. 388)
62
Dismissing (Avoidant)

Minimize attachment-related experiences
–

Avoid activating attachment system
Describe parents with positive adjectives
that are unsupported or contradicted by
memories that are recounted
–
Violating the quality maxim
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Preoccupied (Resistant)

Preoccupied by attachment figures and
attachment-related experiences.
–

Attachment system chronically activated
Transcripts tend to be lengthy and
unfocussed
–
Violating the quantity maxim
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Unresolved - Disorganized Link
Unresolved parents are frightened or
frightening in dealing with attachment
issues.
 Infants often respond to a parent who is
threatening rather than comforting with
disorganized attachment behavior

–
No clear strategy.
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Validity of AAI

Classifications are stable
–

Not related to IQ measures
–

6 of 7 studies
Discourse style relates to attachment
–

2 months, 3 months, 1.5 years
not interviews about job
Machine learning shows some ability to
distinguish adult attachment in AAI
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Parent-Infant
Attachment Correspondence



Meta-analysis of 13 studies using three major
categories
75% secure vs. insecure agreement (K=.49)
70% three-way agreement (K=.46)
–
Prebirth AAI show 69% three-way agreement (K=.44)
•
Bakermans-kranenburg, M. J. & Vanijzendoorn, M. H.
(1993). A Psychometric Study of the Adult Attachment
Interview - Reliability and Discriminant Validity.
Developmental Psychology, 29, 870-879.
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Parent-Infant Correspondence
Parental Attachment
Infant Attachment
Dismissing Autonomous
InsecureAvoidant
Count
(Expected
Count)
Count
Secure
InsecureResistant
(Expected
Count)
Count
(Expected
Count)
Preoccupied
116
46
27
(51.2)
(105.5)
(32.3)
53
304
46
(109.1)
(225.0)
(68.9)
10
19
40
(18.7)
(38.5)
(11.8)
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Parent-Infant
Attachment Correspondence
Meta-analysis of 9 studies (k=9, n=548)
using four major categories
 Secure versus insecure, 74%
 Four-way agreement, 63%

–
Prebirth AAI show 65% four-way agreement
•
Which parent category is not so strong a predictor of
infant category?
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Infant Attachment
Parent-Infant Correspondence
Count
Insecure(Expected
Avoidant
Count)
Count
Secure
(Expected
Count)
Count
Insecure(Expected
Resistant
Count)
Count
Disorgani
(Expected
zed
Count)
Parental Attachment
Dismissing Autonomous Preoccupied Unresolved
62
29
14
11
(23)
24
(58)
210
(10)
14
(25)
39
(57)
3
(144)
9
(25)
10
(62)
6
(6)
19
(14)
26
(3)
10
(6)
62
(23)
(59)
(10)
(25)
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How might link work?

Parental attachment accounted for 12% of
variation in observed parental
responsiveness
–

Meta-analysis of 10 studies (r = .34)
Parental sensitive responsiveness is, in turn,
associated with infant attachment security
–
van Ijzendoorn meta-analysis (r = .22)
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Putting the pieces together
Parent
Internal
Working
Model
r = .34
Sensitive
Responsiveness
r = .22
Attachment
Security
.40
Total Observed association, r = .47
(Direct * Direct) + Indirect = Total
(.34 * .22) + .40 = .47
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Breaking the Link
Parental attachment is not formed by past
experiences but by current orientation to
past.
 Supportive experiences with a partner,
friend or therapist can allow for earned
autonomy in the face of experiences that
would otherwise be associated with
insecurity.

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Interview
Interview a partner about one attachment
figure focusing on questions 2 through 4
 Each person analyzes their own responses

–

no comments form partner
Only share what you want to share
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Adult Attachment Interview
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How to Think About What
You’ve Said

Scales associated with autonomous category
–

Scales associated with dismissing category
–

coherence, metacognitive monitoring
Idealization of attachment figures, insistence on lack of
memory for childhood, dismissal of attachment-related
experience/relationships
Scales associated with preoccupied category
–
anger expressed toward attachment figure,
passivity/vagueness in discourse
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Longitudinal predictors of adult
attachment

Ongoing environmental impacts
–
–
–
continued parental sensitivity
social functioning
friendship
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References

The Adult Attachment Interview:
Historical and Current Perspectives
–

Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness, and infant
attachment: A meta-analysis on the predictive validity of the Adult
Attachment Interview
–


(Hesse, 1999)
(van IJzendoorn, 1995)
Van Ijzendoorn, M. H., Schuengel, C., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M.
J. (1999). Disorganized attachment in early childhood: Meta-analysis
of precursors, concomitants, and sequelae. Development and
Psychopathology, 11, 225-249.
Instability of infant-parent attachment security.
Belsky, Jay; Campbell, Susan B.; Cohn, Jeffrey F.; Moore, Ginger.
Developmental Psychology. 1996 Sep Vol 32(5) 921-924
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