Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of three year olds' attachment behavior

This investigation reports on the antecedents and cross-sectional predictors of young children's attachment security based on Q-sort methodology, with particular consideration of the convergence of parental reports. Mothers' and fathers' ratings of child temperament and child behavior problems, as well as each parent's construction of the marital relationship and his/her affective state, were examined in relation to Q-sort assessments of mother-child and father-child attachment security. Generally, a moderate degree of convergence between maternal and paternal perceptions of attachment security was found; this association was stronger than the correlations reported based on studies using the Strange Situation procedure at 12 to 18 months of age. Antecedent relationships between ratings of parental affective symptoms, as well as ratings of marital quality and security of attachment, were stronger for fathers than for mothers. These findings may suggest closer links for fathers than for mothers between parental nurturing responses and psychological state, or they may reveal a stronger subjective bias for fathers inherent in the Q-sort method.