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Attachment stability and emotional and behavioral regulation from infancy to preschool age
J I Vondra1, D S Shaw, L Swearingen
1Department of Psychology in Education, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260-7478, USA.
Insights
Childhood attachment security shows modest stability but increases in insecurity over time. Early attachment predicts later behavior problems, especially when considering emotional regulation.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychiatry
Background:
- Attachment security is crucial for child development.
- Understanding the link between attachment and emotional/behavioral regulation is vital for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the longitudinal relationship between infant attachment and child emotional and behavioral regulation.
- To investigate the predictive power of attachment classifications on later behavior problems.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 223 children from low-income families.
- Attachment assessed at 12, 18, and 24 months using infant and preschool classification systems.
- Child regulation and behavior problems assessed via observer ratings and maternal reports.
Main Results:
- Attachment security showed modest stability, with a trend towards increasing insecurity over time.
- Attachment was concurrently and predictively associated with child regulation indices.
- Only 24-month attachment classification predicted externalizing and internalizing behaviors at 3.5 years.
Conclusions:
- Attachment security and atypical classifications offer valuable insights into child functioning.
- Continuity and change in attachment influence developmental psychopathology.
- Early attachment assessment can inform predictions of later behavioral outcomes.
Abstract:
Relations between attachment and child emotional and behavioral regulation were studied longitudinally in a sample of 223 children from urban, low-income families. Attachment in the Strange Situation at 12 and 18 months was scored using the infant classification system and at 24 months was scored using a preschool classification system. Only modest stability was found in attachment whether within or across classification systems, with the percentage of insecure attachments consistently increasing over time. Results indicated both concurrent and predictive associations with indices of child regulation based on observer ratings or maternal report. However, only the 24-month classification predicted maternal report of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems at age 3.5 years. with additional variance accounted for by selected measures of child emotional and behavior regulation from the same assessment. Attachment security (B) and atypical attachment classifications (D, A/C, and AD) appear to provide the most consistently useful information about child functioning. Results are discussed in terms of continuity and change from the perspective of developmental psychopathology.