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Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

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Negative emotionality, attachment quality, and behavior problems in early childhood

Ursula Pauli-Pott1, Antje Haverkock1, Wilfried Pott2

  • 1University of Giessen, Germany.

Infant Mental Health Journal
|June 23, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Infant attachment disorganization predicts behavior problems, particularly in babies with high negative emotionality. This highlights the combined importance of attachment quality and emotionality for social adjustment.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Adjustment

Background:

  • Negative emotionality and attachment quality are key factors in childhood social adjustment.
  • The interplay between infant negative emotionality and attachment quality in predicting behavior problems requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine how infant negative emotionality and attachment quality (security and disorganization) interact to influence the development of behavior problems.
  • To clarify the roles of attachment security and disorganization in social adjustment.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 64 healthy firstborn children and their primary caregivers.
  • Negative emotionality assessed at 4, 8, and 12 months via laboratory routines.
  • Attachment security and disorganization assessed at 18 months using the Strange Situation procedure.
  • Behavior problems evaluated at 30 months through a structured clinical interview.

Main Results:

  • Both attachment security and attachment disorganization were significantly linked to later behavior problems.
  • No significant direct relationship was found between infant negative emotionality and behavior problems.
  • A trend suggested that attachment disorganization was more strongly associated with behavior problems in infants exhibiting high negative emotionality.

Conclusions:

  • Attachment quality, specifically disorganization, is a significant predictor of poor social adjustment.
  • High negative emotionality may exacerbate the negative impact of disorganized attachment on behavior problems.
  • Both attachment and emotionality are crucial for understanding social adjustment in children.

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