Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the attachment insecurity screening inventory 2-5 years: a...

Secure attachment bonds between children and their parents are crucial for their positive developmental outcomes. In attachment-based treatment, there are few instruments available for identifying insecure child-caregivers attachment connection, particularly in terms of primary caregiver's perceptions. This perspective is an important clinical component to consider in parenting therapies for preschool children. This main goal of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory 2-5 Years (hereafter referred to as AISI 2-5 years), a parent-report questionnaire designed for assessing attachment insecurity in children aged 2 to 5 years.

The AISI 2-5 years underwent rigorous translation and back-translation processes. The sample comprised 486 preschoolers (M_age = 47.83 months, SD = 8.58; 49.79% girls) and their mothers (M_age = 36.30 years, SD = 3.82) from Shanghai, China. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to explore internal structure, while Cronbach's alphas were utilized to evaluate score reliability.

The findings revealed a three-factor model, encompassing avoidant attachment, disorganized attachment, and ambivalent/resistant attachment, which demonstrated a good fit for the 18-item AISI 2-5 years. Additionally, these findings demonstrated sufficient internal consistency, reliability, and convergent validity. Consequently, the AISI 2-5 years proves suitable for assessing attachment insecurity among Chinese preschoolers.

The results contribute to the advancement of research on children's insecure attachment within the Chinese context. Furthermore, future research is needed to replicate the present findings and enhance the proof supporting the appropriateness of the AISI 2-5 years for preschoolers in China. This will demonstrate its utility in evaluating parents' perception of their children's attachment insecurity.