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A shoulder to cry on: preschoolers' crying, temperament, and attachment security

Jacob Dominic Wilson1, Michael Yap Yee1, Jean-François Bureau1

  • 1School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Attachment & Human Development
|April 16, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Preschoolers' crying in the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) reflects their attachment security with parents, not their temperament. Higher security correlated with less crying, while insecure-ambivalent attachment predicted more crying with specific parents.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychology
  • Attachment Theory

Background:

  • Attachment scholars link crying in the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to relationship quality.
  • Temperament scholars attribute crying variations primarily to innate temperamental traits.
  • Preschoolers' crying responses in the SSP remain understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether preschoolers' crying behaviors in the SSP are indicative of their attachment relationships or negative affectivity.
  • To examine the interplay between attachment dimensions, crying, and temperament in preschoolers.

Main Methods:

  • 144 preschoolers completed the Preschool-SSP with mothers and fathers.
  • Attachment dimensions and crying behaviors were assessed during independent visits.
  • Child negative affectivity was measured using the Child Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ).

Main Results:

  • Insecure-ambivalent attachment predicted increased crying with the specific parent.
  • Higher attachment security was associated with reduced crying.
  • Parent-reported negative affectivity did not predict crying or attachment concordance.

Conclusions:

  • Preschoolers' crying in the Preschool-SSP is predominantly associated with attachment relationships.
  • Temperament, specifically negative affectivity, appears to be a less significant factor in SSP crying for this age group.
  • Findings support the role of attachment quality in shaping preschoolers' distress vocalizations in the SSP.

Keywords:
AttachmentStrange Situation Procedurecryingpreschooltemperament

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