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Attachment, positive affect, and competence in the peer group: two studies in construct validation
Insights
Secure attachment in infancy is linked to positive emotions and social competence. Infants with secure attachment display more positive affect and better peer interactions later in childhood.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Attachment Theory
- Social-Emotional Development
Background:
- Secure attachment in infancy is crucial for healthy development.
- Previous research has primarily focused on negative correlates of insecure attachment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the positive affective correlates of secure attachment in infancy.
- To examine the relationship between secure infant attachment and later peer competence.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Observed affective behaviors (smiling, vocalizing, affective sharing) in 18- and 24-month-old infants during free play.
- Study 2: Assessed the relationship between infant-mother attachment quality at 15 months and social competence (personal and interpersonal) at 3.5 years using Q-sorts.
Main Results:
- Securely attached infants exhibited more positive affective behaviors, including smiling and affective sharing.
- Infant-mother attachment security at 15 months predicted higher social competence in the peer group at 3.5 years.
Conclusions:
- Secure attachment is associated with positive emotional expression and social adaptation.
- Attachment security is a significant predictor of social competence, supporting its role as a key developmental construct.
Abstract:
2 studies were undertaken to assess the positive affective correlates of secure attachment in infancy and to assess the relation between secure attachment in infancy and competence in the peer group at age 3 1/2 years. In study 1, smiling and smiling combined with vocalizing and/or showing toys distinguished securely from anxiously attached infants during free play at age 18 months. Rated quality of affective sharing distinguished securely from anxiously attached infants during free play at 18 months and 24 months. Thus, secure attachment involves more than the absence of negative or maladaptive behavior directed toward a caregiver. Study 2 assessed cross-age, cross-situational, and cross-behavioral consistency in quality of social adaptation. Quality of infant-mother attachment relationships at age 15 months was related to Q-sort assessments of personal and interpersonal competence in the preschool play-group at age 3 1/2 years. The results contribute to the validation of attachment as an important developmental construct. They also suggest that age appropriate assessment of developmental social competence constructs can be a useful alternative to the study of homotypic behavioral continuity.