Related Experiment Videos
Development of mother-infant attachment scale
O N Bhakoo1, D Pershad, R Mahajan
1Department of Pediatrics, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.
Indian Pediatrics
|December 1, 1994
Summary
A new 15-item mother-infant attachment scale was developed for rural women. Longer infant separation correlated with lower mother-infant attachment, highlighting the importance of proximity.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Maternal-infant bonding studies
- Developmental psychology
Background:
- Assessing mother-infant attachment is crucial for child development.
- Existing scales may not be suitable for low-literacy populations.
- Cultural context influences attachment dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a brief, culturally appropriate mother-infant attachment scale.
- To assess the reliability and validity of the new scale.
- To investigate the impact of separation on mother-infant attachment.
Main Methods:
- Development of a 15-item mother-infant attachment scale.
- Administration to rural women, including those with low literacy.
- Reliability testing using split-half method (0.83).
- Validation through face and construct assessment.
- Comparison of attachment levels between separated and non-separated infants.
Main Results:
- The scale is simple, brief, and easy to understand.
- High split-half reliability (0.83) and internal consistency.
- Demonstrated high face and construct validity.
- Infants experiencing longer separations showed significantly less subsequent attachment.
- No separation group exhibited higher attachment scores.
Conclusions:
- The developed scale is a reliable and valid tool for assessing mother-infant attachment in diverse populations.
- Maternal-infant separation negatively impacts attachment.
- The scale's simplicity makes it suitable for use in rural and low-literacy settings.