Abstract
This study aims to analyse the attachment stability of children living in different family types from the age of 6 to 11. The study sample comprises 56 children living in Muş, Turkey, including 28 nuclear families and 28 extended families. The “Incomplete Doll Family Story Scale” was used to evaluate the attachment styles of 6-year-old children. The attachment styles of 11-year-old children were evaluated with the “Kerns Secure Attachment Scale”. The analysis revealed that the attachment of 52% of the study group was stable. No changes were observed in the attachment styles of 52% of children living in nuclear families and 47% of children living in extended families, considering attachment consistency in family type. The results show that the attachment levels of children from both family types are significantly consistent from the age of 6 to 11, and the attachment stability of children living in nuclear families is stronger than children living in extended families.
Highlights
Bowlby, the pioneer of Attachment Theory, defined attachment as the meaningful emotional tie established between the infant and the caregiver in the first years of life (Bowlby, 1969; 1982; 1988)
The total scores that the children received in Incomplete Stories with a Doll Family Scale (ISDFS) were separated into three groups: secure, avoidant, and negative attachment styles
ISDFS and Kerns Secure Attachment Scale scores were transformed into standard scores ranging from 1 to 3 for the repetitive measurement ANOVA test
Summary
The pioneer of Attachment Theory, defined attachment as the meaningful emotional tie established between the infant and the caregiver (often the mother) in the first years of life (Bowlby, 1969; 1982; 1988). An important factor in the establishment and development of attachment is the consistent and loving responses given by the caregiver to proximity-seeking infant behaviours such as crying, smiling, and gestures (Main et al, 1985; Cassidy & Berlin, 1994). Late and inconsistent responses given by the caregiver to the infant and lack of love result in an insecure attachment (Bowlby, 1980; Cassidy & Shaver, 1999). Attachment styles shaped in infancy continue to influence individuals' emotional and behavioural aspects in other periods of life. Attachment experiences, those involving the mother, form the basis of
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