Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of the present study was to examine the internal structure and reliability of the Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (AISI) 6–12. The AISI 6–12 years is a parent-report questionnaire for assessing the parents’ perspective on the quality of the attachment relationship with their child aged between 6 and 12 years.MethodsThe sample consisted of 681 mothers and fathers reporting on 372 children (72.3% adoption parents, 14.9% non-biological primary care takers including foster parents, and 12.8% biological parents). The internal structure was assessed with multilevel confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and the reliability of the scores with Cronbach’s and ordinal alphas.ResultsMultilevel CFA confirmed a three-factor model of avoidant, ambivalent/resistant and disorganized attachment. Multi-group CFA indicated full configural and metric measurement invariance, and partial scalar and strict measurement invariance across mothers and fathers. Reliability coefficients were found to be sufficient.ConclusionsThis study showed the potential of using parental reports in the initial screening of attachment related problems, especially considering the practical approach of parental reports. However, further development of the AISI 6–12 years seems important to increase the validity of the AISI 6–12 years. In addition, future studies are necessary to replicate the current findings, and to strengthen the evidence that the AISI 6–12 years is appropriate for the use in middle childhood and validly assesses the parents’ perspective on attachment insecurities in their child.
Highlights
The aim of the present study was to examine the internal structure and reliability of the Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (AISI) 6–12
The current study examined the internal structure and reliability of the middle childhood version of the AISI [18] in a clinical sample of children aged 6 to 12, primarily from adoptive or foster care families, as these children are at risk of experiencing attachment-related problems [19,20,21]
In the second step, we examined the factor structure of the AISI by means of a multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA): model 2a was the model after having applied criteria for improvement of model fit based on modification indices; model 2b examined whether further improvement of model fit could be obtained by allowing within factor measurement error correlations of items with comparable item content [33, 34]
Summary
The aim of the present study was to examine the internal structure and reliability of the Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (AISI) 6–12. Several valid and reliable instruments, of which some are even considered to be golden standards, have been developed to assess attachment in the first years of life and beyond the age of 12, such as the Strange Situation procedure in infancy [8], the Attachment Q-Sort in toddlerhood [9], and the Adult Attachment Interview in adolescence and (young) adulthood [10]. Scholars have developed instruments to assess attachment in middle childhood (i.e., children from age 6 to 12), such as the self-report People in My Life-scale [11, 12], narrative storytelling assessments, and observational instruments [13]. While it is often assumed that attachment is best assessed by means of behavioral observation in early childhood, or alternatively projective measures in toddlerhood (e.g., doll play), and in-depth interviewing during adolescence and (young) adulthood by means of representational measures, it is not yet clear how attachment in middle childhood should be assessed [7]
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