Prevalence of Different Attachment Styles in 9 to 12 years old School Children: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Bowlby suggests that children develop internal working models in earlier stages depending on their attachment relationships with parents. In paediatric dental clinics, children tend to display various behaviours depending on their attachment style, which can affect the communication and treatment outcomes with the child dentist. Aim: To determine the prevalence of attachment styles in 9 to 12 years old school children and to assess the association of attachment styles with the age and gender of the children. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 384 school children aged 9 to 12 years, in the Nellore district using the cluster sampling method. Attachment styles were measured using a 15-item questionnaire developed from the Attachment Questionnaire for Children (AQ-C). The children were instructed and then asked to read and rate the extent to which each questionnaire item described themselves. Data were analysed statistically using the chi-square test for prevalence of attachment styles, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis for age and gender associations. The level of significance was set at p≤0.05. Results: The study found that 64.10% (n=246) of all participants exhibited a secure attachment style, while 7% (n=27) and 28.9% (n=111) displayed avoidant and ambivalent attachment styles, respectively. Age showed a significant association with secure (p=0.006) and ambivalent (p=0.026) attachment styles. However, gender did not show any association with attachment styles. Conclusion: The study concluded that the secure attachment style was the most prevalent, followed by ambivalent and avoidant attachment styles, regardless of gender. Age was found to be significantly associated with secure and ambivalent attachment styles.