The interrelationship of attachment style, sense of loneliness, and social dissatisfaction in children aged 60–72 months

Abstract

The aim of this correlational survey-based research is to examine the relationships between the attachment styles of children aged 60–72 months and their senses of loneliness and social dissatisfaction. The participants consisted of 103 children of this age who were attending a preschool institution supervised by the Ministry of National Education in Tokat, Turkey. The data was collected through a personal-information form, the Incomplete Stories with Doll Family Scale, and the Loneliness and Dissatisfaction Scale. Data analysis indicated that fewer than two-fifths of these children were securely attached, with nearly half (46.6%) exhibiting avoidant attachment, and the remaining 16.5%, negative attachment. Significant negative correlations were found between secure attachment style, and senses of loneliness and social dissatisfaction. It also revealed that the mean loneliness and social dissatisfaction of those children who had been cared for by their mothers between birth and the age of two were lower than those of their peers who had not been cared for by their mothers at those ages. However, mean loneliness and social dissatisfaction were higher among children whose mothers were aged 20–25 at the time of the survey than among those whose mothers were 26–30.