Attachment Q-Set Research Articles

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ATTACHMENT-BASED PLAY ON ADOPTED CHILDREN

This research describes the process and result of the implementation of attachment-based play to change the Internal Working Model (IWM) of adopted children to build a secure attachment between adoptive parents and adopted children. The subjects of this research receive intervention in the form of attachment-based play in 8 sessions. The intervention is planned under four-dimension approach for attachment-based play according to Booth and Jernberg theory. Measurement of the degree of secure attachment of adopted children uses the Attachment Q-Set (AQS), whereas observation on the interaction between the adoptive parents and the adopted children uses Marschack Interaction Method (MIM) before and after the intervention. Results of the research show that there is a difference in the total score when the pretest and posttest are held by using the AQS. It means that there is a difference in the degree of secure attachment of adopted children before and after the intervention is applied. The results imply that the attachment-based play can change the IMW of adopted children.

Revisiting the debate on effects of parental power-assertive control in two longitudinal studies: early attachment security as a moderator

ABSTRACT Although there is a consensus that harsh, hostile, abusive discipline has uniformly adverse effects on children, scholars continue to debate implications of varying degrees of power assertion commonly used by most parents in daily interactions with young children. Attachment theory can inform this debate, as early attachment organization can serve as a catalyst, or moderator, of future socialization trajectories. Specifically, insecure attachment can amplify, whereas secure attachment can attenuate, detrimental effects of parental power-assertive control. In two community studies of mothers, fathers, and infants, Family Study (FS, N = 102), and Children and Parents Study (CAPS, N = 200), we assessed attachment security in infancy, parental power-assertive control at 4.5 years in FS and at 16 months in CAPS, and child positive orientation to the parent at 10 years in FS and at 3 years in CAPS. In both studies, fathers’ power-assertive control undermined children’s positive orientation toward the fathers, but only for children with less secure attachment histories in infancy (Attachment Q-Set in FS and Strange Situation Paradigm in CAPS), and not for those with more secure histories. The findings highlight indirect yet powerful, long-term effects of the early parent-child security, and suggest distinct processes in mother- and father-child dyads.

Parental secure base support and child secure base use in mexican same-sex families

The aim of this research was to determine whether the well-documented link between heterosexual parents’ secure base support (i.e., sensitivity) and child secure base behavior (i.e., security) was present among Mexican same-sex families with 1-to 6-year-old-children. The sample included 22 child-caregiver dyads from four lesbian and four gay families. Four trained independent observers used the q-sort methodology (Maternal Behavior Q-set/Mother Behavior with Preschoolers Q-set and Attachment Q-set) to describe parents’ and children’s behavior, respectively. A robust regression model by Siegel method for predicting security with sensitivity as regressor was statistically significant for the whole sample with a statistical power of .89, consistent with the existing evidence in studies with different and same-sex families. Both sensitivity and attachment security are fundamentally relational constructs, not caregiver/child’s traits; they are relationship specific, as the results of the regression analysis showed. Despite the sample size, our findings prove attachment theory as a useful theoretical framework to study caregiver-child interactions no matter parents’ sexual orientation neither the family structure.

Observational Measurement of Attachment in Toddlers with Disruptive Behavior Using the Strange Situation Procedure and Attachment Q-Set

Child-caregiver attachment is important for healthy child development and is often targeted by relationship-based parenting interventions for young children. To assess the efficacy of these interventions, attachment must be measured accurately at multiple timepoints across the toddler years, coinciding with different stages of development. Among others, populations referred for treatment of externalizing behavior problems are of particular importance here. The Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) and Attachment Q-Set (AQS) are empirically-validated measures of child-caregiver attachment with unique strengths and weaknesses. However, there are no published investigations on concurrent relations between the two measures using clinically-referred, mental health populations. Previous research has reached mixed conclusions when comparing the observer-report AQS and SSP for children from other populations and based on child age. Using a clinical sample of 69 Australian mother-toddler dyads referred for disruptive behavior problems, this study examined associations among behavior problems, dichotomous SSP classifications of security and organization, AQS security scores, and child age. In line with hypotheses, a small to medium negative correlation between AQS security and externalizing behavior was found. Unexpectedly, no significant associations were found between dichotomous SSP security and externalizing behavior nor between SSP organization and externalizing behavior. Although AQS security scores and SSP classifications were not significantly correlated for the sample as a whole, there was a moderate positive correlation between the two measures for children aged 19–25 months. Implications for future research measuring attachment in this population, with relevance for relationship-based parenting intervention outcome studies are discussed.

Maternal nighttime sleep and infant-mother attachment security: The mediating role of maternal parenting quality during bedtime and free play.

The present study examined mothers' emotional availability (EA) during daytime free play and bedtime as a mediator of linkages between maternal nighttime sleep and infant-mother attachment. Participants included 153 mothers (85% White) with infants (53% female). When infants were 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, maternal sleep was assessed using actigraphy and daily sleep diaries for 7 consecutive days. At each time point, mothers' EA was scored from one observation of daytime free play and from one evening observation of infant bedtime by trained observers who were blind to all other participant information. Average scores were created for maternal sleep and EA across the five occasions in the first year. At 12 and 18 months, infant-mother attachment security in the home was scored by blind observers using the Attachment Q-Set, averaged across the two age points, and used in analyses. Mediational analyses revealed that mothers who experienced highly variable sleep and had poor sleep quality were less emotionally available with infants at bedtime during infants' first year of life, which in turn was predictive of lower infant-mother attachment security in the second year, supporting mediation. Linkages between maternal sleep characteristics and daytime EA were less evident. Later maternal sleep timing was also directly predictive of low attachment security, after accounting for maternal EA. Findings emphasize that poor parental sleep places both parenting and infant socioemotional development at risk, and that parental sleep hygiene and sleep habits should be a salient focus of parenting intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Infants’ attachment security and children’s self-regulation within and outside the parent–child relationship at kindergarten age: Distinct paths for children varying in anger proneness

Research in developmental psychology has robustly documented positive associations between parent–child attachment security and the child’s self-regulation (SR). This study of 102 community mothers, fathers, and infants contributes to that research by examining the role of attachment security, observed at 15 months using the Attachment Q-Set, as a predictor of two distinct aspects of self-regulation at 67 months: executive functioning (SR-EF), observed in abstract Stroop-like tasks (Day/Night & Snow/Grass and Tapping), and parent-related (SR-PR), observed within the context of the parent–child relationship in response to the mother’s (SR-MR) and father’s (SR-FR) requests and prohibitions. We also examined child anger proneness, observed at 7 months, as a moderator of those associations. In both mother–child and father–child dyads, child security predicted SR-EF; More secure children performed better in executive functioning tasks. In mother–child dyads, security also predicted SR-MR, but the effect was qualified by the interaction of security and anger proneness, such that the effect was significant only for highly anger-prone children. The effect reflected differential susceptibility: Compared with lower-anger peers, highly anger-prone children developed worse SR-MR if their security was low, but they developed better SR-MR if their security was high. The findings highlight the benefits of a nuanced approach to self-regulation, considering child individuality as interacting with security and examining processes in both mother–child and father–child dyads.

Attachment theory’s core hypotheses in rural Andean Peru

ABSTRACT This is the first study aiming to test two universality claims of attachment theory within a rural Andean sample from Cusco, Peru. A total of 69 mothers and their children (6 to 36 months) participated. Child attachment security was assessed with the Attachment Q-set (AQS), maternal sensitivity was measured during three naturalistic episodes (free interaction, bathing, and feeding) with the Ainsworth sensitivity scale and the Maternal Behavior Q-sort (MBQS), and a cumulative maternal risk variable was calculated. Results revealed that most children displayed less characteristic secure base behaviors in the interactions with their mothers, compared to other reference samples. Furthermore, an association between maternal sensitivity and child attachment security was found, and a negative relation between maternal sensitivity and the cumulative risk variable. These results support some of the attachment theory’s universality claims, and suggest new avenues for research on assessment issues in rural samples in the Global South.

Parenting interventions to support parent/child attachment and psychosocial adjustment in foster and adoptive parents and children: A systematic review.

Parenting interventions to support parent/child attachment and psychosocial adjustment in foster and adoptive parents and children: A systematic review.

Socioeconomic status and infant nighttime sleep across the second year of life: The moderating role of infant attachment security.

This study examined socioeconomic status (SES) and attachment security as predictors of infant nighttime sleep during the second year. Participants included 128mothers (86% White) with infants (48.4% boys). Data collection took place between April, 2009 and February, 2014. At 12, 18, and 24months, infant sleep was assessed via actigraphy and daily diaries, and attachment with the Attachment Q-Set. SES indicators included income-to-needs ratios and education. Lower SES predicted greater variability in sleep duration and later sleep timing only for less secure infants. Less secure attachment was associated with poorer sleep at both between- and within-person levels, especially when infants were 12months of age. Results emphasize the complex interactive effects of environmental and relational factors on infant sleep.

Changes in children's attachment security to mother and father after the birth of a sibling: Risk and resilience in the family.

Changes in children's attachment security to mother and father were examined for 230 firstborn children (M = 31.17 months), their mothers and fathers participating in a longitudinal investigation starting in the last trimester of the mothers' pregnancy and 1, 4, 8, and 12 months after the birth of an infant sibling. Both parents completed the Attachment Q-set at prenatal, 4, and 12 months. Growth mixture models revealed four latent classes in which children's attachments were (a) both secure with a modest decline to both parents (68.3%); (b) more secure with father than mother with a steep decline for both (12.6%); (c) both insecure with no change (10%); and (d) more secure with mother than father with a modest increase for both (9.1%). Multi-group latent growth curve analyses revealed that parenting and coparenting differed across families. Children had lower externalizing behavior problems in families with two secure attachments than in families with one secure attachment, either to mother or to father, who, in turn, had fewer problems than children with two insecure attachments. Findings underscore the strengths of a family systems framework to understand attachment relationships with multiple caregivers and the family risks and protective factors that covary with children's behavioral adjustment after the birth of a sibling.

Maternal secure base scripts predict child attachment security in an at-risk sample

Accumulating evidence indicates that individuals possess attachment, or secure base, scripts based on experiences with attachment figures, and these attachment scripts predict important outcomes such as caregiving behaviors and offspring social-emotional adjustment. However, less is known about the association between parents’ secure base scripts and child attachment security within at-risk samples, i.e., those known to be at greater risk for insecurity. The current study examined the relation between maternal secure base script representations and child attachment security by extending the use of the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA; Waters & Rodrigues-Doolabh, 2004) to an at-risk sample. One-hundred mother-child pairs from a larger longitudinal study participated; the larger study focused on psychosocial risks related to parenting in a primarily low-income sample. In the present study, overall ASA script scores were first compared with two independent middle-class samples, one from a U.S. study, the other an international study. Scores and statistical patterns were comparable across all samples, indicating that the ASA was successful in tapping into maternal secure base script knowledge in our at-risk sample. The relation between maternal script scores and children’s Attachment Q-Set (AQS; Waters, 1995) security scores were examined at ages 1 and 2 years. Dependency scores from the AQS were also included to establish discriminant validity for the script scores. Results indicated that maternal script knowledge predicted child security, while showing no relation to dependency scores. Findings indicate that the ASA can be an important and viable measure for assessing attachment representations in at-risk samples of caregivers.

Parent-child relationship and child anger proneness in infancy and attachment security at toddler age: a short-term longitudinal study of mother- and father-child dyads

ABSTRACT Early parent-child relationship and child negative emotionality have both been studied as contributors to attachment security, but few studies have examined whether negative emotionality can moderate effects of parent-child relationship on security and whether the process is comparable across mother- and father-child dyads and different security measures. In 102 community families, we observed parent-child shared positive affect and infants’ anger proneness at 7 months, and attachment security at 15 months, using observer-rated Attachment Q-Set (AQS) and a continuous measure derived from Strange Situation Paradigm (SSP). For mother-child dyads, high shared positive affect and low anger proneness were associated with AQS security. Those effects were qualified by their interaction: Variations in shared positive affect were associated with security only for relatively more anger-prone children. That effect reflected the diathesis-stress model. For father-child dyads, shared positive affect was associated with security. There were no effects for SSP security with either parent.

Quality of attachment relationships and frequency of mathematics- and science-related activity offers in kindergarten as predictors of girls' and boys' mathematics-related motivation

Abstract. During the kindergarten years and until shortly before school start, there are no gender differences in (precursors of) mathematical competencies or mathematics-related motivation. Shortly after school entry, however, boys are already superior to their female peers in mathematics-related competencies and motivation. We investigated in a cross-sectional study two aspects of process quality in kindergarten that can favorably influence the development of mathematics-related motivation, especially of girls: the frequency of offers of mathematics- and science-related activities and a high-quality attachment relationship with the teacher. In 135 independent dyads, the quality of attachment between kindergarten teacher and child was assessed by a one and a half-hour standardized observation (Attachment Q-Set). The teacher provided information on how often she provides mathematics- and science-related activities. The children were asked about their mathematics-related motivation and precursors of mathematical competencies were measured using a standardized test. Results show, in line with existing studies, that girls and boys did not yet differ in their precursors of mathematical competencies and mathematics-related motivation at the end of kindergarten. Girls were involved in significantly higher quality attachment relationships with their teachers than boys. While girls' mathematics-related motivation increased with the frequency of the provision of relevant activities, it did not play a role for boys' motivation. We discuss (a) how teachers can be encouraged to offer mathematics-and science-related activities more often and (b) whether a comparable quality of attachment would be shown for boys as for girls if the kindergarten teacher were male.

Parent-Infant Attachment Insecurity and Emotional Eating in Adolescence: Mediation through Emotion Suppression and Alexithymia.

Emotional eating (EE), the propensity to eat in response to emotions, is thought to have its origins in the early parent–infant relationship. This study tested the hypothesis that infant attachment insecurity results in EE in adolescence through the increased use of the emotion regulation strategy suppression of emotions and subsequent alexithymia. At the age of 15 months, parent–infant attachment security (n = 129) was observed with two abbreviated attachment measures: the shortened strange situation procedure (SSSP), and the shortened attachment Q-set (S-AQS). At the age of 12 years, children completed self-report questionnaires to assess the suppression of emotions, alexithymia, and EE. At the age of 16 years, EE was measured again. The mediation models indicated that lower parent–infant attachment security predicted increased use of suppression of emotions, which was related to increased alexithymia, and in turn more EE at the age of 12 years. These results were similar and significant for both attachment measures, and also (marginal) significant with EE at the age of 16 years as an outcome. Lastly, when parental caregiving quality was included, the models with the SSSP as predictor remained significant, but the models with the S-AQS became insignificant. These results indicated that to a certain extent, infant attachment security could predict adolescent EE above and beyond parental caregiving quality.

Understanding the origins of child-teacher dependency: mother-child attachment security and temperamental inhibition as antecedents

ABSTRACT This study investigated the joint contribution of child-mother attachment quality and child temperamental inhibition to the development of child-teacher dependency. A sample of 237 kindergartners (M age = 60.2 months) and their teachers from 36 classrooms participated. Preschool child-mother attachment quality was assessed using the Attachment Q-set. Behavioral inhibition was rated by the preschool teacher. Dependency was assessed at three waves during kindergarten, using observer and teacher reports. In line with assumptions from attachment theory, less securely attached children were observed to be more overly reliant on their teacher in class. For behavioral inhibition, a divergent picture emerged depending on the assessment of dependency: Classroom observations yielded less (overt) indications of dependency among more inhibited children, whereas teachers reported more (covert) expressions of dependency. These results suggest that different measures may capture different aspects of the multifaceted construct of dependency, thus calling for more conceptual and empirical work.

The significance of early parent-child attachment for emerging regulation: A longitudinal investigation of processes and mechanisms from toddler age to preadolescence.

Eisenberg, Cumberland, and Spinrad (1998; Eisenberg, Spinrad, & Cumberland, 1998) included parent-child attachment as a key dimension of the early emotion socialization environment. We examined processes linking children's early attachment with social regulation and adjustment in preadolescence in 102 community mothers, fathers, and children. Security of attachment, assessed at 2 years, using observers' Attachment Q-Set (Waters, 1987), was posited as a significant, although indirect, predictor of children's adaptive social regulation at 10 and 12 years. We proposed that security initiated paths to future social regulation by promoting children's capacities for emotion regulation in response to frustration at 3, 4.5, and 5.5 years: having to suppress a desired behavior, observed in delay tasks, to regulate anger, observed in parent-child control contexts, and a traitlike tendency to regulate anger when frustrated, rated by parents. We conceptualized adaptive social regulation at 10 and 12 years as encompassing regulation of negative emotional tone, observed in diverse parent-child interactions, parent-rated regulation of negativity in broad social interactions, and child-reported internalization of adults' values and standards of conduct. Multiple-mediation analyses documented two paths parallel for mother- and father-child relationships: From security to emotion regulation in delay tasks to internalization of adults' values, and from security to parent-rated traitlike regulation of anger to parent-rated regulation of negativity in broad social interactions. Two additional paths were present for mothers and children only. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Apego y Autismo en Ecuador: Exploración de validez de contenido del Attachment Q-set (AQS)

INTRODUCCIÓN. En el presente estudio se buscó evidencia que permitiera ampliar al medio ecuatoriano y al contexto latinoamericano, los hallazgos de las investigaciones internacionales sobre el uso del Attachment Q-set (AQS) en la evaluación de la conducta de apego de preescolares con trastorno del espectro autista (TEA). OBJETIVO. El objetivo de este estudio fue explorar la validez de contenido del AQS para su uso en población ecuatoriana con autismo. MÉTODO. Participaron tres grupos de personas. En el primer grupo, tres profesionales evaluaron la adaptación lingüística del instrumento. En el segundo grupo, 10 figuras cuidadoras utilizaron el AQS para construir perfiles idealmente seguros de preescolares de desarrollo típico. En el tercer grupo, 10 profesionales expertos en autismo construyeron perfiles óptimamente seguros de preescolares con TEA. Se utilizó una metodología mixta para el procesamiento y análisis de los datos. RESULTADOS. Las correlaciones encontradas entre los puntajes promedio de ambos perfiles y en contraste con los criterios normativos del instrumento, son similares a las reportadas en estudios realizados con población latinoamericana típica. DISCUSIÓN Y CONCLUSIONES. Se concluye que el AQS es aplicable a preescolares ecuatorianos con TEA, y que su uso en esta población contribuiría al diseño de programas de intervención con la participación de las figuras cuidadoras.

Long-term sequelae of mothers' and fathers' mind-mindedness in infancy: A developmental path to children's attachment at age 10.

Rapidly growing research on parental mind-mindedness, a tendency to treat one's young child as a psychological agent and an individual with a mind, internal mental states, and emotions, has demonstrated significant links among parents' mind-mindedness, their parenting, and multiple aspects of children's development. This prospective longitudinal study of 102 community mothers, fathers, and infants, followed from 7 months to 10 years, contributes to research on mind-mindedness by addressing several existing gaps and limitations. We examine mechanisms that account for associations between parents' early mind-mindedness and children's future attachment security, using robust behavioral measures. Teams of trained observers coded parents' mind-minded comments to their infants at 7 months during naturalistic interactions, parents' responsiveness in naturalistic interactions and in elicited imitation tasks at 15 months, and children's security, using Attachment Q-Set at 2 years and Iowa Attachment Behavioral Coding at 10 years. Sequential mediation analyses supported a model of a developmental path from parents' appropriate mind-minded comments in infancy to children's security at age 10. For mothers and children, the path was mediated first through responsiveness at 15 months and then security at 2 years. For fathers and children, the path was mediated through attachment security at 2 years. Parents' nonattuned mind-minded comments had no effects on responsiveness or security. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Evidencias de validez de constructo y de criterio de la Escala Massie-Campbell de Apego Durante Estrés (ADS)

The Massie-Campbell Attachment During Stress Scale (ADS, Massie & Campbell, 1983) is an observation guide of the interactions between mothers (or caretakers) and children from 6 to 18 months. This study sought the construct validity (convergent and discriminant) of ADS, as well as its criterion validity (sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values). To that end, child attachment was measured in a group of 32 children aged 8 to 10 months from Lima, Peru using ADS and Attachment Q-set 3.0 (AQS, Waters, 1995). Maternal sensitivity was assessed as well. It was found that ADS attachment classifications were related to AQS attachment security continuous scores ( r = .41, p = .02) and to its dichotomous classifications [secure vs. insecure; χ2 (1, N = 32) = 4.69, p = 0.03, d = 0.83]. Additionally, no significant differences between the ADS’s maternal sensitivity of mothers with children classified as secure and mothers with children classified as insecure were found. Since ADS´s sensitivity did not reach satisfactory levels (33.3 %, 95 % CI = [15.48, 56.90]), a cut-off point of 5 secure behaviors was used, which improved its sensitivity (47.6 %, 95 % CI = [26.4; 69.7]) while maintaining satisfactory levels of specificity (90.9 %, 95 % CI = [57.1; 99.5]). The instrument shows adequate convergent validity but lacks evidence of discriminant validity. Further exploration of ADS’s sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values is recommended in order to obtain a cut-off point with greater validity, given that the instrument is considered a screening test.

III. THE ORGANIZATION OF ATTACHMENT BEHAVIOR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD: LINKS WITH MATERNAL SENSITIVITY AND CHILD ATTACHMENT REPRESENTATIONS.

This article investigated two central questions about mother-child attachment relationships during early childhood: (1) the association between maternal sensitivity and child attachment behavior (Study 1) and (2) the link between child attachment behavior and representations (Study 2). In Study 1, maternal sensitivity and child security were assessed in naturalistic contexts among 74 middle-class dyads, when children were about 3.5 and again 5.5 years of age, using the Maternal Behavior with Preschoolers Q-set (MBPQS) and the Attachment Q-set (AQS), respectively. Sensitivity and security were significantly related at each point in time and stable from 3.5 to 5.5 years of age. Furthermore, changes in sensitivity predicted changes in child security. In Study 2, the relationship between the organization of preschoolers' attachment behavior and the structure of attachment representations (secure base script knowledge) was assessed. Participants were 158 preschoolers between 3 and 5.5 years. Children's secure base behavior was described with the AQS, whereas their attachment script knowledge was assessed with the MacArthur Attachment Story Completion Task. The organization of children's secure base behavior was significantly, if modestly, associated with their knowledge of the secure base script.