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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment measures | 1/7 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_measures | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T15:31:30.330759+00:00 | kb-cron |
Attachment measures, or attachment assessments, are procedures used to assess the attachment system in children and adults. These procedures can assess patterns of attachment and individual self-protective strategies. Some assessments work across the several models of attachment and some are model-specific. Many assessments allow children and adults' attachment strategies to be classified into three primary attachment pattern groups: B-pattern (autonomous, balanced, blended, secure), A-pattern (avoidant, dismissive, cognitive, insecure), and C-pattern (ambivalent, preoccupied, resistant, affective, insecure). In most models, each pattern group is further broken down into several sub-patterns. Some assessments can find additional information about an individual, such as unresolved trauma, depression, history of family triangulation, and lifespan changes in the attachment pattern. Some assessments specifically or additionally look for caregiving behaviors, as caregiving and attachment are considered two separate systems for organizing thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Some methods assess disorders of attachment or romantic attachment. Attachment models are typically generated from the schools of developmental science or social psychology, although both emanate from the Bowlby-Ainsworth framework. Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure was the first formal attachment assessment, and is still in wide use. Each school, while having the same foundation, may be studying different phenomenon. Assessments are typically conducted by observing behavior in a structured setting, by analyzing the transcript of a structured interview using technical discourse analysis methods, or by self-reports from a questionnaire. Social psychology models primarily utilize self-reports. Some attachment models, such as the Berkeley (or ABC+D) model, consider disorganized attachment to be a pattern or category. The D classification was thought to represent a breakdown in the attachment-caregiving partnership such that the child does not have an organized behavioral or representational strategy to achieve protection and care from the attachment figure. However, the disorganized concept has been determined to be invalid for people older than 20 months. Other models, such as the Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM), describe virtually all attachment behavior and patterns within (or in a combination of) the three primary A, B, C patterns. The DMM considers all attachment behavior to be an organized effort to adapt within a given caregiving environment for optimizing available caregiver protection and maximizing survival.
== Measures of attachment in infants ==
Attachment measures for infants rely on observing the infant with a caregiver, typically videotaped, either in a natural or contrived environment. Measures for older children, including toddlers, are listed in subsequent sections.
=== Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) === The Strange Situation procedure was formulated to observe attachment relationships between a caregiver and children between the age of nine and 18 months. It was developed by Mary Ainsworth, a developmental psychologist Originally it was devised to enable children to be classified into the attachment styles known as secure, anxious-avoidant and anxious-ambivalent. As research accumulated and atypical patterns of attachment became more apparent it was further developed by Main and Solomon in 1986 and 1990 to include the new category of disorganized/disoriented attachment. In this procedure the child is observed playing for 20 minutes while caregivers and strangers enter and leave the room, recreating the flow of the familiar and unfamiliar presence in most children's lives. The situation varies in stressfulness and the child's responses are observed. The child experiences the following situations:
Mother (or other familiar caregiver) and baby enter room. Mother sits quietly on a chair, responding if the infant seeks attention. A stranger enters, talks to the mother then gradually approaches infant with a toy. The mother leaves the room. The stranger leaves the infant playing unless he/she is inactive and then tries to interest the infant in toys. If the infant becomes distressed this episode is ended. Mother enters and waits to see how the infant greets her. The stranger leaves quietly and the mother waits until the baby settles, and then she leaves again. The infant is alone. This episode is curtailed if the infant appears to be distressed. The stranger comes back and repeats episode 3. The mother returns and the stranger goes. Reunion behaviour is noted and then the situation is ended. Two aspects of the child's behaviour are observed:
The amount of exploration (e.g. playing with new toys) the child engages in throughout, and The child's reactions to the departure and return of its caregiver. Beginning in 1970, a series of expansions were added to Ainsworth's original patterns. They include the following: B4 (1970), A/C (1985) D/disorganized (1986), B5 (1988, 1992) A+, C+, and Depressed (1992, 2010). At later ages, additional categories have been described. Each of these patterns reflects a different kind of attachment relationship of the infant with the mother/caregiver. An infant may have a different pattern of attachment to each parent as well as to alternate caregivers. Pattern of attachment is thus not a part of the infant, but is characteristic of the protective and comforting quality of a specific relationship. These attachment patterns are associated with behavioral patterns and can help further predict a child's future personality.