The assessment of parent-to-infant attachment: Development of a self-report questionnaire instrument

Abstract

In most research involving maternal infant attachment, the attachment construct has been assessed by behavioural observation. The problems inherent in this approach, including its high cost and labour-intensive nature, are briefly reviewed. It is suggested that the behavioural approach could be usefully complemented by enquiry into the mother's subjective experiences towards her infant. The development of a 19 item self-report questionnaire to assess mother-to-infant attachment is described. Using a sample of approximately 200 women assessed at 4 weeks, 4 months and 8 months postnatally, the psychometric properties of the instrument are presented. Acceptable levels of internal consistency and test-retest reliability were found. The factor structure of the questionnaire revealed four factors which accounted for approximately 40% of the variance in attachment scores: pleasure in proximity, acceptance, tolerance, and competence as parent. Evidence supporting the construct validity of the questionnaire is presented. Use of the questionnaire approach enables the use of much larger samples of mother-infant dyads, and thus provides a potential avenue for future exploration of the determinants of attachment (or detachment). The criterion validity of the instrument has yet to be established by comparison with behavioural measures.