Middle Childhood Attachment Strategies: validation of an observational measure

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to assess behavioral manifestations of attachment in middle childhood, and to evaluate their relations with key theoretical correlates. The sample consisted of 87 children (aged 10–12 years) and their mothers. Dyads participated in an 8-min videotaped discussion of a conflict in their relationships, later scored with the Middle Childhood Attachment Strategies Coding System (MCAS) for key features of all child attachment patterns described in previous literature (secure, ambivalent, avoidant, disorganized-disoriented, caregiving/role-confused, hostile/punitive). To assess validity, relations among MCAS dimensions and other measures of attachment, parenting, and psychological adjustment were evaluated. Results provide preliminary evidence for the psychometric properties of the MCAS in that its behaviorally assessed patterns were associated with theoretically relevant constructs, including maternal warmth/acceptance and psychological control, and children’s social competence, depression, and behavioral problems. The MCAS opens new grounds for expanding our understanding of attachment and its outcomes in middle childhood.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• middle childhood
• controlling behavior
• validity
• MCAS

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by a grant from the Fund for Psychoanalytic Research, American Psychoanalytic Association, awarded to Laura E. Brumariu and Karlen Lyons-Ruth. We are particularly indebted to the families who have given their time to participate in the study. For training information regarding the use and scoring of the Middle Childhood Attachment Strategies Coding System, please contact Laura E. Brumariu at [email protected]

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the Fund for Psychoanalytic Research, American Psychoanalytic Association, awarded to Laura E. Brumariu and Karlen Lyons-Ruth.