A meta-analysis of the distribution of preschool and early childhood attachment as assessed in the strange situation procedure and its modified versions

ABSTRACT

This meta-analysis synthesized the distribution of attachment classifications as coded with the Cassidy-Marvin Preschool Attachment Coding System and the Main-Cassidy Six-Year-Old System. These systems have extended scholars’ capacity to measure differences in the developing child-parent attachment relationship, and its sequelae, beyond the infancy period; however, the global distribution of the attachment categories in these systems, and the potential factors influencing this distribution, remain unknown. The meta-analysis included 97 samples (N = 8,186 children; 55% boys), mostly drawn from North American or European populations (89%; M = 76% White). Results indicated that the distribution of child-mother attachment was 53.5% secure, 14.0% avoidant, 11.0% ambivalent, and 21.5% disorganized/controlling. Moderator analyses showed that rates of security were lower, and rates of disorganization were higher, in samples of at-risk families, specifically when children were exposed to maltreatment. Variations in the procedure also moderated the distribution. The discussion calls for greater unity around methodological practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Preschool attachment
• Early childhood
• Meta-analysis
• Child-mother attachment
• Child-father attachment

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the researchers who contributed to the body of literature on preschool and early childhood attachment, as our meta-analysis would not have been possible without their original studies. The authors would also like to thank Cheri Nickel, MLIS (University of Calgary), who conducted the literature search, as well as Anh Ly and Paolo Pador (University of Calgary), who helped to collate and extract the data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2023.2187852.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by postdoctoral fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société et Culture awarded to the first author