A Clinical Assessment Strategy for Maternal Acquaintance-Attachment Behaviors

Abstract

The Acquaintance-Attachment Assessment Strategy for Maternal Behaviors (AASMB) is a strategy for assessing maternal attachment in the clinical area. The strategy is based on an eclectic conceptual framework and reflects the progressional nature of the attachment process. A review of the literature summarizes the phases of the attachment process—acquaintance, attachment, and bonding—and the maternal behaviors associated with each phase. The acquaintance and attachment phases are found during the first year of the infant's life and are of interest to the nurse who is assessing the maternal-infant relationship. These phases form the basis for constructing the Opportunity and Proximity-Seeking subscales of the AASMB. The AASMB can be easily utilized by nurses in clinical settings to assess mother-infant dyads for which early maternal-infant separation during the first year is common, such as occurs with premature or ill infants.