Convergent validity and stability of secure base script knowledge from young adulthood to midlife

ABSTRACT

Attachment theory posits that early experiences with caregivers are made portable across development in the form of mental representations of attachment experiences. These representations, the secure base script included, are thought to be stable across time. Here, we present data from two studies. Study 1 (N = 141) examined the degree of empirical convergence between the two major measures of secure base script knowledge in Study 2, we examined stability of secure base script knowledge from late adolescence to midlife combining data from both a high- and normative-risk cohort (N = 113). Study 1 revealed evidence for convergent validity (r = .50) and Study 2 revealed moderate rank-order stability (r = .43), which was not moderated by cohort risk status. Results support the validity of secure base script knowledge assessments and prediction that attachment representations show moderate stability across early adulthood and into midlife.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• secure base script
• stability
• adulthood

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the individuals who participated in this research. The authors would also like to acknowledge the recent passing of Dr. Lisa Rodrigues-Doolabh. Without Dr. Rodrigues-Doolabh’s early work on the development of the Attachment Script Assessment this research would not have been possible. She made lasting contributions to the study of attachment and will be greatly missed.

Disclosure statement

In accordance with Taylor & Francis policy and my ethical obligation as a researcher, I am reporting that the authors of this manuscript have no interests to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Aging under Award Number R01 AG039453 to Jeffry A. Simpson and by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development under Award Number F32 HD078250 to Theodore E. A. Waters. The content is solely the responsibilities of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors would like to thank all those who participated in this research.