Parental Attachment and Children's Socio-emotional Development: Some Findings on the Validity of the Adult Attachment Interview in The Netherlands

Abstract

In this study, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was applied in The Netherlands, to test certain aspects of its validity, and to provide information about its relation to toddlers' socio-emotional adaptation. In the second year of life, a sample of 80 infants were seen with their father, mother, and professional caregiver in the Strange Situation procedure, and in a free-play situation to assess caregivers' sensitivity. Two years later, 68 children participated in a follow-up study, involving mothers, fathers, and professional caregivers. Parents were interviewed with the AAI, and completed the Parental Bonding Instrument that measures attachment experiences in childhood. Parents also completed the Nijmegen-California Q-sort, to measure their children's ego-resilience and ego-control. Professional caregivers rated children's sociability in pre-school using the Pre-School Behavior Inventory.

As predicted the AAI and the Parental Bonding Instrument were related. Only the AAI, however, yielded classifications that corresponded with the quality of infant-parent attachment. Furthermore, AAI classifications for mothers were related to maternal sensitivity: Secure mothers are more sensitive to their daughters than insecure mothers, but for boys this was not true. In addition, AAI classifications for parents were related to their children's socio-emotional development in the pre-school years. Secure mothers have children with more ego-resilience and less ego-undercontrol. Dismissing fathers have children who are rated as more aggressive, less social, and less timid than secure or preoccupied fathers. The AAI appears to be a promising instrument for measuring parental state of mind with respect to attachment relationships in a variety of natural settings.

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