Self-report measures of relationships typically have not been associated with observational attachment measures, in part because self-report can be influenced by many sources of bias. However, self-report measures may provide information about such biases when they are incongruent with observational measures. Ainsworth, Bell, and Stayton (1974) inferred mothers’ defensiveness, or lack of awareness, by contrasting mothers’ reports with their observed behaviour. At 4 and 10 months infant age, mothers (N = 66) reported on relationship difficulties and were observed interacting with their infants. Dyads participated in the Strange Situation procedure (Ainsworth et al.) at 13 months, yielding dimensional and categorical attachment measures. As expected, maternal sensitivity was associated with greater proximity seeking and less avoidance, with a stronger effect using 10-month predictors. In addition, mothers who reported minimal relationship difficulties, yet also were observed to be insensitive, had infants who demonstrated more avoidance and less proximity seeking. Complementary analyses using traditional attachment classifications revealed that, compared to Secure dyads, Avoidant dyads were characterised by this incongruence between maternal self-report and observed behaviour. Findings are consistent with the premise that mothers who lack awareness of, or do not acknowledge, relational difficulties may be at greater risk of fostering attachment insecurity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.