Strange Situation Procedure

Ainsworth, Mary D. Salter; Blehar, Mary C.; Waters, Everett; Wall, Sally N.

doi:10.1037/t28248-000

Cited by 1,161 publications

(1,721 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

1,648

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In support of this conclusion, the mothers of the six children who were classified as alternate secure were concurrently rated as more sensitive than mothers of the children classified as alternate insecure, as has been reported of the caregivers of secure infants in typically developing samples (see e.g. Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978; Pipp-Siegel et al, 1999). …”

Section: Attachment Organization In Autismsupporting

confidence: 58%

A short-term longitudinal study of correlates and sequelae of attachment security in autism

Rozga

Hesse

Main

et al. 2017

Attachment & Human Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this short-term longitudinal study, 30 preschool-aged children with autism were first observed in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure and, separately, interacting with the primary caregiver in the home. One year later, each child completed both a developmental assessment and an observational assessment of empathic responding. Behaviors typical for children with autism were distinguished from behaviors suggestive of relationally based attachment disorganization. Forty-five percent of the children were classified as securely attached. The secure group demonstrated language skills superior to those of the insecurely attached group, concurrently and during the follow-up. Compared to parents of children who were insecurely attached, parents of securely attached children were rated as more sensitive. Compared to both organized insecure and disorganized children, secure children were rated as more responsive to an examiner’s apparent distress during the follow-up relative to their ratings at intake, whereas empathy ratings of children with insecure classifications did not increase. Importantly, attachment security was associated with empathy above and beyond the contribution of children’s language level. These results indicate that the sequelae of attachment security in autism may be similar to those documented for typically developing children.

show abstract

Section: Attachment Organization In Autismsupporting

confidence: 58%

A short-term longitudinal study of correlates and sequelae of attachment security in autism

Rozga

Hesse

Main

et al. 2017

Attachment & Human Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Infant patterns of attachment were identified in a formal laboratory situation known as the Strange Situation, developed by Mary Ainsworth (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). Ainsworth and subsequent researchers looked at how the infant explored an unfamiliar room and its toys, and how the infant responded to the caregiver when alarmed or distressed by two brief separations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, secure attachment also means that children have confidence in their caregiver as a secure base from which to explore, meaning that during their ventures and play, they expect support, not interference, and can attend fully to exploration when feeling calm. Ainsworth et al’s (1978) home observations revealed that the confidence of securely attached infants to strike a balance between attachment and exploration was based on experiencing responsive care at home. Later, research and intervention work with parents have supported this conclusion (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, some infants experience consistent rebuff of distress signals and approach behavior by their care-giver. Typically, such infants develop an “insecure-avoidant” attachment pattern (Ainsworth et al, 1978), in which their response to alarm, where possible, is to shift their attention toward exploration of the environment at the expense of communication of their feelings to their caregiver. In doing so, they are thought to be responding to the caregiver’s discomfort with close contact.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Typically, such infants develop “insecure-ambivalent/resistant” attachment, seen as inconsolable distress and/or anger in the Strange Situation, which retains the attention of the caregiver (Ainsworth et al, 1978). Even in situations without significant alarming cues, these infants may engage in attachment behavior such as clinging to the caregiver at the expense of play, or mixing whiny or angry behavior with distress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Disorganized attachment in infancy: a review of the phenomenon and its implications for clinicians and policy-makers

Granqvist

Sroufe

Dozier

et al. 2017

Attachment & Human Development

Self Cite

211

156

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Disorganized/Disoriented (D) attachment has seen widespread interest from policy makers, practitioners, and clinicians in recent years. However, some of this interest seems to have been based on some false assumptions that (1) attachment measures can be used as definitive assessments of the individual in forensic/child protection settings and that disorganized attachment (2) reliably indicates child maltreatment, (3) is a strong predictor of pathology, and (4) represents a fixed or static “trait” of the child, impervious to development or help. This paper summarizes the evidence showing that these four assumptions are false and misleading. The paper reviews what is known about disorganized infant attachment and clarifies the implications of the classification for clinical and welfare practice with children. In particular, the difference between disorganized attachment and attachment disorder is examined, and a strong case is made for the value of attachment theory for supportive work with families and for the development and evaluation of evidence-based caregiving interventions.

show abstract