The latent structure of secure base script knowledge.

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that attachment representations abstracted from childhood experiences with primary caregivers are organized as a cognitive script describing secure base use and support (i.e., the secure base script). To date, however, the latent structure of secure base script knowledge has gone unexamined—this despite the fact that such basic information about the factor structure and distributional properties of these individual differences has important conceptual implications for our understanding of how representations of early experience are organized and generalized, as well as methodological significance in relation to maximizing statistical power and precision. In this study, we report factor and taxometric analyses that examined the latent structure of secure base script knowledge in two large samples. Results suggested that variation in secure base script knowledge—as measured by both the adolescent (N = 674) and adult (N = 714) versions of the Attachment Script Assessment—is generalized across relationships and continuously distributed.

Secure base representations in middle childhood across two Western cultures: Associations with parental attachment representations and maternal reports of behavior problems.

“…We presented evidence that the middle childhood script assessment tapped a stable underlying secure base script using samples drawn from two different western cultures, the United States and Belgium. This finding is consistent with the secure base script literature more generally (see Waters et al, 2015). In addition to evidence of consistency, we also presented the first evidence of intergenerational transmission of secure base script knowledge (Study 1) and relations between secure base script knowledge and maladaptive behavior in middle childhood (Study 2).…”

“…Results indicated that secure base script knowledge was associated with observations of maternal and paternal sensitivity assessed across childhood and into to adolescence and, to a lesser extent, with mother-infant attachment in the first three years of life. Waters et al (2015) examined the latent structure of secure base script knowledge and found that it was generalized across multiple relationship domains (i.e. maternal and paternal; parent-child and adult-adult) and is continuously distributed (not categorical).…”

Taxometric Analysis of Secure Base Script Knowledge in Middle Childhood Reveals Categorical Latent Structure

“…We applied a downward extension of prior taxometric work on secure base script knowledge using a large sample of children assessed during middle childhood. Inconsistent with evidence for dimensional latent structure in ASA data collected with older cohorts (Waters, Fraley, et al., ), our results indicate that individual differences in secure base script knowledge assessed during middle childhood are categorically distributed. Furthermore, exploratory evaluation of taxometric curves revealed two latent boundaries—which is indicative of three distinct taxa.…”

“…Middle childhood ASA scores have also been found to be significantly correlated with concurrent Childhood Attachment Interview coherence scores, another method of assessing attachment security in middle childhood (Target, Fonagy, & Shmueli‐Goetz, ; see also Shmueli‐Goetz, ). Furthermore, middle childhood ASA scores were significantly positively associated with maternal ASA scores (adult version) as well as negatively associated with concurrent psychopathology (Waters, Fraley, et al., ).…”

Factores sociodemográficos explicativos del guion de base segura materno

“…Por un lado, es posible analizar la narrativa de la persona como en la Entrevista del Apego Adulto (AAI, por sus siglas en inglés) o determinar los niveles de ansiedad y evitación de un individuo como dimensiones de su estilo de apego (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007) o evaluar la inclusión del fenó-meno de base segura en sus guiones (Waters & Rodrigues-Doolabh, 1998;Waters et al, 2015). Estos últimos pueden ser considerados una manifestación central de las representaciones de apego que se activan ante una situación específica (Bakermans-Kranenberg, 2006).…”