Hostname: page-component-5cf477f64f-2wr7h Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-08T14:05:55.358Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Attachment organization in maltreated preschoolers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

Dante Cicchetti  and
Douglas Barnett
Dante Cicchetti*
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
Douglas Barnett
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
*
Address reprint requests to: Dante Cicchetti, Mt. Hope Family Center, 187 Edinburgh Street, Rochester, NY 14608.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Attachment theory predicts that maltreated children will form insecure patterns of attachment to their caregivers and that attachment relationships are open to change with development. In this cross-sectional/longitudinal investigation, we examined the attachment patterns of 125 maltreated and nonmaltreated preschoolers from the low socioeconomic strata (SES). Maltreated and demographically matched nonmaltreated comparison children were assessed in the Strange Situation at 30, 36, and 48 months of age, along with a subsample of children who were observed longitudinally across a 6- to 18-month period. Attachment relations were classified using a newly developed system for assessing attachment in the preschool years by Cassidy and Marvin (1991). Results revealed that, at each age, maltreated children were significantly more likely to evidence insecure patterns of attachment to their caregivers. The specific types of insecurity demonstrated by children varied with age. Longitudinally, the high percentage of nonmaltreated children who were classified as securely attached were likely to remain securely attached at subsequent assessments. In contrast, the small number of maltreated children who evidenced secure attachments were unlikely to be classified as secure at later assessments. These data provide new information on the patterns of attachment maltreated children exhibit in the preschool years.

Type
Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , October 1991 , pp. 397 - 411
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1973). The development of infant-mother attachment. In Caldwell, B. M. & Ricciuti, H. N. (Eds.), Review of child development research (Vol. 3, pp. 1–94). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psycho-logical study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Barnett, D., Ganiban, J., & Cicchetti, D. (1991). Temperament and behavior of youngsters with disorganized attachments: A longitudinal study. Manuscript submitted for publication.Google Scholar
Belsky, J., & Vondra, J. (1989). Lessons from child abuse: The determinants of parenting. In Cicchetti, D. & Carlson, V. (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 153–202). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss (Vol. 1). New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Loss, sadness, and depression. New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Bretherton, I. (1985). Attachment Theory: Retrospect and Prospect. In Bretherton, I. & Waters, E. (Eds.), Growing points of attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50 (1–2, Serial No. 209), 3–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bretherton, I., Ridgeway, D., & Cassidy, J. (1990). Assessing internal working models of the attachment relationship: An attachment story completion task for 3-year-olds. In Greenberg, M., Cicchetti, D., & Cummings, E. M. (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 273–310). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Carlson, V., Cicchetti, D., Barnett, D., & Braunwald, K. (1989). Disorganized/disoriented attachment relationships in maltreated infants. Developmental Psychology, 25, 525–531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cassidy, J., & Marvin, R., in collaboration with the MacArthur Working Group on Attachment (1991). Attachment organization in three- and four-year olds: Coding guidelines. Unpublished manuscript, Pennsylvania State University and University of Virginia.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1984). The emergence of developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D. (1989a). How research on child maltreatment has informed the study of child development: Perspectives from developmental psychopathology. In Cicchetti, D. & Carlson, V. (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 377–431). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1989b). Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology, Vol. 1: The emergence of a discipline. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1990). The organization and coherence of socioemotional, cognitive, and representational development: Illustrations through a developmental psychopathology perspective on Down syndrome and child maltreatment. In Thompson, R. (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Vol.36. Socioemotional development (pp. 259–366). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1991). Fractures in the crystal: Developmental psychopathology and the emergence of self. Developmental Review, 11, 271–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Barnett, D. (1991). Toward the development of a scientific nosology of child maltreatment. In Grove, W. & Cicchetti, D. (Eds.), Thinking clearly about psychology: Essays in honor of Paul E. Meehl. Vol. 2. Personality and psychopathology (pp. 346–377). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Cummings, M., Greenberg, M., & Marvin, R. (1990). An organizational perspective on attachment beyond infancy: Implications for theory, measurement, and research. In Greenberg, M., Cicchetti, D., & Cummings, E. M. (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research and intervention (pp. 3–49). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Lynch, M., Shonk, S., & Manly, J. (in press). An organizational perspective on peer relations in maltreated children. In Parke, R. D. & Ladd, G. W. (Eds.), Family-peer relationships: Modes of linkage. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Rizley, R. (1981). Developmental perspectives on the etiology, intergenerational transmission, and sequelae of child maltreatment. New Directions for Child Development, 11, 31–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Todd-Manly, J. (1990). A personal perspective on conducting research with maltreating families: Problems and solutions. In Brody, E. & Sigel, I. (Eds.), Family research, Vol. 2: Families at risk (pp. 87–133). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (1991a) (Eds.) Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology, Vol. 3: Models and Integrations. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (1991b). The making of a developmental psychopathologist. In Cantor, J., Spiker, C., & Lipsitt, L. (Eds.), Child behavior and development: Training for diversity (pp. 34–72). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Toth, S. L., & Bush, M. (1988). Developmental psychopathology and incompetence in childhood: Suggestions for intervention. In Lahey, B. & Kazdin, A. (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology (Vol. 11, pp. 1–71). New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Crittenden, P. M. (1985). Maltreated infants: Vulner-ability and resilience. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 26, 85–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crittenden, P. M. (1988). Relationships at risk. In Belsky, J. & Nezworski, T. (Eds.), Clinical implications of attachment theory (pp. 136–174). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Crittenden, P. M. (1990). Internal representational models of attachment relationships. Infant Mental Health Journal, 11, 259–277.3.0.CO;2-J>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crittenden, P. M., & Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1989). Attachment and child abuse. In Cicchetti, D. & Carlson, V. (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 432–463). New York: Cambridge Universty Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Egeland, B., & Sroufe, L. A. (1981). Developmental sequelae of maltreatment in infancy. New Directions for Child Development, 11, 77–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraiberg, S. (1980). Clinical studies in infant mental health. New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Giovannoni, J., & Becerra, R. M. (1979). Defining child abuse. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Greenberg, M., Cicchetti, D., & Cummings, E. M. (Eds.), (1990). Attachment during the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Greenberg, M. T., Speltz, M. L., DeKlyen, M., & Endriga, M. (1991). Attachment security in pre-schoolers with and without externalizing behavior problems: A replication. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 413–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamb, M., Gaensbauer, T. J., Malkin, C. M., & Schultz, L. A. (1985). The effects of child maltreatment on security of infant-adult attachment. Infant Behavior and Development, 8, 35–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamb, M., Thompson, R., Gardner, W., & Charnov, E. (1985). Infant-mother attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Lieberman, A. (1991). Attachment theory and infant-parent psychotherapy: Some conceptual, clinical and research considerations. In Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. L. (Eds.), Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology, Vol. 3: Models and integrations (pp. 261–287). Rochester: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Lieberman, A., & Pawl, J. (1988). Clinical implications of attachment. In Belsky, J. & Nezworski, T. (Eds.), Clinical implications in attachment (pp. 375–397). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Lyons-Ruth, K., Connell, D., & Zoll, D. (1989). Patterns of maternal behavior among infants at risk for abuse: Relations with infant attachment behavior and infant development at 12 months of age. In Cicchetti, D. & Carlson, V. (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 464–493). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyons-Ruth, K., Repacholi, B., McLeod, S., & Silva, E. (1991). Disorganized attachment behavior in infancy: Short-term stability, maternal and infant correlates, and risk-related subtypes. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 377–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1991). Patterns of relatedness in maltreated and nonmaltreated children: Connections among multiple representational models. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 207–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Main, M., Kaplan, N., & Cassidy, J. C. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood and adulthood: A move to the level of representation. In Bretherton, I. & Waters, E. (Eds.), Growing points of attachment theory and research: Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50(1–2, Serial No. 209), 66–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized/disoriented during the Ainsworth Strange Situation. In Greenberg, M., Cicchetti, D., & Cummings, E. M. (Eds.), Attachment during the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 121–160). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A., Best, K., & Garmezy, N. (1990). Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity. Development and Psychopathology, 2, 425–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGee, R., & Wolfe, D. (1991). Between a rock and a hard place: Where do we go from here in defining psychological maltreatment? Development and Psychopatholcgy, 3, 119–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller, N., & Silverman, N. (1989). Peer relations in maltreated children. In Cicchetti, D. & Carlson, V. (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 529–578). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M., & Garmezy, N. (1983). Developmental Psychopathology. In Mussen, P. (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 775–911). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Sameroff, A. J., & Emde, R. N. (1989) (Eds). Relationship disturbances in early childhood. New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Schneider-Rosen, K., & Cicchetti, D. (1984). The relationship between affect and cognition in maltreated infants: Quality of attachment and the development of visual self-recognition. Child Development, 55, 648–658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schneider-Rosen, K., Braunwald, K., Carlson, V., & Cicchetti, D. (1985). Current perspectives in attachment theory: Illustration from the study of maltreated infants. In Bretherton, I. & Waters, E. (Eds.), Growing points in attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50 (1–2, Serial No. 209), 194–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Speltz, M., Greenberg, M. T., & DeKlyen, M. (1990). Attachment in preschoolers with disruptive behavior: A comparison of clinic-referred and nonproblem children. Development and Psychopathology, 2, 31–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sroufe, L. A. (1989). Relationships and relationship disturbances. In Sameroff, A. & Emde, R. (Eds.), Relationship disturbances in early childhood (pp. 97–124). New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Sroufe, L. A., & Fleeson, J. (1986). Attachment and the construction of relationships. In Hartup, W. & Rubin, Z. (Eds.), Relationships and development (pp. 51–71). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Sroufe, L. A., & Fleeson, J. (1988). The coherence of family relationships. In Hinde, R. A. & Stevenson-Hinde, J. (Eds.), Relationships within families (pp. 27–47). Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Wellman, H. (1990). The child's theory of mind. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Youngblade, L., & Belsky, J. (1989). Child maltreatment, infant-parent attachment security, and dysfunctional peer relationships in toddlerhood. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 9, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar