Secure base scripted knowledge and preschoolers' social competence in samples from Mexico and Peru.

A central hypothesis in attachment theory poses that child-mother relationships have implications for children's social competence. A key task for researchers is that of investigating the pathways responsible for the association found between child attachment security and social competence. We studied whether children's secure base representations, defined as scripts, are associated with assessments of social competence in a preschool setting. We tested this association in samples from Mexico and Peru. Preschoolers' attachment representations were assessed via narratives gathered with the Attachment Story Completion Task. Teachers (in Mexico) and mothers (in Peru) provided questionnaire information about social competence. Attachment scripts predicted children's social competence in both samples. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for theory and research.

Os modelos internos dinâmicos analisados com recurso às narrativas de representação da vinculação em adultos / The internal working models analyzed using the narrative assessment of adult attachment representations / Los modelos internos dinámicos analizados mediante las narrativas de representación de apego en adultos

Este estudo analisou os modelos internos dinâmicos de mães recorrendo às Narrativas de Representação da Vinculação em Adultos (Waters & Rodrigues-Doolabh, 2004). Teve como objetivos: testar a validade interna e discriminativa do instrumento analisando, ainda, os aspectos estilísticos das narrativas produzidas por 89 mães com crianças a frequentar Creche/Jardim-de-Infância. As narrativas foram recolhidas em sessões individuais tendo sido posteriormente transcritas e cotadas por dois a três investigadores, sem conhecimento prévio sobre as famílias. Os resultados confirmam a validade do instrumento; e indicam que as mães têm conhecimento e acesso ao script de base segura, utilizando-o na produção das suas narrativas.(AU).

This study analyzed the internal working models of 89 mothers of preschool age children, using the Narrative Assessment of Adult Attachment Representations (Waters & Rodrigues-Doolabh, 2004). The goals were to test the internal and discriminant validity of the instrument, as well as the stylistic aspects of the narratives produced by the participants. The narratives were collected during individual interviews, transcribed and then coded by 2 to 3 researchers without previous knowledge of these families. Results confirm the validity of the instrument; and show that mothers have knowledge and access to the secure base script to construct their narratives.(AU).

Este estudio examinó los modelos internos dinámicos de las madres mediante las Narrativas de Representación de Apego en Adultos (Waters & Rodrigues-Doolabh, 2004). Los objetivos fueron: probar la validez interna y discriminativa del instrumento, analizando el aspecto estilístico de las narrativas producidas por 89 madres con niños que asisten a la Guardería/Jardín-de-Infancia. Las narrativas fueron recogidas en sesiones individuales y transcritas y citadas por dos o tres investigadores, sin conocimiento previo acerca de las familias. Los resultados confirman la validez del instrumento; e indican que las madres tienen el conocimiento y acceso al script de base segura, y lo utilizan para la producción de sus narrativas.(AU).