Attachment narratives and behavioral and emotional symptoms in an ethnically diverse, at-risk sample.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the clinical correlates and predictions from attachment narratives in a sample of early school-age children from a high psychosocial risk, ethnically diverse sample. METHOD: A total of 113 children were assessed using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task, a semistructured assessment of children's attachment representations. Parents and teachers provided data using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Peer nominations of popularity and antisocial behavior were also obtained. RESULTS: Significant associations that were modest to moderate in magnitude were obtained between attachment narrative scales indexing security, coherence, and disorganization with multiple indices of children's behavioral and emotional adjustment, prosocial behavior and competence; these associations held across ethnic groups and were independent of psychosocial risk. CONCLUSIONS: The findings build on and extend support for the use of attachment narrative assessments in the clinical context and demonstrate their applicability and validity across a broad range of ethnicity and social contexts.

Attachment disorder behavior following early severe deprivation: extension and longitudinal follow-up. English and Romanian Adoptees Study Team.

OBJECTIVE: To examine attachment disturbances and disorder in a sample of children adopted into the U.K. following severe early privation and in a comparison sample of nondeprived, within-country, early-placed adoptees. METHOD: The subjects, 165 children adopted from Romania and 52 adoptees from the U.K., were assessed at age 6 years; longitudinal data (at ages 4 and 6 years) were available on the 111 Romanian adoptees placed in U.K. homes before 24 months of age and on all U.K. adoptees. Information on attachment disorder was derived from a semistructured interview with the parent; in addition, data on children's cognitive and social development were assessed using standardized assessments. RESULTS: Analyses revealed a close association between duration of deprivation and severity of attachment disorder behaviors. In addition, attachment disorder behaviors were correlated with attentional and conduct problems and cognitive level but nonetheless appeared to index a distinct set of symptoms/behaviors. Finally, there was marked stability in individual differences in attachment disorder behaviors and little evidence of a mean decrease over this 2-year period. CONCLUSIONS: The findings offer construct validation for the attachment disorder construct and highlight clinical and conceptual questions that require further research.