Classification of Attachment and Its Determinants in Urban Irish Infants

Abstract

Abstract This study (part of the Dublin Child Development Study) had two aims: to establish the distribution of patterns of infant-mother attachment in an urban sample of Irish 18-month-old infants from predominantly working-class families and to examine factors which may influence the classification of attachment. Three main attachment groups were identified: 80% of infants., were classified as secure (B), 15% as insecure-avoidant (A) and 5% as insecure-resistant (C). According to Belsky and Isabella’s (1988) conceptual framework, individual differences in attachment quality are multiply determined by three distal sources of influence: mother characteristics, infant characteristics and social context. Preliminary results indicated that stability in family of origin, emotional stability at 3 weeks, as well as empathy and maternal confidence at 18 months, were significantly related to infant-mother attachment security. There was also some evidence that maternal report of neonatal fussy-difficultness and caretaking problems may be related to subsequent insecure-resistant attachment. In addition, findings suggested a possible link between the supportive role of fathers and infant-mother attachment security.