Attachment in infancy, early and late childhood: a longitudinal study

The study was based on recent developments of attachment theory and research. First aim of the study was to explore the stability of internal working models of attachment from infancy to late childhood. Thirty/five children (16 female, 19 male) along with their mothers served as subjects in the longitudinal study. Children were assessed through Strange Situation when they were 12 month-olds, through reunion behavior and narrative story at age 5 and through Attachment Interview for Childhood and Adolescence (AICA) at age 12. Second aim of the study was to study the relations between maternal representations and child attachment patterns and to test the hypothesis of an intergenerational transmission of attachment between parents and children. Results showed stability of attachment from infancy to late childhood, a strong relation between behavioral and representational assessments in early childhood, and a significant role of maternal attachment in continuity and discontinuity of child attachment patterns.