Measuring Attachment
Developmental Assessment across the Lifespan
Edited by Everett Waters, Brian E. Vaughn, and Harriet Salatas Waters
Foreword by L. Alan Sroufe
Hardcovere-bookprint + e-book
Hardcover
orderMay 10, 2021
ISBN 9781462546473
Price: $69.00478 Pages
Size: 6⅛" x 9¼"
Request a free digital professor copy on VitalSource ?This volume provides an in-depth examination of traditional and emerging measures of attachment behavior and representations from infancy to adulthood. Leading authorities share their expertise on the Strange Situation, the Attachment Q-set, Ainsworth's Maternal Sensitivity Scales, the Adult Attachment Interview, the Attachment Script Assessments, and the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System, as well as analogue and experimental methods. The book clarifies the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of the various measures and shows how they fit into a coherent developmental framework. Offering detailed discussions of key constructs such as attachment security, the secure base phenomenon, disorganization, and narrative structure, this is a valuable resource for both researchers and practitioners who use attachment assessments in their work.
“As interest in the study of attachment beyond the early years of life has burgeoned, a number of new measures for assessing attachment have been developed. In this volume, renowned attachment researchers have organized an excellent array of contributors who have conducted careful work on validating these new measures. The editors have provided a valuable tool for developmentalists, graduate students, pediatricians, clinical psychologists, social workers, and psychiatric researchers. I look forward to using this book in my graduate classes in developmental science, clinical psychology, and developmental psychopathology.”
—Dante Cicchetti, PhD, McKnight Presidential Chair and Professor, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
“Rich in history and theory, this is a compelling work for researchers, clinicians, and students interested in the assessment, measurement, and definition of constructs critical to the attachment system. All in one place, readers can find thorough consideration of the best-validated, state-of-the-art methodologies used to assess attachment throughout the lifespan (including the neglected periods of middle childhood and adolescence). This important guide provides links to measurement manuals; offers insightful tips for observation, scoring, interpretation, and the training of coders and research assistants; and explains key constructs. This is an impressive reference for scholars and practitioners at any level interested in the developmental continuity and intergenerational transmission of attachment.”
—Jennifer C. Ablow, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon
“In my teaching and advising, I am always asking students: 'How was attachment measured?' Student responses indicate how little attention is given to attachment measurement, making this a timely and needed resource. I can see assigning this book in my doctoral seminar on attachment theory and research. The chapters are written by the leading figures in the field and provide essential information for new and more seasoned researchers, students, and clinicians. This invaluable contribution is a one-stop shop to compare and evaluate attachment measures across the lifespan.”
—Richard Lanthier, PhD, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, The George Washington University
Table of Contents
1. Mary Ainsworth, Ethology, and Maternal Sensitivity, German Posada, Everett Waters, Brian E. Vaughn, David Pederson, & Gregory Moran2. Assessing Secure Base Behavior in Naturalistic Environments: The Attachment Q-Set, Brian E. Vaughn, Everett Waters, & Douglas M. Teti
3. The Strange Situation: Paradigm, Practique, and FAQs, Everett Waters, Brian E. Vaughn, & Kristin Bernard
4. Attachment Disturbance: Disorganization and Disorder, Elizabeth A. Carlson
5. Issues of Method in the Assessment of Disorganized Attachment, Judith Solomon, Robbie Duschinsky, Lianne Bakkum, & Carlo Schuengel
6. Promising Approaches to Assessing Attachment in Middle Childhood: Navigating the Options, Kathryn A. Kerns & Ashley C. Seibert
7. Assessing Attachment in Adolescence, Joseph P. Allen
8. Measuring Attachment Representations as Secure Base Script Knowledge: The Prompt-Word Outline Method in Adulthood, Adolescence, and Middle Childhood, Harriet Salatas Waters and Theodore E. A. Waters
9. The Adult Attachment Interview: A Guide for New Researchers and Research Consumers, Judith A. Crowell
10. Measuring Secure Base Script Knowledge in the Adult Attachment Interview, Theodore E. A. Waters & Christopher R. Facompré
11. Laboratory Methods for Assessing Secure Base Use and Support in Adult Relationships, Brooke C. Feeney
12. The Associative Structure of Adult Attachment Representations: Priming Methods for Assessing Implicit Knowledge and Expectations, Markus A. Maier, Annie Bernier, & David M. Corcoran
13. The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System: Representational Assessment of Attachment in Adolescents and Adults, Carol George & Malcolm West
Index
About the Editors
Everett Waters, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Stony Brook University, State University of New York. A graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, he is a coauthor of Mary Ainsworth’s classic volume Patterns of Attachment. He is a recipient of the 2009 Bowlby–Ainsworth Award for contributions to attachment theory and measurement and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Emotion and Attachment Studies.Brian E. Vaughn, PhD, holds the Human Sciences Professor of Human Development Chair in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Auburn University. A graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, he has published widely on attachment and temperament and the relation of infant attachment to social competence in early childhood. He is a recipient of the 2011 Bowlby–Ainsworth Award for advancing ethological methods in attachment study.
Harriet Salatas Waters, PhD, is Emerita Professor of Psychology at Stony Brook University, State University of New York. A graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, she has made significant contributions to research on attachment narratives in middle childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. She is a recipient of the 2021 Bowlby–Ainsworth Award for contributions to the theory and measurement of attachment representations.
Contributors
Joseph P. Allen, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VirginiaLianne Bakkum, MSc, Institute of Public Health, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Kristin Bernard, PhD, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
Annie Bernier, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Elizabeth A. Carlson, PhD, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
David Corcoran, PhD, Colleges Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Judith A. Crowell, MD, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
Robbie Duschinsky, PhD, Institute of Public Health, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Christopher R. Facompré, MA, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
Brooke C. Feeney, PhD, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Carol George, PhD, Department of Psychology, Mills College, Oakland, California
Kathryn A. Kerns, PhD, Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
Markus Maier, PhD, Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
Greg Moran, PhD, Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
David R. Pederson, PhD, Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
German Posada, PhD, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Carlo Schuengel, PhD, Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ashley Seibert, PhD, Department of Psychology, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
Judith Solomon, PhD, Greater New Haven Counseling and Family Therapy Center, Hamden, Connecticut
Douglas M. Teti, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
Brian E. Vaughn, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family Science, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
Everett Waters, PhD, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
Harriet Salatas Waters, PhD, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
Theodore E. A. Waters, PhD, Department of Psychology, New York University— Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Malcolm L. West, PhD, Department of Psychiatry (retired), University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada