Insecure attachment patterns at five years. What do they tell us?

Developmental outcomes for children whose primary caregivers are misattuned but not considered abusive are unclear. This paper argues that if by the pre-school years, insecure patterns of attachment are evident then a continuing dysfunctional attachment relationship is indicated and the likelihood o...

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Main Authors: Priddis, Lynn, Howieson, N.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Routledge 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21183
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author Priddis, Lynn
Howieson, N.
author_facet Priddis, Lynn
Howieson, N.
author_sort Priddis, Lynn
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Developmental outcomes for children whose primary caregivers are misattuned but not considered abusive are unclear. This paper argues that if by the pre-school years, insecure patterns of attachment are evident then a continuing dysfunctional attachment relationship is indicated and the likelihood of later difficulties is increased. The current study compared attachment patterns in a cohort of pre-school children from the regular community with concurrent behavioural ratings obtained from caregivers and teachers. The sample was followed up seven years later. At pre-school age, there was no association between teachers or caregiver ratings and pattern of security in the children. By pre-adolescence, children with compulsively insecure patterns showed higher levels of depression on a self-report measure. Ratings by caregivers of the pre-adolescent children did not differentiate the two groups. The paper argues that since caregiver misattunment to the child contributed to the initial problems, emotional difficulties in the pre-adolescent might go unseen.
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publishDate 2012
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-211832017-09-13T13:53:47Z Insecure attachment patterns at five years. What do they tell us? Priddis, Lynn Howieson, N. Developmental outcomes for children whose primary caregivers are misattuned but not considered abusive are unclear. This paper argues that if by the pre-school years, insecure patterns of attachment are evident then a continuing dysfunctional attachment relationship is indicated and the likelihood of later difficulties is increased. The current study compared attachment patterns in a cohort of pre-school children from the regular community with concurrent behavioural ratings obtained from caregivers and teachers. The sample was followed up seven years later. At pre-school age, there was no association between teachers or caregiver ratings and pattern of security in the children. By pre-adolescence, children with compulsively insecure patterns showed higher levels of depression on a self-report measure. Ratings by caregivers of the pre-adolescent children did not differentiate the two groups. The paper argues that since caregiver misattunment to the child contributed to the initial problems, emotional difficulties in the pre-adolescent might go unseen. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21183 10.1080/03004430.2010.537334 Routledge restricted
spellingShingle Priddis, Lynn
Howieson, N.
Insecure attachment patterns at five years. What do they tell us?
title Insecure attachment patterns at five years. What do they tell us?
title_full Insecure attachment patterns at five years. What do they tell us?
title_fullStr Insecure attachment patterns at five years. What do they tell us?
title_full_unstemmed Insecure attachment patterns at five years. What do they tell us?
title_short Insecure attachment patterns at five years. What do they tell us?
title_sort insecure attachment patterns at five years. what do they tell us?
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21183