Attachment measures in middle childhood and adolescence: A systematic review of measurement properties

doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2018.12.004

Clinical Psychology Review

Volume 68, March 2019, Pages 71-82

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.12.004 Get rights and content

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Highlights

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Attachment insecurity is known to be a risk factor and correlate of psychopathology.
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This review is the first to systematically appraise the psychometric properties of all attachment measures in middle childhood and adolescence.
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Only a small number of attachment measures developed for middle childhood and adolescence have adequate measurement properties.
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Interview and projective measures of attachment should be used cautiously in clinical practice.
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Our findings converge with evidence from both infancy and adulthood in pointing to the underlying structure of attachment as being dimensional.

Abstract

Background

Attachment theory proposes that humans develop representations of self and other in early childhood which are relatively stable across the life-course, and play a key role in psychological adaptation. However, to date, the psychometric properties of attachment measures in middle childhood and adolescence have not been evaluated in a systematic review.

Method

A systematic review (PROSPERO ID: CRD42017057772) was conducted using COSMIN criteria. Two researchers independently searched MEDLINE, PsychINFO and Embase databases for relevant articles.

Results

Fifty-four studies were included in the review. The methodological quality of studies was typically fair or poor, with only a small number of studies being rated as of good or excellent quality. The measurement properties of attachment measures in this age group were frequently rated as inadequate according to COSMIN criteria. The Child Attachment Interview (CAI) has the best psychometric properties of the interview and projective measures, and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) the best evidence of the self-report measures. Overall, the evidence for the CAI and IPPA included both positive and negative findings relating to adequacy of measurement properties.

Conclusions

Attachment measures in middle childhood and adolescence currently have limited evidence for the adequacy of their psychometric properties.

Keywords

Attachment

Measurement

Psychometrics

Adolescence

Validity

Child development

Abbreviations

Self-report measures:

–

Security Scale

AAQ

Adolescent Attachment Questionnaire

AFAS

Adolescent Friendship Attachment Scale

AFAS–SF

Adolescent Friendship Attachment Scale - Short Form

AUAQ

Adolescent Unresolved Attachment Questionnaire

ASQ

Attachment Style Questionnaire

ECR–RC

Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised for Children

ECR-RS

Experiences in Close Relationships – Relationship Structures

ECR-R- GSF

Experiences in Close Relationships – Revised – General Short Form

IPPA

Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment

IPPA-B

Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment- Brief version

IPPA-45

Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment – 45

IPPA-R

Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment – Revised

IPPA-S

Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment – Short Form

PIML

People in my Life.

Observer-rated measures:

–

AAI

Adult Attachment Interview

AAP

Adult Attachment Projective

AAPQ

Adolescent Attachment Prototype Questionnaire

AQ-A

Attachment Questionnaire – Adolescent Version

ASCT

Attachment Story Completion Task

ASA

Attachment Script Assessment

BND

Bird's Nest Drawing

CYTM

Can You Tell Me?

CAPA

Child Attachment and Play Assessment

CAI

Child Attachment Interview

CMSSB

Computerized MacArthur Story Stem Battery

CMCAST

Computerized Manchester Child Attachment Story Task

FAI

Family Attachment Interview

FFI

Friends and Family Interview

GPACS

Goal-Corrected Partnership Adolescent Coding System

MCAST

Manchester Child Attachment Story Task

SAA

School-age Assessment of Attachment

SBST

Secure Base Script Test

SAT

Separation Anxiety Test

Cited by (0)

Tom Jewell, the first author, is a Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) in the United Kingdom. His doctoral study is investigating attachment and mentalization as predictors of outcome in family therapy for adolescent anorexia nervosa. He works clinically as a family therapist in adolescent eating disorders.