An empirical test of prototype and revisionist models of attachment stability and change from middle childhood to adolescence: A 6‐year longitudinal study

Abstract

We examined the prototype v. revisionist models of attachment stability with a fivewave, 6-year, longitudinal study of attachment security from middle childhood to adolescence in a White Western European sample (N = 157; Wave 1 M age = 10.91, SD = 0.87; 52% female). Attachment was assessed using both questionnaire (Experiences in Close Relationships) and narrative-based measures (Attachment Script Assessment). In addition, a set of potential moderators of prototype-like stability were examined. Results indicated that data from both attachment assessments best fit the prototype model. Moderator analyses indicated that male sex significantly undermined the influence of an attachment prototype and parentchild conflict and parental divorce enhanced the influence of an attachment prototype on stability.

State Attachment Variability: Between- and within-Person Level Associations with Trait Attachment and Psychological Problems

“…The ability to change is important to adjust one's expectations and interpersonal strategies when the context changes for better or for worse. Research generally shows that trait attachment is moderately stable over time [17] (but see also Groh et al [18] who reported weak attachment stability from infancy to late adolescence), and that trait attachment stability can be affected by several factors such as parental divorce and, family conflict in childhood and adolescence [19,20] and psychological distress in adulthood [21]. In the approximately ten years before the current publication, researchers have increasingly explored the possibility that attachment also varies on the short-term and incorporated a more flexible, state-like component in their models of attachment [22,23].…”

Cumulative family stress and externalizing problems: Secure base script knowledge as a protective factor

“…Cumulative family stress only predicted increased externalizing problems among children that had not (yet) developed secure base script knowledge as suggested by their score on MCASA. Research suggests that in this age group, children's secure base script knowledge can still increase through attachment relevant experiences (Waters, Facompré, Dujardin, et al, 2019, Waters et al, 2021). Thus, it is reasonable to expect that some children might still develop secure base script knowledge and that those children might be better protected against cumulative family stress compared to children that did not develop secure base script knowledge.…”

“…Although these studies demonstrate the protective effects of early childhood attachment, it remains an open question whether similar protective effects can be found for attachment representations later in development. A growing body of research suggests that attachment representations remain open to developmental changes beyond early childhood (Groh et al, 2014; Pinquart et al, 2013; Waters, Facompré, Dujardin et al, 2019, Waters et al, 2021). Therefore it remains relevant to measure attachment later in development and examine whether attachment representations also buffer against cumulative family stress.…”

The Effect of Attachment Priming on State Attachment Security in Middle Childhood: The Moderating Roles of Trait Attachment and State Attachment Volatility

“…This observation is congruent with the prediction formulated by Bosmans, Bowles, et al (2014) that state attachment security towards parents might be more easily primed in childhood. They conjectured that state attachment towards parents is more easily affected by primes in childhood because the development of attachment towards parents is not yet as fixed as in adulthood (e.g., Waters et al, 2021) and because the expectations about relationships with important others are less crystallized (Braet et al, 2012). A strength of the current findings in comparison to past priming research is that we used a within-subject design that allowed us to compare children’s state attachment levels after different types of primes.…”