Attachment and social competence: a study using MCAST in low-risk Italian preschoolers

Abstract

The Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) is a story stem method suitable for children aged about 4 to 8, aimed at assessing children's attachment representations with a doll-play format that is evaluated with a series of dimensional scales and classifications. Although this instrument has already been validated in previous studies, not all of the findings have been conclusive. The aims of the present study were (1) to examine the factor structure of the MCAST scales, and (2) to test the association between children's dichotomized MCAST classifications and factors with social competence, using the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale (SCBE) with a normative group of Italian preschoolers (age range 4.4 to 6.1). Results obtained from a sample of 64 children confirm the association of MCAST attachment classifications (security vs. insecurity and organization vs. disorganization) with both social skills and behavioral problems. Further independent studies on the variables analyzed are recommended for corroborating the findings obtained.

Child‐caregiver Attachment Representations in a Non‐Western Context: The Feasibility and Cultural Equivalence of Story Stems in Urban Ghana

“…The Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST; Green, Stanley, Smith, & Goldwyn, ) is a measure of child attachment representations, developed in the UK, and has been widely used in studies mainly in Europe (e.g., Colle & Del Giudice, ; Viddal et al, ), but also in Australia (Pasalich, Dadds, Hawes, & Brennan, ) and Japan (Komatsu, ). In normative European samples, MCAST attachment security has been linked with higher social and emotional competence (Colle & Del Giudice, ) and increased effortful control in boys (Viddal et al, ) whereas disorganized attachment has been associated with lower social competence and more externalizing and internalizing behaviours (Barone & Lionetti, ; Goldwyn, Green, Stanley, & Smith, ). These findings are consistent with attachment theory in that secure attachment promotes a child's healthy psychological development whereas insecure and disorganized attachments increase risk in the development of emotional, social and behavioural difficulties (van Ijzendoorn & Sagi‐Schwartz, ).…”

Behavioural Problems in Children with Headache and Maternal Stress: Is Children's Attachment Security a Protective Factor?

“…Attachment theory (Bowlby, ; Cassidy & Shaver, ) offers a well‐suited framework within which to investigate what might promote or hamper family adjustment in both at‐risk and normative contexts, departing as it does from a family‐based perspective to simultaneously detect parenting protective and risk factors, and children's social–emotional adjustment (Barone & Lionetti, ; Cozolino, ). It also provides a basis for promoting the quality of infant mental health with ad hoc programs to sustain the family and prevent the child's long‐term maladjustment (Juffer, Bakermans‐Kranenburg, & van IJzendoorn, ).…”

Change in attachment predicts change in emotion regulation particularly among 5-HTTLPR short-allele homozygotes.

“…The children's attachment representations were assessed at T1 and T2 using the MCAST (Green et al, 2000). The MCAST has been applied in a range of low-and high-risk studies, and a number of findings have underscored its reliability, internal consistency, and key components for validity (see Barone & Lionetti, 2012 for a summary).…”