S. Goldberg et al., INFANT-MOTHER ATTACHMENT AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN HEALTHY AND CHRONICALLY ILL PRESCHOOLERS, Development and psychopathology, 7(2), 1995, pp. 267-282
Analysis of longitudinal data for 145 children [5] healthy, 40 with cy
stic fibrosis (CF), and 54 with congenital heart disease (CHD)I was co
nducted: (a) to ascertain whether behavioral problems evident in older
medically compromised children would be reported as early as 2-3 year
s-of-age; and (b) to test theoretical predictions concerning the role
of infant-mother attachment in the etiology of behavior problems. As p
redicted, children with a medical diagnosis received higher scores fro
m parents on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), primarily on the Int
ernalizing scale. Reports of somatic symptoms did not account for this
effect. Contrary to predictions, children with CHD were reported to h
ave more behavior problems than those with CF. Secure attachment was a
ssociated with lower CBCL scores for internalizing problems regardless
of medical status. The increase in behavior problem reports associate
d with insecure attachment was shown to reflect an effect of avoidance
rather than insecurity per se. The importance of distinguishing effec
ts of different types of insecurity and the need for meta-analytic str
ategies to do so is emphasized.