RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF A Q-SORT MEASURE OF ATTACHMENT SECURITY IN HISPANIC INFANTS

An existing set of items for the Q-sort methodology was adapted for a Hispanic population by reducing the number of items, rewriting the ite m into ''easy English'' and translating the items into Spanish. Hispan ic mothers completed Q-sort ratings, participated in the Strange Situa tion with their infants, and were visited in their homes. Observers co mpleted Q-sort ratings after a laboratory or home visit. The mean corr elation between Q-sort ratings was .56 for mothers, .66 for laboratory observations, and .68 for home observations. The mean correlations of the easy English Q-sort items with the original wording and with the Spanish translation were . 78 and .66, respectively. Ratings on the at tachment items in the Q-set significantly differentiated attachment cl assifications determined from infant behavior in the Strange Situation . The results suggest that the Q-sort scores provide a quantitative me asure of individual differences in security of infant attachment.