A new method is presented in order to assess attachment representations in
preschoolers. Using the symbolic medium of doll play and story completions
the internal representations of attachment in children beyond infancy can b
e assessed. Additionally the thesis of transmission of attachment across ge
nerations was tested empirically in a sample of 28 German families from mid
dle class socioeconomic background as part of longitudinal study. Transmiss
ion of attachment means that parents transmit their different attachment re
presentations to preschool-aged children. Secure and insecure attachment re
presentation in mothers assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview, are a
ssociated systematically with their childrens' attachment representations c
oded from the doll play. In the present study the Adult Attachment Intervie
w was conducted with mothers during the fifth year post delivery. Their fir
st-born children, 17 boys and 11 girls with a mean age of 6;4 years partici
pated in the story completion session. Using a two-fold distinction (secure
and insecure) as well as a converted 4-level scale of attachment security,
results revealed a correspondence between maternal and child attachment re
presentations. According to psychometric indicaters the story completion pr
ocedure demonstrates satisfying reliability and convergent validity with th
e Separation Anxiety Test. Finally, reasons for the high match of mothers'
and childrens' attachment representations are discussed. Maternal sensitive
behavior, maternal reflection of their own childhood triggered by the obse
rvation of their own child, and various learning processes may operate as m
ediating factors in this case.