Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of three year olds' attachment behavior

This investigation reports on the antecedents and cross-sectional predictor s of young children's attachment security based on Q-sort methodology, with particular consideration of the convergence of parental reports. Mothers' and fathers' ratings of child temperament and child behavior problems, as w ell as each parent's construction of the marital relationship and his/her a ffective state, were examined in relation to Q-sort assessments of mother-c hild and father-child attachment security. Generally, a moderate degree of convergence between maternal and paternal perceptions of attachment securit y was found; this association was stronger than the correlations reported b ased on studies using the Strange Situation procedure at 12 to 18 months of age, Antecedent relationships between ratings of parental affective sympto ms, as well as ratings of marital quality and security of attachment, were stronger for fathers than for mothers. These findings may suggest closer li nks for fathers than for mothers between parental nurturing responses and p sychological state, or they may reveal a stronger subjective bias for fathe rs inherent in the Q-sort method.