Attachment stability and emotional and behavioral regulation from infancy to preschool age

Relations between attachment and child emotional and behavioral regulation were studied longitudinally in a sample of 223 children from urban, low-inc ome families. Attachment in the Strange Situation at 12 and 18 months was s cored using the infant classification system and at 24 months was scored us ing a preschool classification system. Only modest stability was found in a ttachment whether within or across classification systems, with the percent age of insecure attachments consistently increasing over time. Results indi cated both concurrent and predictive associations with indices of child reg ulation based on observer ratings or maternal report. However, only the 24- month classification predicted maternal report of externalizing and interna lizing behavior problems at age 3.5 years, with additional variance account ed for by selected measures of child emotional and behavior regulation from the same assessment. Attachment security (B) and atypical attachment class ifications (D, A/C, and AD) appear to provide the most consistently useful information about child functioning. Results are discussed in terms of cont inuity and change from the perspective of developmental psychopathology.