MORALIZATION OF ATTACHMENT - A 4TH DOMAIN OF CONSCIENCE FUNCTIONING

Objective: To define discrete developmental levels of understanding re garding the ways in which normal children and adolescents link remembe red and current attachment experiences to their moral belief system an d to study the correlation between this progression and previously ide ntified stages of conscience conceptualization, Method: Using the mora lization of attachment section from the semistructured Stilwell Consci ence interview, 132 normal volunteers between the ages of 5 and 17 yea rs were individually interviewed. Analysis of the interviews resulted in five levels of understanding. Results: By analyses of variance and covariance, the five attachment levels showed significant correlation with the five conceptualization stages. Conceptualization stage showed a stranger correlation than age. Conclusions: in normal development, moralization of attachment is a domain of conscience functioning which follows a five-level hierarchical developmental progression; first, t he child's sense of security and empathic responsiveness become paired with a sense of moral obligation; caretaker rules are then incorporat ed; an understanding of how empathy modifies strict rule-following dev elops; idols and ideals are chosen that reflect earlier learning in at tachment relationships; finally, a visualization of the self as moral standard-bearer or teacher unfolds.