Attachment security and adjustment to school in middle childhood

The concurrent association between security of attachment and adaptive func tioning at school in middle childhood was examined. A sample of 113 childre n of 4th and 5th grade filled out a self-report measure of attachment secur ity (Kerns, Klepac, & Cole, 1996) and were administered the Doll Story Comp letion task (Bretherton, Ridgeway, & Cassidy, 1990b) modified for use with children in middle childhood to assess the quality and the security of atta chment-related representations of the relationship with the mother. Accordi ng to the latter measure children were classified as secure, avoidant, ambi valent, or disorganised with regard to attachment. Their teachers completed several questionnaires assessing each child's academic achievement, emotio nal and social adjustment, and frequency of behavioural problems. In additi on, each participating class underwent a sociometric procedure. Findings ba sed on correlations and comparisons of attachment groups indicated that sec ure children showed better adjustment to school as reflected in teachers' r eports of scholastic, emotional, social, and behavioural adjustment, as wel l as in peer-rated social status. Avoidant and disorganised children showed the poorest adjustment. Findings indicated the usefulness of attachment th eory in understanding adjustment to the school environment in middle childh ood.