Measuring infant-mother attachment: Is the strange situation enough?

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of a new procedure fo r assessing infant-mother attachment. Sixty children (34 in child cave) and their mothers were seen in the Strange Situation (SS) at 17 months and in a new attachment assessment, the California Attachment Procedure (CAP), whi ch does not involve mother-child separations, at 18 months. Overall, childr en were more likely to be classified as secure in the CAP (83% vs. 67%), bu t this was particularly true for children with experience in routine nonmat ernal care. Of the children in nonmaternal care who were insecure in the SS , 91% were secure in the CAP whereas of the maternal-care children who were insecure in the SS, only 44% were secure in the CAP. Attachment security i n the CAP was more highly correlated with observed maternal sensitivity tha n was attachment security in the SS, particularly for children in nonmatern al cave.