Volume 17, Issue 3
Assessment of Patterns of Attachment in Infants During Their Second Year of Life in Two Outpatient Center of Santiago de Chile
Abstract
The aim of the present paper is to study the quality and distribution of patterns of attachment in infancy. A descriptive transactional study was used, where 130 infants between 11 and 19 months olds, from middle and low SE level, were recruited from two outpatient centers in Región Metropolitana (Santiago de Chile). Attachment was assessed with Strange Situation Procedure, and socio-demographic information was collected in order to analyze possible associations with quality of attachment (age and marital status of the mother, parity and childbirth, and sex of the child). Results showed a high tendency toward secure attachments (73%), comparing to international studies, and a strong association between quality of attachment and childbirth (normal versus with surgical intervention). This is one of the first studies in Latinoamérica to assess patterns of attachment in infancy, using the Strange Situation Paradigm.
Keywords
Patterns of attachment, quality of attachment, Strange Situation