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Cited by 215Attachment and Relationship DynamicsPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology ResearchChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Disorganized attachment behavior in infancy: Short-term stability, maternal and infant correlates, and risk-related subtypes

Lyons-Ruth, Karlen, Repacholi, Betty, McLeod, Sara, Silva, Eugenia·1991·Development and Psychopathology
DOI 10.1017/s0954579400007586
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Abstract

This study of 71 low-income mothers and infants examined whether the disorganized/disoriented (D) infant attachment classification is best viewed as a single category or whether at least two subgroups exist, corresponding to the forced-secure and forced-insecure alternate classifications. Correlates of the D classification as a whole, and of the two subtypes of disorganized behavior, were examined in five domains, including 6-month stability, maternal childhood history of loss, severity of maternal psychosocial risk, maternal behavior toward the infant at home, and infant mental development. Results indicated that the two subtypes of disorganized infant attachment behavior differed in age of emergence, maternal childhood history, severity of associated family risk factors, and the extent of the mother's lack of involvement with the infant at home. Across both D subtypes, disorganization of attachment strategies was associated with less optimal maternal behavior at home and with decreased mental development scores at 18 months. Results are discussed in relation to Main and Hesse's (1990) theory of the role of fear-inducing parental behavior in the genesis of disorganized infant attachment behavior and in relation to Aber, Allen, Carlson, and Cicchetti's (1989) concept of secure readiness to learn.

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  • Parental depression, substance use, and inter-parental discord are associated with more child disorganized attachment, but meta-analytic evidence for these links is mixed and weaker than for parental attachment state of mind.

    “More global parental problems, including parental depression, substance use, and inter-parental discord are also associated with increased incidence of child disorganized attachment (Lyons-Ruth et al., 1991; O’Connor, Sigman, & Brill, 1987; Owen & Cox, 1997; Teti, Messinger, Glefland, & Isabella, 1995); however, these findings are mixed and less substantial than associations with attachment state”

    From Enhancing Attachment Organization Among Maltreated Children: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial (2012) · cites this paper as Lyons-Ruth et al., 1991

  • A parent's unresolved loss or trauma predicts disorganized attachment in the child.

    “Parents’ history of unresolved loss or trauma is predictive of children’s disorganized attachment (Lyons-Ruth & Jabovitz, 2008; Lyons-Ruth, Repacholi, McLeod, & Silva, 1991; Main & Hesse, 1990; van Ijzendoorn, 1995).”

    From Enhancing Attachment Organization Among Maltreated Children: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial (2012) · cites this paper as Lyons-Ruth, Repacholi, McLeod, & Silva, 1991

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Authors
Lyons-Ruth, K., Repacholi, B., McLeod, S., & Silva, E.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Venue
Development and Psychopathology
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
1991-10
Volume
3
Issue
4
Pages
377-396
ISSN
  • 0954-5794 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-2198
DOI
10.1017/s0954579400007586
OpenAlex
W2168526847
Cited by
215
References
41
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 13
FWCI
6.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 6545 d)
Locations
Development and Psychopathology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
disorganized attachment, infant attachment, attachment stability, infant cognitive development, low-income mothers

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