ABSTRACT
The Strange Situation procedure has become popular in part because of claims that Strange Situation behavior predicts important aspects of the child’s behavior as much as several years later. Since few assessments of infant characteristics have impressive predictive validity, these claims have understandably excited developmentalists, but the empirical support for them has never been evaluated in systematic fashion. The goal of this chapter is to provide such a review. There is now a great deal of evidence available concerning the sequelae of Strange Situation behavior, and the conclusions they support are, in most respects, better documented than those reached in any other chapter. As will become apparent, however, research on this topic is not without its problems. Readers will note that a variety of outcome measures have been explored, with relatively little clear theorizing about the appropriateness of specific dependent measures or their conceptual link to earlier patterns of Strange Situation behavior. Most researchers have implicitly tested the rather imprecise hypothesis that “secure” (i.e., B group) attachment presages “better” performance and adjustment (broadly defined) in the tasks and challenges encountered in later months or years than does A type or C type behavior in the Strange Situation.
