ABSTRACT
Most of the seminal research on attachment in infancy has been based on low-risk samples of fairly stable, lower middle-class to upper middle-class families. Reviews of studies of predominantly middle-class American samples usually report them to be quite consistent in the proportions of secure (B), insecure-avoidant (A), and insecure-resistant (C) infants. In fact, a brief survey of several frequently cited attachment studies revealed a range in the proportions of secure and insecure (avoidant and resistant) infants. This sampling of studies of low-risk infants, summarized in Table 4.1, suggests that there is a range in the expectable proportions of avoidant, secure, and resistant classifications. Across samples, the proportion of avoidant infants ranges from 15% to 32%; the proportion of secure infants ranges from 57% to 73%; and the proportion of resistant infants ranges from 4% to 22%. Selected Low-Risk Samples: A, B, C, and D Attachment Classifications
|
Low Risk |
n |
Age |
A |
B |
C |
D or “unclassifiable” |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ainsworth et al. (1978) |
106 |
12 mos |
22% |
66% |
12% |
|
|
original Baltimore sample |
23 |
12 mos |
26% |
57% |
17% |
|
|
Bell (1970) |
33 |
12 mos |
15% |
73% |
12% |
|
|
Belsky et al. (1984) |
54 |
12 mos |
18.5% |
63% |
18.5% |
|
|
Main & Weston (1981) |
44 |
12 mos |
30% |
52% |
5% |
14% |
