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Applicability and attachment findings of the Strange Situation Paradigm in infants with visual impairment
Author(s) -
Urqueta Alfaro Andrea,
Meinz Paul,
Morash Valerie S.,
Lei Daisy,
Kronberg Jill,
Lara Summer,
Jian Stephanie,
Moore Melissa
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/imhj.21817
Subject(s) - socioemotional selectivity theory , strange situation , psychology , developmental psychology , attachment theory , visual impairment , population , medicine , neuroscience , environmental health
Attachment studies with diverse populations enrich the understanding of infants’ socioemotional development by documenting both universal and idiosyncratic aspects of attachment. Given the effects of attachment in children's socioemotional outcomes, such studies are necessary to investigate the impact of children's sensory impairments on attachment development. Yet, very little attachment research has focused on infants with visual impairment (VI infants), a population in which infant–caregiver emotional exchanges through visual means are reduced/absent. We investigated the applicability of the Strange Situation Paradigm (SSP), with added instructions to compensate for degraded visual input, in 20 VI infants (with no additional disabilities and who were receiving developmental counseling). In all but 1 of the SSPs coded, VI infants displayed observable attachment behavior that was classifiable. Nineteen VI infants showed attachment by 12 months of age. Across the ages tested (fractional age range = 0.9–2.33 months), most VI infants’ attachment patterns were classified as secure and organized.