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Attachment and Social Functioning: A Longitudinal Study from Infancy to Middle Childhood
Author(s) -
Bohlin Gunilla,
Hagekull Berit,
Rydell AnnMargret
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9507.00109
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , ambivalence , longitudinal study , late childhood , anxiety , strange situation , social anxiety , attachment theory , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , pathology
A longitudinal sample of 96 children was followed from 15 months of age to 8–9 years. Attachment relationships were studied in infancy with the Strange Situation and at school age with the Separation Anxiety Test. Social functioning was studied at school age through mother and teacher ratings, observations at school, and in children’s self‐reports. Predictive results showed that infants who had been secure as infants were more socially active, positive and popular at school age, and tended to report less social anxiety than children who had been insecure. Outcomes did not differentiate between children who had been anxious‐avoidant and anxious‐ambivalent. In spite of nonsignificant continuity between attachment security at infancy and school age, the associations to social functioning were similar.