ERIC Number: EJ766126
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-May
Pages: 12
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Taxometric Study of the Adult Attachment Interview
Roisman, Glenn I.; Fraley, R. Chris; Belsky, Jay
Developmental Psychology, v43 n3 p675-686 May 2007
This study is the first to examine the latent structure of individual differences reflected in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1985), a commonly used and well-validated measure designed to assess an adult's current state of mind regarding childhood experiences with caregivers. P. E. Meehl's (1995) taxometric methods (i.e., MAXCOV-HITMAX) were applied to data from 504 AAIs. Analyses revealed that the variation underlying secure versus dismissing states of mind was more consistent with a dimensional than a taxonic model. (Taxometric analyses of preoccupation were indeterminate.) In addition, variation in secure adults' (n = 278) reports about their early experiences revealed little evidence for qualitative groups of earned- and continuous-secures. Rather, the inferred life experiences of secure adults appeared to be distributed continuously. Findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical implications regarding the phenomenon of earned-security specifically and variation underlying secure and insecure states of mind more generally. The consequences of these analyses for AAI reliability training and coding are also explored.
Descriptors: Caregivers, Attachment Behavior, Individual Differences, Adults, Measures (Individuals), Security (Psychology), Reliability, Children, Coding
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Adult Attachment Interview
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A