Evaluating Inter-Method Reliability of Attachment Classifications and Limitations to Concordance in Middle-Childhood

The current study examines the inter-method reliability of attachment classification paradigms in middle-childhood, and potential constraints disorganization and child-sex may have on the concordance of these measures. Two popular methods, the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) and Projective Family Drawings, assess the internal working models of children in order to evaluate attachment. Previous research has shown the MCAST to have robust internal reliability and content validity. This study examines dependency across methodologies in order to determine the reliability and validity of the family drawings. This study used a rural, low-income, African-American sample of 176 children who had completed both the MCAST and a family drawing collected from the Family Life Project to investigate the concordance of the two measures. Chi-square analysis found significant concordance for measurements of security and avoidance. Furthermore, high disorganization in the family drawing limited concordance of avoidant classifications. These findings are discussed in the context of their utility in clinical and research settings. Running Head: INTER-METHOD RELIABILITY ATTACHMENT 3 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Roger Mills-Koonce, for his amiable guidance and patience, and making the task of writing a thesis manageable/enjoyable. Graduate student Nicholas J. Wagner also helped me a lot with the research/writing process, and I thoroughly enjoyed the work and research I did for him. Acknowledgment is also due to Dr. Jean-Louis Gariepy for serving on my Honors Committee, and for teaching an engaging class that furthered my knowledge on the subject of this thesis. My fellow students and former colleagues: Becky Kennedy, Melinda Murphy, Joon Hyeuk Woo, Devin Tempton, Mary Houston, Kelli Germany, Dana Horlick, Maria Rodriguez, Darryl Alexander, and Quinn Richardson. I would like to thank all of you for never throttling me during the long arguments over the coding of the family drawings or CU videos. I am grateful to my parents, James Houser and Susan Adam, for bringing me into this world, putting food in my belly, and clothes on my back. And my Grandmother, Dr. Katherine King, for her encouragement and support over the years. Running Head: INTER-METHOD RELIABILITY ATTACHMENT 4 Evaluating Inter-Method Reliability of Attachment Classifications and Limitations to Concordance in Middle-Childhood Broadly speaking, attachment theory is the study of parent/child interaction and how these initial ties between mother and child influence later relationships (Cassidy, 1999). The term attachment refers to the affectional bond the child develops with its mother. John Bowlby, the founder of attachment theory, conceptualized attachment as proximity seeking behaviors used by the child in order to maintain physical closeness to their mother, or primary caregiver (PC), in order to feel safe or “secure”. These behaviors are representative of an established cognitivebehavioral structure known as an attachment style (Crittenden, 1990; Bretherton, 1992; Kaplan & Main, 1986). Attachment styles (or patterns) are strategies that support the child in the face of anxiety inducing interrelational situations (Cassidy, 1999). Complex cognitive-behavioral structures such as attachment can be difficult to quantify. Although persistent throughout a person’s lifespan, Bowlby recognized that the attachment system was easier to assess in the formative years, before coping mechanisms and other systems begin to exert moderating influences. While Bowlby laid much of the theoretical foundation of attachment theory, it was not until a student of attachment theory, Mary Ainsworth, developed a method of assessment known as the Strange Situation Paradigm (SSP), that real empirical analysis of attachment was possible (Bretherton, 1992). The majority of what we have learned about attachment comes from the behaviors children express during the SSP. Although attachment manifests behaviorally in young life, as the child ages these behaviors are integrated into a more cognitively complex system. As such, later measures of attachment assess children’s attachment styles at a cognitive level. There are two common measurements of attachment in middle-childhood. One is the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST) (Green, Stanley, & Peters, 2000). The MCAST is a robust Running Head: INTER-METHOD RELIABILITY ATTACHMENT 5 measurement of attachment, with strong inter-rater reliability and content validity, but takes a long time to administer and assess (Green, Stanley, & Peters, 2000). Another measure that is gaining popularity is the Projective Family Drawings Task (Fury, Carlson, & Sroufe, 1997). Family drawings are more affordable and quick to administer than the MCAST, but the content validity of its measurements have not been as thoroughly assessed as the MCAST. The purpose of the current study is to examine the inter-method reliability and concordance of these measurements.