Attachment Measures

Attachment measures refer to the various procedures used to assess attachment in children and adults.

Researchers have developed various ways of assessing patterns of attachment in children. A variety of methods allow children to be classified into four attachment pattern groups: secure, anxious-ambivalent, anxious-avoidant, and disorganized/disoriented, or assess disorders of attachment. These patterns are also referred to as Secure (Group B); Anxious/Resistant (Group C); Avoidant (Group A) and Disorganized/Controlling (Group D). The disorganized/controlling attachment classification is thought to represent a break-down in the attachment-caregiving partnerhip such that the child does not have an organized behavioral or representational strategy to achieve protection and care from the attachment figure. Each pattern group is further broken down into several sub-categories. A child classified with the disorganized/controlling attachment will be given a "next best fit" organized classification.

Attachment in adults is commonly measured using the Adult Attachment Interview, the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System, and self-report questionnaires. Self-report questionnaires assess attachment style, a personality dimension that describes attitudes about relationships with romantic partners. Attachment style is thought to be similar to childhood attachment patterns, although there is to date no research that links how childhood attachment patterns are related to attachment personality dimensions with romantic partners. The most common approach to defining attachment style is a two-dimension approach in defining attachment style. One dimension deals with anxiety about the relationship, and the other dimension dealing with avoidance in the relationship. Another approach defines four adult attachment style categories: secure, preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, and fearful-avoidant.