UCL Discovery Stage
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery Stage

The first 20,000 strange situation procedures: A meta-analytic review

Madigan, Sheri; Fearon, RM Pasco; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H; Duschinsky, Robbie; Schuengel, Carlo; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; Ly, Anh; ... Verhage, Marije L; + view all (2023) The first 20,000 strange situation procedures: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin , 149 (1-2) pp. 99-132. 10.1037/bul0000388. Green open access

[thumbnail of Fearon_BUL-2022-0782R2_MS.pdf]
Preview
Text
Fearon_BUL-2022-0782R2_MS.pdf

Download (819kB) | Preview

Abstract

The Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) was developed five decades ago to assess infant–parent attachment relationships. Although the procedure itself has remained relatively constant in over 285 studies (20,720 dyads) conducted to date, there have been vast sociological changes during this time, and research foci shifts to studying diverse populations. Since its inception, the SSP has also been adopted in over 20 countries. In this meta-analysis, we collate this large body of work, with the objectives of producing reliable estimates of the distribution of the four SSP attachment classifications, assessing temporal trends and geographical differences, and determining if and when distributions are different across various populations. Results revealed that the global distribution of SSP attachment was 51.6% secure, 14.7% avoidant, 10.2% resistant, and 23.5% disorganized. There were no differences in the distribution among mothers and fathers, and no child age or sex differences. We found a temporal trend in which there was less avoidant attachment over time and there were attachment distribution differences between samples from North America versus other regions of the world, particularly Asia, Middle East/Israel and South America. We found higher rates of avoidant and disorganized attachment in populations with sociodemographic risks and higher rates of disorganized attachment in samples where parents had psychopathology and when the child experienced maltreatment or was adopted from foster or institutional care. The implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Type: Article
Title: The first 20,000 strange situation procedures: A meta-analytic review
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000388
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000388
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER, BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, DISORGANIZED ATTACHMENT, EARLY-LIFE COURSE, EMOTIONAL AVAILABILITY, FATHER-CHILD ATTACHMENT, infant attachment, INFANT-MOTHER ATTACHMENT, INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION, MATERNAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, parent-infant relationships, Psychology, Psychology, Multidisciplinary, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED-TRIAL, Social Sciences, strange situation procedure
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10173021
Downloads since deposit
76,014Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item