Attachment Behavior With Mothers And Strangers In A Task-Oriented Situation: An Aqs Study With 14- To 20-Month-Old Bosnian Children

Abstract

This study provides initial insights on the use of the Attachment Q-sort (AQS) for assessing young children's attachment quality in Bosnia & Herzegovina. We used the AQS technique to evaluate the quality of attachment in 31 mother-child dyads. The dyads were observed during home visits at the times children were aged 14, 16, 18, and 20 months.
Additionally, at each visit, an object categorization task was used as a short gamelike activity between the child and the observer. The observer then instructed the mother to perform the same task with the child during the following week. Through this activity we observed the children's willingness to interact and cooperate with either a stranger or the mother in a task-oriented situation. Five out of 31 children had negative security scores and their behavior is described case-by-case. The object categorization task revealed differences in behavior towards both the mother and the observer between securely and insecurely attached children. As opposed to the secure children, insecure children tended to refuse cooperation with both the observer and the mother. Their mothers, on the other hand, either doubted their children’s willingness to cooperate, or refused to participate in the experiment. These findings provide a basis for further research of attachment in young children in the region, and offer new insights into the complex relationship between cognitive and emotional development in infancy. Limitations of the study are discussed in light of cross-cultural differences in the use of the AQS technique.