Quality of parental caregiving and security of attachment.

The assumption that qualitative differences in parental behavior are associated with attachment security was examined in a sample of 62 children (M age = 21.5 months) who were seen separately with their mothers and fathers. Multiple measures of parental caregiving were used, including 2 qualitative behavioral rating scales and a self-report measure of attitudes and beliefs about child rearing. Analyses of the relation between these measures and maternal and paternal Strange Situation classifications of attachment security revealed effects only for mothers and only with 1 parent measure. These results add to a fairly impressive body of evidence indicating inconsistent and often weak associations between parental behavior and attachment security