title: Prior participation in the strange situation and overstress jointly facilitate disorganized behaviours: implications for theory, research and practice.
abstract: We seek to understand why a relatively high percentage (39%; vs the meta-analytic average, 15-18%) of disorganized/disoriented (D) classifications has accrued in the low-risk Uppsala Longitudinal Study (ULS) study, using experienced D coders. Prior research indicates that D behaviours do not always indicate attachment disorganization stemming from a history of frightening caregiving. We examined the role of two other presumed factors: participation in a previous strange situation and overstress. Our findings indicate that both factors were highly prevalent in the ULS sample and that they jointly predicted higher rates of D. First, participation in a previous strange situation was associated with significantly higher distress displays during the second visit than occurred among previously untested children, suggesting that prior participation in the strange situation had a sensitizing effect on child distress during the second visit. Second, unless separations were cut short in lieu of high distress during the second visit, re-tested children were disproportionately likely (ca 60%) to be classified D. We argue that these findings have important implications for theory, research, and practice. In particular, we conclude that practitioners must refrain from misattributing the appearance of any D behaviors observed to a history of maltreatment.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Stockholm University , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Pehr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Granqvist
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology , University of California , Berkeley , USA.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hesse
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology , Uppsala University , Uppsala , Sweden.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fransson
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology , University of California , Berkeley , USA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Main
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology , Uppsala University , Uppsala , Sweden.
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hagekull
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology , Uppsala University , Uppsala , Sweden.
authors.forename: Gunilla
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bohlin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D008297:Male; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009769:Object Attachment; D012106:Research; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014481:United States
keywords: Attachment; disorganized/disoriented; equifinality; measurement; strange situation