Child attachment security, attachment representations and social competence in early school years

The purpose of the study was to examine the association between attachment security (as assessed with scores derived from Q-sort descriptions of the child’s interactions with the mother), attachment representations (as derived from children’s verbal narratives) and social competence (as reported by mother, teacher and friend) in a normative sample of 39 dyads with children between 6-7 years of age. Attachment security, attachment representations, and mother reports on social competence (SCBE) were associated. Gender differences were identified in mother and teacher reports on child social competence. The mediating role of attachment representations was examined in the association between attachment security and social competence. Attachment representation partially and significantly mediated the association between attachment security and social competence. Security however, significantly predicted social competence even after entering representations last into the model. Findings, limitations and future directions were discussed