Wetensch. publicatieFaculteit der Sociale Wetenschappe

IJzendoorn, M.H. van

Vliet-Visser, S. van

The Journal of Genetic Psychology

English

Leiden University Scholary Publications

The Journal ofGenetic Psychology, 149(1), 23-28The Relationship Between Quality ofAttachment in Infancy and IQ inKindergartenMARINUS H. VAN IJZENDOORNSITA VAN VLIET-VISSERDepartment ofEducationUniversity of Leiden, The NetherlandsABSTRACT. In this study, we hypothesized that securely attached infants would inkindergarten perform better on an intelligence lest than anxiously attached children.No difference was expected between children of working mothers (working morethan 15 hours outside the home) and children of full-time homemakers. Mother-childpairs (N = 77; average age of child was 24 months) were observed during theStrange Situation procedure; three years later, 65 children completed the Leiden Di-agnostic Test for measuring intelligence level. Results showed that the securely at-tached reference group attained the highest IQ. The working Status of the mother didnot appear to make a difference.IN ATTACHMENT THEORY, quality of attachment is supposed to havesome consequences for future cognitive development: Securely attached chil-dren are expected to perform better in problem-solving situations comparedto anxiously attached children. In longitudinal research, securely attachedchildren have been more active in exploring the environment at age 2 i/2 (Ha-zen & Durrett, 1982) and at age 5 (Arend, Gove & Sroufe, 1979). They havealso been more eager to learn (Waters, Wippman, & Sroufe, 1979) and moreenthusiastic when solving problems (Matas, Arend, & Sroufe, 1978). Bus &Preparation of this article was supported in pari by a grant from the NationaalComite voor Kinderpostzegels.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Miriam Lambermon in collectingdata.Requestsfor reprints should be sent to Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, DepartmentofEducation, University of Leiden, P.O. Box 9507, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Neth-erlands.2324 The Journal of Genetic PsvcholooVan Uzendoorn (1985) found that the reading abilities ofpreschoolers weremoreadvanced. TheyalsoappearedSoäoter adapted to explore new environments and phenomena, toi —JIJzendoorn & Van Vliet-Ί·In this studv. we hypothesized that the greater activity, enthusiasm, and= nf oivii™i" attached children in exploring and solvingcognitive performance (e.g., intelligence•>aA ^UilJ r-n ··> -to the child is qualitativelycognitive d.ve,opme„, < aMethodSubjectsAt the average age of 24 months (ränge- 23 to 2S mnn* \ 11 u·,,their mothers were tested using the StrLe s? ?· S)' Ή °hlldren andof the mothers were workinj 15^ hou?or rr« ΡΓ?εαϋΓ6· Ab°Ut 5°%the rest were full-time ̂ m^li^T *" ̂  OUtSide the h°me;children participated m the Äp^^^Ä^ rffl»nuhcation» that the nonparticipants were a specific suhe ' fsample (Van IJzendoorn & Van Vliet-Visser TQ± ϊΐΠΐchildren m the second stage of themonths).ProceduresStrange Situation. The videotaoes of th^ «Jtro c-were classified äs A B o r C ν^ΐΐΤ *? ̂  6piSOdeS' the childrenHuber, & Wartner, IW^^^J™0™^· G— ·91.5%. The scores on these scale, iTtl , ' the subcategories it was(19S7).van IJzendoorn & van Vliet-Visser 25but in accordance with Lamb, Thompson, Gardner and Charnov (1985, p.31), we found the Strange Situation to be a valid procedure for 24-month-oldchildren. Although 24-month-olds appeared to be more active on proximityseeking than younger children (l to 11Δ years old), no age differences werefound on the scales for resistance and avoidance or on the classification(Goossens, Van IJzendoorn, Kroonenberg, & Tavecchio, 1985).Leiden Diagnostic Test. To get an indication of the level of intelligence, eachchild completed five subtests of the Leiden Diagnostic Test (LDT): block de-sign, word Span, repeating sentences, picture indicating, and comprehension.The LDT is a standardized IQ test for Dutch children. Reliability and validityfigures can be found in Schroots (1979). Two female experimenters appliedthe LDT to 35 and 30 children, respectively. A two way analysis of covariancedid not show significant experimenter, sex of child, or Experimenter x Sexof Child effects. The covariate socioeconomic Status did have a significanteffect, however.Results and DiscussionIn Table l, the means and Standard deviations of intelligence level per attach-ment classification are listed. The mean IQ score of the sample (l 11) is wellabove the average for the Dutch population at the same age (about 100). Thesocioeconomic Status of the sample, however, is also above average. On anoccupational index extending from unskilled labor (1) to high-level academicoccupations (6), the mean socioeconomic Status of the sample is 4.6 (see VanTABLElMeans and Standard Deviations of IQper Attachment ClassificationAttachmentclassificationAIA2BlB2B3B4ClC2Totaln2818109142265M108110108112120107118114111IQSD13.411.612.612.313.812.93.54.912.626 The Journal ofGenetic PsychologWesterlaak, Kropman, & Collaris, 1975). In lieht of Um rt,* r i *· i u· umean score on the intelligence test may be expiained hv £ dy hlghthe sample from the higher socioeconomk Blasses Y recrmtment ofBecause some of the attachment categories are rather small , f. ubeen joined together to form four groups^ + C, Bl B2 + B3 td ßTThe reference group comprises the B2 + B3 group (secure children) ™emost negaüve deviaüon, the insecurely attached children werfo S in^JA + C category. The dependently attached children w Je äs" fied ^s B4(Van IJzendoorn, Goossens, Kroonenberg, & Tavecchio 198? v ndoorn, Tavecchio, Goossens, Vergeer, & Swaan T983) ' "" "̂ΜΪtheir score on the LDT was. This resS i c^ ΪΓ SUbjeCtS' ̂  Wgherother studies on the relationship ̂ be ween socZn '° ** °^°™5 °fSchroots, 1979). Furthermore, LSSSTT **"* ** IQ, . ,a significant effect: F(3 56) = ̂  „ l m Sf0" appeared to haveB2 + B3,had the highest intelligence l'evel The m» Ihe .ref^rence 8«>«P.and B4 showed the lowest score Ton theln lir gl" subcate§ories B1no significant main or iTwo way analyses Of κsulted in a significant main eifert for J κ VAs) on the five subtests reon the subtesf Compre^nsion F(? sT - 37 ClaSSifinCi°n * ̂  an^itached reference group B2 + B3 nPrf^r Λ ~ ·υ16· The securely atattachment quality secms ,W than foX peAnnance " "" 'attachcdvan IJzendoorn & van Vliet-Visser 27dren of working mothers had higher scores than children of full-time home-makers. This result falsifies, of course, the Suggestion that inevitably detri-mental effects on preschoolers' intelligence level occur if their mothers workoutside the home for more than 15 hours per week.In conclusion, the securely attached reference group, B2 + B3, ap-peared to attain the highest intelligence level in kindergarten, äs measured bythe LDT. Recently, Lamb et al. (1985, p. 156) stated that no reliable predic-tive association between attachment Status and later cognitive competence hasyet been demonstrated. Although our sample size precludes definitive conclu-sions, we found some evidence for the cognitive superiority of the securelyattached group. Quality of attachment in the second year of life does appearto make a difference for cognitive development. The marginal groups B l andB4 performed less well, äs was expected, and they did not differ much fromthe anxiously attached children. Ainsworth et al. (1978) emphasized the bor/derline Status of B l and B4 children, and demanded more research to givethem a definitive position in the classification System. In line with earlierstudies on the Status of B4 children (Van IJzendoorn et al., 1983, 1985), ourresults indicate a substantial difference in cognitive development between de-pendently and securely attached children.REFERENCESAinsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns ofattachment: A psychological study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erl-baum.Arend, R., Gove, F. L., & Sroufe, L. A. (1979). Continuity of individual adaptationfrom infancy to kindergarten: A predictive study of ego-resiliency and curiosity inpreschoolers. ChildDevelopment, 50, 950-959.Bus, A. G., & Van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1985). Attachment and early reading: Alongitudinal study. Unpublished manuscript, University of Leiden/Groningen, De-partment of Education.Goossens, F. A. (1987.). Maternal employment and daycare. In L. W. C. Tavecchio& M. H. van IJzendoorn (Eds.), Attachment in social networks: Contributions tothe Bowlby-Ainsworth attachment theory. Amsterdam: Eisevier (Norm Holland).Goossens, F. A., Van IJzendoorn, M. H., Kroonenberg, P. M., & Tavecchio,L. W. C. (1985). Sex and age differences in the Strange Situation. Unpublishedmanuscript, University of Leiden, Department of Education.Grossmann, K. E., Grossmann, K., Huber, F., & Wartner, U. (1981). German chil-dren's behavior towards their mothers at 12 months and their fathers at 18 monthsin Ainsworth's Strange Situation. International Journal of Behavior al Develop-ment, 4, 157-181.Hazen, N., & Durrett, M. (1982). Relationship of security of attachment to explo-ration and cognitive mapping in 2-year-olds. Developmental Psychology, 18, 751-759.Lamb, M. E., Thompson, R. A., Gardner, W, & Charnov, E. L. (1985). Infant-mother attachment: The origins and developmental significance of individual dif-ferences in Strange Situation behavior. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.28 The Journal of Genetic PsychologyMatas, L., Arend, R. A., & Sroufe, L. A. (1978). Continuity of adaptation in thesecond year: The relationship between quality of attachment and later competence.Child Development, 49, 547-556.Schroots, J. J. F. (1979). Leidse diagnostische test. Deel 5, Cognitieve ontwikkel-ing, leervermogen en Schoolprestaties. [Leiden Diagnostic Test. Part 5. Cognitivedevelopment and school achievement.] Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeit-linger.Stroufe, L. A., Fox, N. E., & Pancake, V. R. (1983). Attachment and dependencyin developmental perspective. Child Development, 54, 1615-1625.Van Uzendoorn, M. H., & Van Vliet-Visser, S. (1986). Gehechtheid, ego-veerkracht en -controle. Een longitudinale Studie. [Attachment, ego-resiliency andego-control. A longitudinal study.] Kind en Adolescent, 7, 77-90.Van Uzendoorn, M. H., Goossens, F. A., Kroonenberg, P. M., & Tavecchio,L. W. C. (1985). Dependent attachment: B4 children in the Strange Situation.Psychological Reports, 57, 439-451.Van Uzendoorn, M. H., Tavecchio, L. W. C., Goossens, F. A., Vergeer, M. M., &Swaan, J. (1983). How B is B4? Attachment and security of Dutch children inAinsworth's Strange Situation and at home. Psychological Reports, 52, 683-691.Van Westerlaak, J. M., Kropman, J. A., & Collaris, J. W. M. (1975). Beroepenk-lapper. [Socio-economic Status manual.] Nijmegen, The Netherlands: ITS.Vaughn, B. E., Deane, K. E., & Waters, E. (1985). The impact of out-of-home careon child-mother attachment quality: Another look at some enduring questions.Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50 (1-2, SerialNo. 209), pp. 110-135.Waters, E., Wippman, J., & Sroufe, L. A. (1979). Attachment, positive affect, andcompetence in the peer group: Two studies in construct validation. Child Devel-opment, 50, 821-829.Received August 15, 1986

The relationship between quality of attachment in infancy and IQ in Kindergarten

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Marinus H. Van Ijzendoorn

Sita van Vliet-Visser

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The Relationship between Quality of Attachment in Infancy and IQ in Kindergarten

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