Quality of attachment in St Petersburg (Russian Federation): A sample of family-reared infants

Abstract

The study aimed to describe the quality of attachment in the sample of children living in St Petersburg (Russian Federation). Up to the present there were no studies on quality of attachment relationship among infants living in families in the Russian Federation (RF), including families living in St Petersburg. The study results have an important value for understanding of development of attachment patterns in a changing society with a previous history of being a totalitarian state. The St Petersburg sample consisted of 130 children, living in families, aged 11—16 months old (mean = 13.3 months). Children were living in largely normative low-risk families. The Strange Situation Procedure was used (Ainsworth Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). The attachment categories were classified according to the criteria of the DMM model (Crittenden, 2002). Results presented show that 50% of children showed the complex strategies (pre-A3—4 compulsive caregiving and compliant, pre-C3—4 aggressive and feigned helpless, A/C). It was found that among a St Petersburg sample of families there was small number of children with secure attachment pattern and many children with complex attachment strategies.