Estudo exploratório sobre a classificação da vinculação atípica: desorganização ou adaptação?

Abstract

Bowlby proposed a theory to explain the mother-infant bond. Later, Ainsworth has described three patterns of mother-infant attachment: avoidant (A), secure (B) and ambivalent (C). However, a small amount of infants did not present such patterns of behavior. These infants presented atypical forms of attachment and were described differently by several researchers. The differences among all classification systems of atypical attachment, the D, U-A, A+, C+ and A/C classifications were studied in three samples: (i) without risk conditions (n=61), (ii) with infants prematurely born (n=52), and (iii) with several environmental risk conditions (n=9). The infants (ranging 12 to 18 months old) were observed during Ainsworth’s Strange Situation. Our results suggest that, using the Crittenden’s system (A+, C+, A/C), more infants were excluded from A-B-C classification. Furthermore, our findings suggest that different classifications deriving from different frameworks could be applied to the same cases. Indeed, the major differences between such types of classifications arise mainly from the theoretical background of each system rather than from the procedures themselves. For that reason, it has been difficult to gather all classifications in one unique system.