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   Ainsworth strange situation assessment

 Mary Ainsworth is credited with the development of a method of assessing a child's attachment style. The name of the procedure is the Strange Situation Assessment. In a nutshell, it goes something like this:

            1)  Mother and baby introduced into room

2)  Mother and baby alone, baby free to explore (3 minutes)

3)      Stranger enters, sits down, talks to mother and then tries to engage the baby in play (3 minutes)

4)      Mother leaves.  Stranger and baby alone (up to 3 minutes)

5)      First reunion.  Mother returns and stranger leaves unobtrusively.  Mother settles baby if necessary, and tries to withdraw to her chair (3 minutes)

6)      Mother leaves.  Baby alone (up to 3 minutes)

7)      Stranger returns and tries to settle the baby if necessary, and then withdraw to her chair (up to 3 minutes)

8)      Second reunion.  Mother returns and stranger leaves unobtrusively.  Mother settles baby and tries to withdraw to her chair (3 minutes)

Children's attachment styles are then put into three categories: 1) insecure-avoidant, insecure-ambivalent, and secure.

      Children with insecure-avoidant attachment styles turn their attention to the environment.  They may not react when their mother leaves the room or when she comes back. Perhaps this is because they have learned that nurturance will not be forthcoming from their mothers/inconsistent mothering over the first year.

      Children with insecure-ambivalent attachment styles are unable to disengage from the mother. While most children may whimper or cry when their mother leaves the room, they will usually pacify themselves and begin to settle and play. Children with insecure-ambivalent attachment styles may not be able to calm themselves. When the mother returns, they may also begin to scream and rage, rather than to be pacified, or they may alter between wanting their mother and then pushing her away when she attempts to comfort them.

      Secure children will represent a balance between over-involvement with the environment or with the mother. They might explore the environment, but as the strange situation proceeds, their balance of behavior will increasingly tip towards proximity-seeking and contact-maintaining behavior. They will use the mother as secure base, or a reference point, from which to explore the world, going off to play for a bit, and then coming back to reunite with the mother, only to go off and play once again.

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